Personally, I like pie. Lemon Meringue Pie. Apple Pie. Berry Pie. Cheesecake. Yeah, that’s a pie more than a cake in my book. And since I’m a food snob, I’ve been making pies from scratch for a long time, since I was 10 and my dad conned me into it.
But, awhile ago I found out that my husband and children prefer cake. Humph! I was a little putoff — for several reasons.
1. I think pie’s better. And since I’m a know-it-all, bossy-big-sister, everyone should agree with me.
2. I bake good pies. (I think that goes along with the second half of #1)
3. I’m not that good at cake baking. I almost told them they were never eating cake again when my first attempts at a from-scratch layer cake ended like brick saucers.
Then, I put my food snob tendencies aside and tried a boxed cake mix. And it wasn’t bad. Yes, I know, it’s not as good for you as baked from scratch, but for birthdays when things are crazy and children are hyper, they are the way to go. Plus, I found this great cookbook called The Cake Mix Doctor. It lists tons of recipes that take a boxed mix and make it more. As if ease and convenience weren’t enough, if you combine sales and coupons, you can get a cake mix for a few quarters.
Two thumbs up for the cake fans in my house!
Related:
For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes every Tuesday.
For more cake-ish fun, come back on Thursday for The Birthday Cake Round Up.
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I have a secret to share. Boxed cake is normally moister. My friend made me a cake from scratch for my birthday. Being a self-professed food snob, she said that she wouldn’t “stoop” to use a boxed cake mix. Well, her cake was a bit dry :-/.
Though, boxed cake mix has the evil “partially hydrogenated soybean oil” in it.
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You already know this is one of the only things we don’t have in common… I’m not a pie person!
I’ve made cakes both ways and have come to the conclusion that I can make good homemade cupcakes, but my homemade cakes kind of flop. So to the box I go! I’ve yet to hear a complaint…
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I’m all about a boxed cake mix. I doctor it up according to the recipe. The VERY BEST wedding cake I’ve EVER had starts with a box… hmmm.
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YEA, thank you. I can’t believe I won. I hadnt been over in a little bit, as school kept me pretty busy last week. So thanks for letting me know.
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I think all those women of long ago would have used a cake mix if there had been one. I too like to play with them. But I am with you… pie rules!
Happy Tuesday from
Roberta Anne
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I’ve really enjoyed all these cakes posts as someone who can’t bake or decorate cakes. At all.
This was my first attempt at a two-layered cake. Needless to say, it didn’t turn out.
http://tinyurl.com/by4c8x
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