They stay moist longer. Cake mixes are easy and they consistently turn out well when baked. Sometimes it's just quicker.
While cake mixes have a certain nostalgic comfort-factor, they typically taste flat, sugary, and vaguely chemically while the texture leaves a lot to be desired. Cakes made from scratch just taste better: rich, buttery, and moist with lots of sweet flavor nuances that make it hard to stop eating more.
Do professional bakers use box cake mix? You might be surprised to learn that many of the top bakeries use boxed cake mixes. They have definitely learned how to elevate boxed cake mix, for sure!
"I don't think anyone would be surprised to learn that most cake mixes are high in added sugar," says Breanna Woods, MS, RD, registered dietitian for Blogilates. According to the American Heart Association, most women should consume no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day, or 36 grams for most men.
CONS OF CAKE MIXES:
There are a ton of preservatives in them. They have a box mix taste to them, even if you add in other ingredients. It's not a scratch cake.
(ii) Disadvantages: Expensive, they usually don't taste as good as food baked from scratch, the photo on the front can be deceptive, they are often high in sugar, salt and low in fibre, they may contain additives.
When it comes to boxed cake mixes, Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines are cult classics. Either box can yield simple, reliable, and oh-so-yummy desserts. Most households probably have both in their pantry as they make life easier.
Milk: Add MILK, not water, when your box mix calls for liquid. The milk adds density, fat and, most importantly, extra flavor to your mix.
Mixing cake batters are better on a stand mixer. However, a hand mixer should suffice if you only work on a small amount. It can also depend on what kind of cakes you are making. If I'm making cakes that involve creaming, or whipping egg whites I prefer my stand mixer to get the job done easily and quickly.
It depends on the cake. Cake from a boxed mix with canned frosting, just slathered on the cake? That's cheaper to make at home. Once you start into homemade cakes, the math becomes trickier.
As for the taste, fresh eggs, butter, and high-quality ingredients produce a tastier cake than the artificial flavor and texture you get from store-bought or packaged cakes. That's what gives homemade cakes a homey and delicious taste that is incomparable. Baking cakes from scratch can be a fun experiment.
"Adding an additional egg creates a richer, fluffier cake," says Waterson. Tack on an additional egg than what's called for on the box while mixing, and mix as normal. Egg whites: Egg yolks contain more fat than egg whites. For a light, airy cake, swap out whole eggs for egg whites.
Sour cream adds moisture without thinning your batter the same way that a liquid would. That fact that sour cream delivers moisture without further thinning out a batter results in a cake with a very tender, very fine crumb.
As a professional baker, I too was impressed with the crumb on both the Pillsbury and Betty Crocker cakes, but Betty Crocker has a more even texture, better flavor, and is more moist.
Essentially, butter contains 80 percent fat while oil is 100 percent fat; replacing butter with oil adds more fat to a Betty Crocker cake mix. Because oil has less saturated fat, it may be a healthier alternative.
Overmixing your batter will produce an overly-dense cake.
That's why Thomas told INSIDER to "try not to overmix, as this will activate the gluten in the flour and make your cake dense."
Add an Extra Egg
Most cake mixes call for two to three eggs. Just one more egg will add extra moisture, fat, and a little protein, which means the cake will be softer and less likely to overbake and dry out in the oven.
The fact is, adding eggs produces a superior cake. Proteins in the egg help provide the cake's structure, while the fats in the yolk make it richer and keep the texture becoming chewy. The yolk also contains emulsifiers that help the ingredients blend together smoothly.
Unhealthiest: Carrot Cake
Carrot cake does contain healthy ingredients, such as carrots and nuts, but it is also loaded with fat and sugar.
Carrot cake
This dessert is usually loaded with oil, butter, cream cheese, and sugar in addition to carrots making it difficult to fit into a healthy diet. The average slice of carrot cake contains 800 calories, with 480 of these calories coming from fat.