Terminalcoffee discussion
Food / Drink
>
Cake Mixes vs. Making Cakes From Scratch>OMG! Cake Frosting Recipes HERE!!!
I like cakes from scratch the best. I have some recipes that are basically just as easy as mixes and taste fantastic. The density of cakes from scratch definitely varies unlike the springy mix cakes. Of course, mixes have their place when time is short and a foolproof cake is needed.Now, I think premade frosting is so super nasty. I just taste chemicals and every different flavor has the same base taste. Bleh. Homemade frosting every time for me whether it's buttercream, fluffy marshmallowy frosting, or a chocolate ganache like frosting. Mmmm.
I like cakes from scratch because I know exactly what's going in them. For Christmas, I made spice cupcakes with caramel frosting and fudge cupcakes with peppermint frosting. They were so delicious, and unique. The caramel frosting is ridiculously time-consuming, but the peppermint frosting was super-easy. The fudge cupcakes were a bit complicated because they required some melted baking chocolate. The spice cupcakes (from my favorite spice cake recipe) were super easy.
Mod
I really love baking, and cakes are one of the most fun things to make.
Frosting, however, is super difficult for me. I like cream cheese frosting the best. But butter cream or any kind of chocolate ends up being either too goopy or too runny, so especially if the cake needs to look nice, like if I'm giving it as a gift, I'll go ahead and use storebought for that.
I like to put on my ridiculously high heels and make cakes from a mix. Then I put on my stained and worn leather clogs and make frosting from scratch.
Mary wrote: "I like to put on my ridiculously high heels and make cakes from a mix. Then I put on my stained and worn leather clogs and make frosting from scratch."Same here.
Basic frosting is not hard. It's butter and powdered sugar, plus whatever flavoring you want in it. Maybe some orange juice and orange zest, maybe some almond extract, maybe some cocoa. Okay, usually cocoa. :)I agree with Mandy that storebought frosting tastes strongly of chemicals.
I am not a fan of cake mixes, for the reasons Bun stated. On the other hand, brownie mix rocks!
I have been dubbed the Queen of the Cake Mix by my family. I love cakes made from scratch but I don't usually have time to whip those up, so I alter the cake mixes instead. I usually end up adding a heaping spoonful of sour cream to a mix, then adding more spices/flavors that compliment the mix like dark chocolate shavings or almond extract or extra cinnamon & nutmeg. This can make any mix really yummy & moist. Frosting is a different matter, however. As Mandy said, they all taste so chemically. Cream cheese frosting is really easy and you can flavor it in so many ways. But, the BEST frosting EVER is one we use for Bdays & such all the time. It's a mixture of cream cheese & whipped cream & brown sugar. It's to die for! :)
I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested.
Oh, yes, please, Sher...and a basic (and I mean BASIC:) frosting recipe, too, anyone...thanks.
from scratch of course. i have a lot of childhood memories where i try to meassure ingredients, or break eggs, then fish all the eggshells from the batter, and a huge fight afterwards to decide who gets to lick the leftover batter from the bowl.
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
Happy to help with your chocolate frosting needs, RA. :)
What brand are you using? To be honest I get so many compliments from my Betty Crocker cakes and frosting that I always tell everyone that I make my cakes from scratch (White lies never hurt anyone). We have this show here called "The Shopping Bags" it's a product testing and review show, and they rated Betty Crocker to be their favourite cake mix. Just use milk instead of water and they turn out fab.
I made these for my Dad, they are so cute I had to post them.
Those are the cutest cupcakes Bonnie!!
Mod
I think "peculiar" is a peculiar word. :)
Okay, here's our favorite frosting for chocolate cake. For the cake I usually mix a Devil's food & a German choc cake mix together, which will fill 3 9" cake pans. We usually freeze the extra one for later. Don't forget to add to the mix sour cream, a bit of vanilla and extra cocoa powder or shaved baking chocolate for richness.Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 large Cool Whip or 1 pint whipping cream, whipped very stiffly
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed well
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Beat together cream cheese, brown sugar, salt & vanilla until light and fluffy. Then fold in the whipped cream until it is entirely incorporated. Don't beat this with a mixer or your frosting will go flat.
Split 2 9" cake rounds in half (you can use a long piece of thread wrapped around the center of the cake, then pull through to split it) and top each layer with frosting. Secure the 2nd and 4th layers with toothpicks as you go, otherwise the cake may slide. This will give you a tall 4 layered cake. Dust with a bit of cocoa or shave chocolate on top. *Keep in the refridgerator until ready to serve, or else the frosting may "melt"*
Warning: this cake is addictive and prone to give the over-eater a very full tummy!
To go along with Cosmic Sher's deliciously awesome sounding frosting...my favorite devil's food chocolate cake recipe. So yummy and easy. I think they may be a match made in heaven.* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 1 cup hot coffee
* 1 cup milk or soy milk
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add oil, coffee and milk and mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes. Expect batter to be thin.
3.Pour into a 9" x 13" greased and floured pan or 2- 9" round pans. Bake 9 x 13 pan for about 45 minutes or 9" pans for about 30 minutes. Cool in pans for about 15 minutes and then cool completely on racks.
Oh Mandy, I think I hear wedding bells! That sounds absolutely scrumptious. I may have to try a little baking this weekend. :)
Ok, I decided to start easy and go with the frosting recipe Jackie posted back in post #14, and man, it turned out great! Thanks! Perfect hangover cure. The kids liked it, too...my nine year old, however, said, "I can still taste the egg" although no eggs were included...pictures of the complete cake later. We bought a decorating gun, so this could get interesting.
Kids + Decorating Gun = AwesomeOh, and N rocks with his Bob addition. Love that name. I use it as a pet name for everyone. If someone knows me long enough I inevitably end up calling them Bob.
Awesome cake! It looks like an aerial view of a gummy bear guerilla war. :)
You could've saved a bit of money on the decorating gun, though... and just cut a hole in the corner of a ziploc bag... works like a charm every time.
Ha, thanks, people. Yes, Mindy, "Bob" is a go-to name around for the boys here when they're picking on each other. The next option after "Bob" is "Esmerelda" so "Bob" usually works:) And yes, Jacks, N was making walls around some gummi bear factions:)I may try the ziploc thing next time, Jacks...I think the gun is good for working on the edges of cakes...like the raised edges...but for other parts a ziploc bag would work, I agree.
Mod
I have just bookmarked this page, but I'm sorry I read it now because I want cake RIGHT NOW!Sometimes when I get lazy all I do for frosting is whip chocolate powder or melted Ghiradelli chips with cream til it's very stiff, more like buttercream.
Oh and I'm one of those that likes (good) frosting more than the cake. I'm a complete child when it comes to corner pieces!
Frosting making today was messy but in a fun way. Powdered sugar is hard to control. But try Jackie's recipe, Sallers, it's easy.
Mod
Sally wrote: "I've tried that technique with little success. What with my shitty frosting making skills, and tendency to squeeze hard when I get frustrated I almost always burst the bag and make a big ol mess."Seriously, double bag it... triple bag if you need to - the smaller the hole you start off with, the better control you'll have over what comes out - the gallon sized bags seem to work best, IMO.
Mod
My auntie spent hundreds of $$$ to take a professional cake decorating class, and she's the one who shared that tip with me.
I use a Ziploc bag to frost too. But, you can buy this cool tip adapter that you put on the inside of the bag. Then you just change the tips out as you want. I never buy the decorator bags.http://www.wilton.com/store/site/prod...
I may have to try using Esmeralda. Now I just use "cupcake" or "princess" when harassing the husband. We'll have to see how he takes being called Esmeralda. hehehe.
So we made a cake today from scratch, start to finish! The oldest and youngest sons decorated with an army theme, including, ahem, red frosting blood. Also, the "from scratch" part wasn't hard at all, you guys were right, and gave me an excuse to clean out my cabinet.A couple notes:
1. The smell of "from scratch" cakes is so different than "mix" cakes. The smell of the former is better and permeates the entire house.
2. The cake is flatter but tastes heavenly.
Pics!
http://randomanthonyreturns.blogspot....
Your boys are so friggin cute! The cake turned out much cuter this time. :)
Excellent job RA, they seem to enjoy it.
Fantastic cake!! i vote they make my b-day cake this year. Love the army/blood theme.
Thanks, people! Buns, I owe you one and I thought of you while pulling the cake out of the oven because of one of your earlier posts:With a cake mix you get a particular kind of cake, sort of springy and fluffy and with a fairly strong taste of baking powder because the mixes have a lot of it.
When I first looked at the finished cake today I was all "wow, it's flat! Did I do something wrong?" But I remembered what you said, Buns, and then I tasted the cake and everything was fine. Maybe cake isn't always supposed to be all springy, eh?
I'm not ready for dulce de leche yet...maybe soon:)Two cakes this week...
Cake #1:
http://randomanthonyreturns.blogspot....
Cake #2
http://randomanthonyreturns.blogspot....
I've got to work on presentation a bit, but I tell you, baking is turning out to be a huge stress reliever. I swear, gathering the ingredients, putting them together, firing up the mixer, etc...my blood pressure plummets.
I got up yesterday and made blueberry/cranberry scones. Baking really can be a stress reliever, until you turn around and see the dishes.
Doing dishes is a stress reliever for me, too.
Okay, I can't relate to the doing dishes part, but baking has always made me happy. All the measuring and mixing and then the aroma of it in the oven just before its done. Heaven!If I was a real witch I imagine I'd be a kitchen witch doing magic in all my cooking. I do try to think happy thoughts, imagining pouring in love & peace & comfort in all my preparations.
My kids and I, as I think I mentioned in the Cake tv thread, have been making more cookies and cupcakes. Yesterday we did our first cake...the results...
http://randomanthonyreturns.blogspot....
The librarian pointed out that we could have made the frosting on our own fairly easily but for the first run-through I thought we'd use a mix and the frosting you buy right next to the mixes. I should have bought the gel with which to write, though, the other frosting isn't good writing material.
But I got to thinking...
Pros of cake mixes/premade frosting: Ridiculously easy, way easier than cookies, even, cheap, and still pretty good.
Cons of cake mixes/premade frosting: Not as much of a sense of accomplishment, all the cakes made from the mix taste the same.
What do you think? Next weekend we might make another cake from the box but make our own frosting this time. One step at a time:)