Test kitchen: Doctored Cake mix vs Scratch Cake recipes
Results from my taste-test between three cake recipes: a box white mix, a doctored up white cake mix, and a scratch white cake recipe.
Some of you may or may not have heard that “I’m not a TRUE BAKER.”
…at least according to some of my first cookbook’s Amazon reviews. 😉
It used to bother me when I would see that kind of feedback on the internet. People from all over the world jump into a comment section against me to declare that “cake mixes” are “not part of a real recipe,” or “a method real bakers would entertain,” or my personal favorite: “Baking from a cake mix is an excuse for those who don’t know how to bake from scratch. Scratch is ALWAYS better.”
Fun stuff for an author to see, eh? Or even for a new baker searching for a recipe that they can depend on.
But now I smile when I see these reviews (even though overall we’re still at 4.5/5 starts – thanks to those who believe in me and my cookbook).
Why?
I know they must have never personally tried to bake my doctored up cake mix recipes.
They shred me to bits because I do something that they haven’t discovered could completely change their baking game! They put me down, even though my recipes have completely transformed bakers’ businesses from all around the world. (Yes, foreign bakers, there are cake mixes available to you! I’ve had bakers from India, Europe, and Australia tell me that they use my recipes all the time).
I wish I could give each of them a hug and ask them if they actually tried the recipes before leaving their review. Most of the time, I guarantee they haven’t. If they don’t like it, that’s totally fine, but at least they gave it a chance before getting out the flamethrower.
This has left me boggled, really, about the foundation of their arguments. What could be so bad about a cake mix that there’s a group of people who still look down on others who use one?
I personally feel like a cake mix by itself isn’t anything to write home about, but hey, it’s a cake, and that’s what most people are looking for when they need to make a birthday cake for their 6 year old who wants dinosaurs and bright blue frosting. Isn’t that what it’s ultimately all about? Making a cake for those you love? Does it make you less of a baker if you use a cake mix? No. Is it a more simple way to get the job done? Yes. Are there other ways that taste much better? Absolutely. But I will never shame another baker, mother, friend, neighbor, aunt, brother, anyone, for baking with a cake mix. Hey, they made a cake, and I’m proud of them.
My test isn’t about who is the winner. It’s about a caker with over half a million social media followers (over IG and FB combined) getting attacked constantly for using a cake mix in her recipes, and her testing three cakes in her kitchen to gain a bit of perspective on the matter.
While I’m still on my soapbox, let me tell you a story that has always stuck with me: I was sitting in my car one morning outside my local grocery store. I had picked up a few ingredients I needed for a cake I was doing some recipe testing for, and I noticed two figures coming out of the store into the snowstorm that swirled around my windows.
There was a mother and a young girl walking together, hand in hand. The little girl had a birthday crown, a birthday sash, and what looked like a new glittery dress. She was skipping along next to her mom and talking nonstop. The mom looked like she was pretty beat, but was still trying to engage with the little girl (pjs, mom bun, no makeup) – I recognize that look all too well (its my favorite at my house). In the sack she carried from the store was clearly a cake mix, eggs, and a container of frosting. They obviously were going to be making a birthday cake.
Did that little girl care if her mom made the cake from scratch or not? Did that mom need to be told that she was lesser than because she didn’t “bake her kid’s birthday cake from scratch?” Not a chance. That little girl and her mom were probably on their way to making a memory together; a treasured memory around a special day, involving a special cake. It made me smile. It helped me remember what I’m all about: cake enriching an already beautiful moment in our lives.
No matter how anyone bakes their cake, I hope everyone knows I would never disregard someone’s love for baking or talents based off their method of baking. I’m not doing these tests to bash other bakers. I’m not doing these tests to put anyone down or lift myself up. I’m doing them because I’ve always been curious how they’d hold up in a blind taste test. I’m doing them to see if there’s any merit to the hateful comments I receive from purely-scratch bakers on Amazon. It’s cake for science, as it were. Tasty science! 🙂
That said, I’ve always wondered if there was some merit to the argument that “one is better than the other.” After all, I’ve created doctored cake mix recipes enough to fill my website and cookbook (with more to come!), I’d better put my money where my mouth is if I’m going to be telling people that my doctored cake mix recipes taste up to par, if not better, than scratch cake recipes or plain box mixes.
I’m not sharing my perspective to set up an opinion piece, but to merely share where I’m coming from in this whole debate that seems to rage on, and on, and on.
What are we using?
For those who may not know, Cake Mixes are found at your local supermarket in the baking section. There are several different brands, and each contains a pre-measured amount of dry ingredients for your cake. The back of the box has a recipe for eggs, water, and oil to be added to the dry ingredient mix. For today’s test, I used Duncan Hines. I have another post coming shortly about which cake mix tasted best, according to my research and taste testing efforts.
For Doctored Cake Mix Recipes, the baker ignores the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box and substitutes in their own measurements of sour cream, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and egg whites (also, emulsions and other fresh flavorings to enhance their desired flavors). The wet ingredients are all similar to scratch recipes, the baker just uses the pre-measured ingredients, instead of having to measure out the dry ingredients for themselves.
For Scratch Recipes, the bakers draws only from their fundamental ingredients, not using any pre-measured ingredients in their cakes. Everything is fresh from their kitchen without the preservatives that ca be found in cake mixes.
Now, that said, let’s dive into my little taste-test, shall we?
Three cakes:
I tested with three cake recipes – box cake, doctored box cake, and a cake from scratch I found from another local baker. I followed the directions exactly as intended, baked them up exactly as the baker designed, and came out with three different results for three different white cakes. But I knew they’d be different, they’re fundamentally different, after all! I was more interested in how they tasted, after all. I wouldn’t obviously be able to bake them blindly, so the taste-testing would be where the true test would be.
I baked up three cake rounds for each cake (four for the scratch cake because that’s what the recipe called for – I just left out one round when I was photographing them for this test for continuity), sliced them in half, and cut off the crust (because they could be determined based on their exterior), and tasted them. I then had my husband and boys taste them, and then send out samples to my neighbors to blindly taste-test as well. I wanted to know which was the best tasting, and believed that this would be the best way to show that.
Disclaimer: Obviously, different box mixes, different doctored mixes, and different scratch cakes could produce different results (maybe – I’m betting they’re similar). So keep that in mind as you read through my results. Hundreds of tests for scratch vs scratch, box vs box, doctored vs doctored could be done. For my test this week, I went with one of each.
Cake #1: Duncan Hines Box Cake
I have an entirely different post about which box cake I feel like is best from my personal taste-testing, but this post isn’t about that. For this test, I baked a Duncan Hines box cake mix according to the directions and temperatures listed on the back of the box. I’m going to be using the same box mix for my doctored cake below, so I figured if I keep that constant, we’d be off to a good start. Egg whites, water, and oil were all that was needed, and of course, the boxed cake mix. I whisked the ingredients together and split the batter evenly between the three 6″ greased cake pans. I baked them for the time listed on the back of the box.
The batter was loose, it tasted sweet, it came together alright, the color was perfect, but was somewhat lacking in depth of flavor (just in the batter for starters). It baked up well enough in the time it spent in the oven. The exterior was darker than the scratch cake and doctored cake, and the height was certainly the shortest.
When I taste tested this one, it was the most airy. It was sweet, but had a strange artificial taste to it that I can’t quite put my finger on. The crumb was super fluffy. The white cake taste was definitely at the forefront, but I could immediately tell it was the box cake recipe I was tasting.
Pros:
- Easiest to make
- Least expensive ingredients
- Most consistent results (I imagine)
Cons:
- tastes like a box mix
- preservatives
- it’s super fluffy, so I can’t imagine stacking them for wedding cakes being a good idea.
- the exterior color seems over-baked, even when the recipe is followed.
- dry, the taste is lacking, too airy
Cake #2: Doctored Box Mix Cake
We all know this is the recipe I use the most, so the making of the cake is similar to what I’m used to (if not exactly what I’m used to). So the real test with this one would be if I could pick it out in a blind taste test. Here is the recipe I used.
The batter is thick, and uses buttermilk, sour cream, pure vanilla, egg whites, vegetable oil, and of course, the cake mix. I hand whisked up the wet ingredients, then sifted in the dry. I then split the thick batter evenly between the three 6″ cake rounds and baked them in the oven for 325 for 25 minutes. They came out of the oven flat, and came out of their pans really well. The exterior color wasn’t as white as the scratch cake mix, but wasn’t as dark as the plain cake mix cakes. It rose up pretty well, and the inside crumb was visually similar to the box cake mix, too. It was uniform, and didn’t have any notable air pockets.
When we taste-tested this one (with the ends cut off so all we could see was white cake crumb), I knew it was mine right away by taste alone. It was fluffy, flavorful, light (but not too light), and ridiculously moist. It was thick, but not dense.
Pros:
- Easy to make
- Uses more ingredients to make have better flavor & texture
- Most consistent results.
- Thick, but not dense. Moist, and not crumbly.
Cons:
- Still tastes like a box mix. You can’t get around that.
- Preservatives, again.
- You will get flack for baking with it, even if it is doctored up.
- It’s not “from scratch”
Cake #3: Scratch Cake
Out of respect for other bakers in the baking community, I will not be releasing the name this recipe belongs to. However, for the sake of sharing the ingredient list, this cake included egg whites, vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk, butter, sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. So if you took out the dry ingredients, you basically have what I add to my doctored cake mix, then add in the pre-measured dry ingredients, right? See what I’m getting at? 😉 Anyway, I’m getting off track. Let’s dive into this one…
This recipe baked up 4 cake rounds, but I dismissed one of them from the photos to compare the three cakes more evenly. I whipped up the batter (which uses a mixer instead of just a whisk and bowl like the others), measured all my ingredients correctly, and minded every instruction to prevent a dry or dense cake, and split the thick batter between the four 6″ cake rounds. I baked them up, making sure to not overbake them, and let them cool to room temperature just as I did the others.
The cake rounds for the scratch cake mounded more than the other two recipes, so I imagine the amount needed to cut off to make them “flat” would take away from some of the cake that actually makes it onto the cake. Cake scraps aren’t a problem, though, right? But I want to use all my cake in my cake, if you know what I mean. The crumb wasn’t as uniform as the other two, and had a few notable air pockets.
Next, the taste test. This is what I was most curious about. I’ve made so many cakes from scratch, and I’ve made so many doctored cake mixes. I’ve been told by thousands of my followers that when they’ve gotten to this taste-test in their baking journey, that they’d always choose mine. How would I know for sure unless I did this for myself, and that they weren’t just being kind because they’re my followers? (love you guys!). I cut off the outside of the cake rounds so they would look just like the others. Then… I tasted them.
I’m sure this doesn’t speak for all scratch cakes, but this particular one was super dry, dense, and tasted like a dry flour muffin. The overall taste and texture was lacking. I was really disappointed, because I really wanted the scratch cake to be as great as I thought it should have been. Alas, I didn’t enjoy it. Maybe with an obscene amount of my buttercream would it be up to par. I was so surprised. Very surprised.
That was MY opinion, and these are MY results, but what about everyone else? My husband was up first. I had him close his eyes and one by one placed a cube of cake into his mouth. He immediately recognized mine, and immediately knew which was the scratch one. He thought it was a joke. It was no joke, man.
Next up was my neighbors. I gave 17 of them three individual unmarked cubes of cake and had them tell me their favorite 1-3. Yeah, almost, if not all, were 1. Doctored Mix, 2. Box Mix, and then 3. Scratch.
But how could this be? Scratch is supposed to be better than anything and everything, right? This is the reason why I get attacked in the comment section? This is the reason why so many bakers make sure “Scratch” is listed on their baking businesses? REAL bakers bake from scratch? How could it even be possible for the scratch cake to come out on bottom, to the point of people asking me if they were being punked, haha. Again, it could just be the recipe, and I don’t think I made any mistakes while baking it up, so this test left me with these results. Not just regular results, but screaming results that I can move forward me encouraging bakers from all over the world to continue baking from a doctored box mix recipe as a choice in their baking arsenal.
Pros:
- no preservatives
- more sturdy for wedding cakes, etc.
- you most likely always have the ingredients on hand
- it uses butter, which I love using in anything I bake
- the color and height are great
- you can tell people you made it from scratch 😉
Cons:
- taste is unpleasant compared to the other two, in my opinion.
- more margin for error. There’s so much that can go wrong. So it’s less fool proof.
- uses butter instead of oil, so it tends to be more dry and dense. Oil cakes tend to be more fluffy. This cake was dry. I didn’t overbake or overmix it.
- texture was more like a dense muffin with too much flour in it (and yes, I measured the flour correctly).
Conclusion:
I was nervous to do this taste test. I don’t know why – I should have just trusted my followers when they told me what would happen. And it did. I was open-minded to the possibility of the scratch cake being better, I really was. I would have made an entire cookbook with scratch recipes to “redeem” myself. But I confirmed what I already knew: there’s more than one way to make a cake, and there’s a couple ways that taste better than others. Are they always easier? Not particularly. But there most definitely was a taste/texture difference. I wish I could have passed it out to more than 15-20 people in my neighborhood. For the ones I received, it was 92% preferred the doctored cake mix. The others preferred the box mix, and there was one that liked scratch mix.
Again, like I said at the beginning, everyone is allowed and encouraged to bake according to what they love most, without any discrimination or feeling “less than.” I’m just grateful I felt justified this week in continuing to build confidence all across the globe with a box mix and a little magic to make it taste “better than scratch.”
If you haven’t tried a scratch cake, box mix, or a doctored mix, I encourage you to try them all and decide for yourself based on taste which one you love most. Whichever that is, go for it! Bake on, bakers! 🙂 I’m here for you either way, and can’t wait to do more tests with other flavors, too. Who knows what will happen next? I’m here for it!
In conclusion, I think it would be great for all bakers to try each method and find out for themselves which works best for them. Some people prefer the taste of scratch, some just the plain box mix. It’s up to you! I challenge you to test all three in your kitchen and tell me how it goes! I’d love to hear about it. Make sure to tag me on IG @bakingwithblondie. 🙂
xo,
Mandy
The only thing I have to say is there are a million different cake recipes from scratch, so there are possibly better tasting ones than the one you made from scratch. I’ve actually never tasted one of your doctored cake recipes because it’s not how I grew up baking. I’d be interested to try a doctored one and try it against my scratch recipe! Thank you for making this post and taking the time for it!!
Hi Christen, I agree that there are millions out there. I’m always up to taste testing a new one if you have one you’d like to send my way! You are so welcome – I’m happy to help and try to show what I’ve found while learning more about this in my kitchen. 🙂
My favorite is the King Arthur Flour Tender White Cake. I use half yogurt and half milk in the liquid. It is put together differently than a traditional cake but the results are the best ai have found. I used to love the Pilsbury Natural Cake mix but I believe they stopped making it. I will use cake mixes when making large sheet cakes but all birthday cakes are scratch. I’ll try your doctored one next sheet cake.
I am 120% ok with your doctored cake mix cakes and I am never afraid to say it!!! I know, I am not in the public eye like you, but I get so excited to tell people and see their reactions because they are always shocked!!! My entire family says that I have now set the birthday party cake bar really high and that I am the designated cake maker for all occasions! (totally fine with that! 😉) Thank you for putting in the work, and letting us all reap the benefits!! I am so appreciative that I can confidently present a dessert, make people happy, and know it’ll always turn out tasting amazing!!
Hi Angela! 120% is pretty good! 😉 What you described here is totally my goal! I love that you’ve built your confidence and are bringing your family together! This is the BEST part of what I do. I’m so proud of you!!!
Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!! I am SO happy you did this! I totally feel like you just validated everything in my cake life! I started making cakes from “she who shall not be named” thinking that this is the “best” way to make a cake. She does it, she’s basically famous, and her cakes look perfect. She couldn’t be popular without a killer cake recipe? Well I’m here to tell you that over 10 cake trials from “she who shall not be named” and I was totally stumped at how everything I thought was exactly OPPOSITE! And I was left with dry, dry, disappointing (and expensive) hockey pucks! I tried so many times because I thought, it must be ME! Couldn’t possibly be her! Then I came across your page and you changed my cake game! THIS is what cake should taste like girl! I want a moist delicious cake, and that is what is achieved with your recipes every time! I feel so much better getting all that off my chest. Haha You’re incredible! Thank you for your positive outlook and for some dang good cake recipes!
Shay
Hi Shay! I felt the same way – if it’s from scratch, it must be better, right? Not always, and certainly not in my case with my testing this week! We can save the hockey pucks now for hockey, eh? 😉 Thank you for believing and trusting me enough to try my recipes – I’m so happy you’ve fallen for them and see through the mirage.
I’m with you, I’ve have been baking for a long time and have done all three methods. Forget just the mix, but I’ll back you up and say doctored usually bakes better. I think you can make scratch chocolate cakes that might taste as well. But most flavored cakes are better doctored. So, my theory is do both, and be proud!!! Some of my best cakes are doctored! Thanks for doing the test.
Hi Linda! I LOVE that you tried out multiple methods for yourself to see which ones works best for you in your kitchen! That’s what it’s all about! I think I should do a chocolate taste test next, what do you think? Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to send my way? 🙂
Yes, do chocolate next! Your doctored cake recipe is my go to for white, confetti, strawberry and lemon but I only use bake scratch for chocolate and red velvet. Mainly because the recipe I use is the tried and truly the best IMO and I’m kinda scared to stray from it. I don’t think a choc box cake could ever beat it! (Beatty’s Choc cake recipe from Ina Garten is my not so secret recipe BTW) 😉
Will do! Chocolate and red velvet are next for sure!
I love this! Any tips on doctored mix for yellow cake mix?
Hi Sahiba! I sure do! It’s currently in my Cake Confidence cookbook 🙂
I LOVE how amazing your cakes look, hats off to you for your outstanding baking and decorating skills. And it’s great that you’ve found a method that consistently works great for you with the doctored cake mix. Not sure however what the point of this test was? To prove to yourself your method is the best for you whatever the haters say? You don’t need to do that – you do you. However, I think you should at least have included more than one from scratch recipe in the test to make the results more representative. There are so many different recipes – maybe the results would have been completely different?
Hi Hannah! Thank you for your comment. I understand that there are so many scratch cake recipes out there (I believe I addressed that in my post) 🙂 – millions, even! And that’s great. And yes, there could be one out there that tastes similar, if not better, than the other two that I tried along with it this week. Feel free to send any/all my way and I’ll do this again. My guess is that we’d still be in the same place, but that’s the fun of it – we can try try try again and see if we come out the same, or see if there’s something different next time. The point of my test was to prove that my recipes hold their own against even the most popular scratch cake recipes, I’m sick of being persecuted for it, and left everyone with my results and the challenge to try this test on their own and see what happens. 🙂
Ive tried a few of your recipes and they’re amazing. I use a variety of doctored cake mixes and from scratch and I really dont see what the issue is and why people are so mean about things like that! If someones poured their heart into a recipe book its so cruel to judge it like that. I saw loads of those reviews on amazon and all I could think was wow – harsh. Who cares? If a recipe is awesome ans gives great results wtf is everyone moaning about , Cake is cake!!!! This blog was really interesting to read , keep doing you! 😘 xx
Hi Mel! Thank you! 🙂 Totally agree. Cake is cake!
Hi mandy, I just want to say thank you for all those incredible pastries that you share, you have inspired many people including me 🙋🏼♀️ you are an incredible pastry chef, very successful !!
PS: if I use melted butter on your white cake it will work well as a substitute for oil?
Hi Tanya! You are so welcome, thanks for being here! Yes, you can use melted butter to replace the oil for sure.
This taste test isn’t a surprise. I also don’t think those scratch cakes look very pretty hahaha.
But, I tend to find “cake blogger” (sorry, I don’t mean it to sound rude, but you know those “other ladies”) scratch recipes to just not be the it recipe for me. They’re always a little disappointing. So if I’m baking from scratch, I’m relying on someone like King Arthur Flour or America’s Test Kitchen. I’ve had way better luck with their recipes for the actual cake rounds.
In your testing did you try any of the healthier cake mixes or something like the Pillsbury preservative free? My big thing even with doctored mixes is that flavor that I can only assume is the preservatives or maybe things that make the cake more moist? Who knows.
I love your book! I hope you’ll have another soon!!
Hi Jen! Those are both really great resources! I love that. I sure did taste test other box mix recipes, including the gluten free one. That post will go live tomorrow. 🙂
It would be super interesting to do this experiment with a chocolate cake too! I’ve followed you awhile and while I don’t often bake using a cake mix, I have found that my vanilla cakes from scratch are usually not as good as my chocolate ones. They’re always dryer. I have pretty good success with chocolate cakes, and a kid with food allergies, so I stick to scratch chocolate cakes. But I don’t judge using cake mix and will use one for vanilla cakes with no problem. Companies have spent a lot of money figuring out the right ingredients to hook buyers, it’s no wonder cake mix tastes good. For people who want to know exactly what is in their food (allergy sensitive folks for example) they may prefer making their own from scratch. There’s no excuse for being nasty in comments or reviews though, but that’s the Internet for you. You make lovely cakes and treats, ignore the mean folks.
Hi Rachel! I totally agree – I think I want to try chocolate or red velvet next. I’ve heard that, too! I’m hoping the chocolate cake from scratch has better results, for sure. It’s so true! Cake mixes have come a long way. And yes – food allergies, totally do what is needed always! 🙂
I couldn’t agree more! The debate btwn box – vs – scratch will go on til the end of time. I tell my students bake what makes you happy, while always looking for ways to challenge your skills & pallet. if baking for for family, friends & customers bake what they enjoy. When it comes from the oven, it’s homemade with love. I use box, doctored & scratch. Depends on what & who I’m baking for.
I’ve even tried some of your recipes and enjoyed them very much!
One question- for this taste test why didn’t you use one of your from scratch recipes instead of another bakers?
Happy baking everyone 😁
Mimis cake decorating school
Hi Mimi! It’s so true – the debate will go on and on, and that’s totally fine! Bake what makes you happy :). I used another baker’s recipe to prove something to myself I had always wondered. Yes! Happy baking everyone! one and all! 🙂
First of all, I completely agree with yours and your neighbors results! I decorate and sell cakes here in Utah and use your recipes all the time! I am much better at the decorating part than the baking part… first, they are consistent! I never wonder whether they will turn out right. I’ve tried other scratch recipes wondering if they would taste better, but they are usually lacking in flavor (especially white cakes) and dry (just like you found). Every time I use your recipes I get rave reviews! I’m not ashamed of using doctored mixes, they speak for themselves! Thank you for creating wonderful and consistent recipes! You’re amazing!
McKenzie – I love this!! Thanks so much for trusting me to share these recipes with you! It sounds like they’re a hit! You go, girl!
I haven’t been baking as much since I’ve been working from home but the cakes of yours I’ve brought into the office? Rave reviews, with one coworker telling me it’s the best cake he’s ever had in his life. I don’t understand the haters on social media. Whatever happened to “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything”? If you don’t like cake mixes, don’t use them. If you don’t like an account, unfollow. I will never understand the need some people seem to have to trash people online. Thanks for all your positivity and delicious cake recipes. You keep doing you!
Annette! Thank you so much for this! I agree – if it’s not for you, then either give it a chance to see if it is, or move on without hate. You’re so nice, and I love that about you. Thank you!!
I have made several cakes for birthdays and anniversaries; and from my experience people have loved my “doctored up cakes”. They have cared more about the decorations and toppings and flavor than to ask me if I make the cake itself from scratch or from a box.
I support the doctored up cake 😊
I love this!!!! It makes me feel better about some of the choices I make. I always bake from scratch unless its a birthday cake for bigger audience. I tried to bake a birthday cake from scratch this year, a bigger cake and it was way below my box mix( I use Betty Crocker). I love the taste and the fact the box cakes are foolproof and I don’t mind once or twice a year having something with preservatives. Never tried doctored mix, will definitely have a go.
Thanks for doing the research.
Hi Daniela! The doctored mix will rock your world! 🙂
Mandy, you are awesome! I’m obsessed with your recipes, (patiently…ok impatiently, waiting on cookbook number 2) hint hint! I say who cares how it’s made as long as it tastes good. You’re flavors are always spot on. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Ps, chocolate taste test next please🙂
Hi Holly! Same :), can’t wait for #2, too! Thank you so so much. Yes, chocolate next for sure.
I have made several cakes for birthdays and anniversaries and people care more about the cake decoration and toppings. I mean, they care about the flavor too – but the doctored up cake tastes perfectly good.
I support doctored up cake 😊
Hi Shally! Yay! Love to hear this.
Mandy I love your doctored cake recipes and you! I love that you wanted to see for yourself what worked for you and are encouraging other bakers to do what works for them. No hate just love! You are a shining light on social media and you give so many bakers the confidence to make incrediable cakes. Thanks!!!
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much! All love – just showing what I found in my kitchen and challenging others to do the same! 🙂
I always “cheat” making carrot cake, by adding fresh grated carrots, crushed pineapple, raisins and nuts to a spice cake mix. Not as much “good stuff” as you’re using, but makes a darn good cake! I’ve been doing more “scratch” cooking this past year (pandemic cooking) and noticed I have to be super careful using baking soda and baking powder in biscuits and brownies. Even though I run them through a sifter with some flour (helps spread them around) if there is any tiny lump, my kid will get it and make a sour face. I enjoy the challenge of finding a good scratch recipe, but the consistent results from mixes are nothing to sneer at.
I love that idea. It’s true – those kiddos will keep us honest! Thank you so much for your comments about this!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I also use a doctored cake mix from a box, and get nothing but rave reviews from every person that eats it. I started cakes just for my family, but have grown into a small business. I found you on IG, and can’t wait to dive into more that you have to offer. 😊
This is the BEST! I’m so happy you found me and are baking up a storm! You go, girl!
I loved reading your results. I’m a scratch baker. It’s who I am. I can’t get past that weirdish flavor in boxes cake mixes. I’ve tried some really tasty doctored cake mix cakes but that artificial flavor was still discernable. That being said a cake baked with love is a cake baked with love regardless of the method. I’m going to keep doing me and bake from scratch. I love that your recipes have opened up the joys of baking to so many who otherwise would have been too intimidated to try.
I’d be curious to learn your results with chocolate cakes. I’ve yet to taste a chocolate cake better than Baked’s Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake. The cake is perfection. (The frosting and caramel are delicious but sooo much work.) It’s my go to chocolate cake. I use coffee instead of hot water. Tender, moist, consistent crumb with deep dark chocolate flavor
I totally agree – love is the most important ingredient in any cake :). I definitely will repeat the test with Chocolate cake!
I am more of a cook than a baker but I LOVE to bake and get creative with decorating cakes for friends/family. So for me, measuring scratch ingredients is too tedious for me and love your book and the doctored recipes. It’s a good balance IMO. Only comment I get from family is they feel the doctored cakes can be a bit too sweet for their taste, especially after I coat it in buttercream. Do you have any tips and advice in how I could use your doctored recipes and balance the sweetness in the cake a little more for these groups of people (usually older aunts/uncles).
Ps- your purpose in this life is beautiful, keep baking and sharing your knowledge. It’s truly something special and appreciated!
This makes me so happy! Thank you!! For the sugar issue, I can’t control the amount of sugar in the cake (that’s all in the mix!). However, the buttercream we can definitely work on. I know there are some great sugar subs, or even different types of buttercream that are less sweet (swiss meringue buttercream, italian buttercream, french buttercream, etc) that might be a better fit for what you’re looking for.
I remember finding your instagram and seeing your gorgeous cakes and being like oh man I got to try these! Then feeling skeptical/disappointed when I saw all of your cakes were doctored. Well that didn’t last long. I gave one of your recipes a go and I was convinced! I use both scratch recipes and yours when I make cakes for office birthdays and YOURS are the ones that always get the “this is your best cake yet!” Comment. Your recipes are delicious and there’s no denying it. Thank you for always sharing them!
THIS IS MAKING MY LIFE RIGHT NOW. 🙂 Thank you!!!!
I make all my cakes from scratch- besides your doctored white cake. I used to turn up my nose to box mix, refused to doctor one and was determined to make a perfect scratch cake. I tried a dozen recipes before finding yours and it is absolutely THE best white cake. My friends and family request it for every birthday!
This makes me so happy! Thank you so much for giving it a chance!
I’m wondering if it would have been a more “true” blind experiment if you had used an oil based white cake scratch recipe. I’m not sure if there are that many, but I feel like it would have been a more fair comparison.
I used to use your doctored cake recipes, and looooved them. I recently got an autoimmune disease though, so I avoid preservatives and colorings and artificial flavors as a result. I do miss the simplicity, measuring flour without a weight is such a pain. I figure i could buy a fancy organic cake mix and do a doctored cake recipe again, but that seems a bit of a waste.
I agree – the recipe I used was butter instead of oil, and the other two were oil cakes. Next time I’d be curious to see what the results would be for sure! I’m so sorry about your diagnosis – hang in there! Your health is everything!
It would be nice if you included HOW MUCH buttermilk, sour cream, pure vanilla, egg whites, and vegetable oil is added to the cake mix. I couldn’t see that info anywhere (and you didn’t give it on the ksl segment either)
I linked the full recipe on the post, on my website, on my Instagram page, and on the Studio 5 website. If you also search for “white cake” on my website, it should pop right up.
Totally agree, White scratch cakes are so dense, they’re really not enjoyable at all!!! I finally tried your doctored white cake recipe a while ago and I’ll never look back.
It would be interesting to see the results of chocolate cake though!!!
There is NOTHING wrong with using a cake mix, doctored cake mix or scratch. Personal preference, as you say. I do have a scratch White Velvet cake recipe that I use most of the time for white. Velvet is a very good word for it! You can stack it fine just don’t try to carve it. This same cake maker has a white cake that stands up to carving but is not as palatable, to me, as the Velvet. I won’t say where I got it. If you would like to take a look, let me know. 😊 I have your cookbook and it’s wonderful!❤️
THANK YOU for this!! I too am on a mission to CELEBRATE easy baking rather than shame it! Isn’t it AWESOME that I didn’t have to drag out a bunch of ingredients, measure precisely and then pray that everything worked while cleaning everything up? Isn’t it awesome that I can start with something inexpensive and approachable, add some basic ingredients and have it come out AMAZING? I’ve never understood why people can be so snobby about that. If it tastes good, who the hell cares. I think baking should be fun an approachable, not intimidating and time-consuming if it doesn’t have to be. Normalize convenience, celebrate time-saving, and honor easy baking. YES girl.
I found your experiment very interesting! I have your Cake Confidence cookbook and make most of my cakes out of there. They always turn out moist and I get lots of compliments on them. Once in a while I decide to try something different or want a specific flavor of a “from scratch” cake I come across. I have always been disappointed in my “from scratch “ cakes as they turn out just as you described. Drier and denser. My husband has already told me I should just stick with your recipes as they are always moist and good!😊 Thanks for helping me bake delicious cake!
I have to say I read a few of the negative comments on Amazon, I’m getting the book anyway, because I NEED IT!
Let me say that if only cakes from “Scratch” were worthy of baking and eating, and there was no such thing as a boxed cake, I would have never tasted a cake growing up.
My Mother had 7 Kids, and never had the time to bake from scratch. We would have had no memory of that special cake for Holidays and Sunday Dinners.
About 30 years ago, My first experience with a “scratch” cake was dismal, and it went in the garbage. I went through a period of time that I never baked cakes, but since I have 4 Grandsons now, I want to be able to present something on the holidays and Birthdays that looks festive, and tastes good too..
I have time now to practice frosting techniques and I want to do this “thing” that I call Creative Cake Decorating, just for my family.
While I have tried-and-true scratch recipes for my “main cakes,” what I wanted was a resource for those one-off cakes that I don’t make often, that I wouldn’t have to scour the internet for and test several times. Enter your book. I’ve really enjoyed it and hey, sometimes in a pinch I’ve used a doctored box white cake. (My scratch recipe includes butter AND oil, so it stays moist.) You’re never going to please everyone on the internet, right? Taste is still the most important thing to me when baking for others!
I make cakes, and cookies, for kids parties and actually a few corporate events and social gatherings, I’ve tried many many recipes… after I bought your book its the only thing I use, consistant everytime, thank you for making my life easier!
I used the doctored recipe for a wedding cake I made a couple of weeks back… it’s honestly fantastic. Everyone raved about how moist and amazing it was. You’re a genius! 😉
I want to let you know that I sell your cakes and I’ve been told that they compare to cakes that they have spent WAY more on of course they don’t know! But I now have a local restaurant that is buying them and serving them with amazing reviews. You’ve given me so much confidence to grow my business. Thank you so much. @krisrinblissfuldelights
Very good article. I’m a cottage baker that advertises from scratch, I feel like baking a delicious from scratch cake isn’t something that everyone can do, and I’m proud that I can. I do love a doctored mix though! In fact, I’ve never found a strawberry scratch recipe that is better than a doctored mix.
I’m so glad you did this! I’ve been making doctored cake mixes for years and always get rave reviews on them! People who “don’t even like cake” Like my doctored cake mixes. I’m so happy to see your comparison – I have definitely felt that concern of not being seen as a “true baker” because I use doctored box mixes. But this gives me more confidence going forward, knowing that the doctored mix cakes come out on top in your comparisons too! You’re amazing, thanks for sharing your amazing talents!! 🙂
I’ve made lots of cake mixes and doctored cake mixes, but now I live overseas where it’s extremely difficult to get any cake mix. I’ve done a lot of experimenting and found a decent white-ish cake recipe from scratch. With a good recipe, you can have a delicious, moist vanilla cake. However, the scratch cake will never, ever be as light and fluffy as the cake mix. Even when you are very, very careful how you mix it all, it will still be more dense But I’m thankful to have found a recipe for scratch cake that my kids can still enjoy for birthdays when there’s no cake mix available. Also, specialty cakes like Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake (with to-die-for hot fudgy icing), and Carrot Cake from scratch never disappoint.