Box cake mix for a wedding cake?!?

If you're paying $$$ for the cake then YES it should be homemade. That's ridiculous! I would've laughed at her.......

Don't get me wrong, I like box cake mix in a pinch, but I too can be a dessert snob (my aunt is Betty-freaking Martha Crocktart) and I can tell when something is box and scratch.

And I would've hysterically laughed at her too! Call me a cake snob. For all that you could make it yourself for the $9.43 it would cost you to buy all the ingredients at the store. Please shop around and find someone to actually bake you your wedding cake.

Wow, I think I would have laughed in her face. You can make a box cake mix from home, so why pay her ... oh wait, because she's a professional! I've never heard of a bakery using boxed cake mix.

I agree with you. I don't like box cake at all. I make my cakes from scratch so there is NO way a box cake is going to be my wedding cake.

I think it really just depends on how much she's charging you for starters, and also the finished product. Did she let you have a tasting?

IMO - if she does use cake mix from the store and maybe adds her own ingredients or jazzes it up in some way to make it taste fabulous, then it doesn't really matter.

I don't think any of your guests will be able to identify Betty Crocker White Cake mix when they bite into it.... so for the right price, why not?

If you wanted a box cake mix, I am pretty sure you would of had someone else to do it. I wouldn't pay for that.

I made pineapple upside-down cupcakes for FH's birthday one year. I was having trouble with the scratch recipe translating into the cupcake size b/c it was too sugary and caramelizing way too much in the oven. I went to Whole Foods and talked to their pastry chef to ask for advice. She was like......."Why would you bake that from scratch? A lot of commercial bakeries use mixes too. We just purchase it commercially and then add extra rum/vanilla/cocoa/liqeur/whatever according to our recipe for each item. Why reinvent the wheel? The 'seasoning' is the hard part. Save your efforts for that."

I was like O.o.O.

When I make vanilla cupcakes now, I use box mix and I add extra vanilla and almond extract. Seriously - nobody knows.

WTF? Even at home I make cakes from scratch who the heck would PAY someone to make a box cake?! hahaha

Wow... is this lady a professional bakery? If so then I would seriously re-consider the type of business she is running.

If the woman is doing it as a side job then I can understand the need to use a box cake.

However, this is your wedding day and the cake should reflect whatever kind of elegance you are trying to bring forth. I would schedule a tasting with a few other bakeries and get a feel for what kind of cake you like. If you end up not liking one of the other bakeries then you can always use this lady as a back up plan.

I think a lot of bakers are using box mixes. At a bridal show last month my mom and I both commented several times that the samples tasted just like box mixes. It's sad but I think they are charging us for the decor and time it take to decorate them.

You would be surprised what bakeries use. Not saying that they go to Walmart and buy boxed cake mix but bakery suppliers do sell packaged mixes. I know this from experience. It's not like the grocery store kind but it's already premixed. When you purchase a cake, you are mostly paying for the decor and time put into the decor like Mek said.

I find this thread amusing because I was in the same boat when I first started my planning. My mom suggested a girl that I went to high school who got into making special event and wedding cakes. This girl uses box cake mix (like the stuff you get off the shelf at Walmart) and just decorates it. Her cakes are okay looking, but I was concerned about taste. My mom thought I was being a snob until she ordered one for my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. It was terrible. My grandma even said that she was glad I went with a real baker for my wedding cake.

I'm so glad I'm not the only cake snob! LOL. I was trying to find the most reasonable price since an aunt is paying for the cake, but I think I will try to find someone middle grounds, that is not expensive per say, but that the quality will be something I'm not ashamed of.

I went to one wedding last year and you could tell from across the room the levels were uneven and not stacked correctly. I would cry if that was me...

I bet you can totally tell when it's something really sweet - a lot of boxed cake mixes have this really sugary spongy taste, whereas homemade cakes tend to be a little more balanced out. Like my mom's chocolate sour cream cake. OMFG.

Speaking of cake, anybody have a good red velvet scratch recipe?

I LOVE baking and I love baking from scratch!! I'm not opposed to box cake either though.. For my "specialty cakes" I've made, I have used box cake and they come out just fine and delicious even! That's usually because I'm too lazy to go get all the ingredients and make a whole cake from scratch AND do the special decorations... and it depends on the flavor.
Some cakes you just need to do from scratch though.. like 5 spice carrot cake... yummmmmmmm...

Now that I know most bakeries use boxed cake though.. kinda am more inclined to make mine after all haha

I understand where your thoughts come from but I am not suprised at them using a box cake mix.

My aunt has been doing specialty cakes for years. She uses box mixes. The secret is in her homemade frosting and decor.

Interesting thread. I'm actually a huge food snob, but I grew up on the 3/$1 packs of mystery meat hot dogs at the cheap grocery store so my parents think its pretty funny what I won't eat now (shrug). I generally won't touch anything made with artifical sweetners, I prefer my meat to have a farm name on the label not a brand name, and I eat 90% organic. Yet with cakes, well it's interesting, I make my own cakes from scratch at home, most of the time. Once in a while theres a fail and I need the cake mix for a fall back plan (although the one in my cupboard says expired X/X/ 2010, so it's been a while). But I actually really dislike bakery cake I think its gross, it's too sweet I just don't like it. The really fancy place in our area makes gorgeous cakes, but they taste terrible. The grocery store is okay... but still if given the option I'd take Betty Crocker.

I say if the price is right and the design work is great, go for it.

I am not a professional baker but I have been baking for 40 years. My stepson asked me to make his wedding cake. After much ado and research. I ultimately made a 3-tiered cake using Duncan Hines boxed cake mix. The cake was an absolute hit!! Even the band wanted my business card, saying it was the BEST wedding cake they'd ever had. Of course I have no business card! Below is a picture that I used last year in a calendar I put together for 2024.

Good Luck with who you choose!

Gretchen Levesque