For over 100 years Dawn Foods has been developing professional baking ingredients including cake mixes, icings, frostings, flavours and fillings. Many of your favourite High Street cafes and coffee shops have been using Dawn cake supplies to keep thousands of happy customers coming back for more every day. Safe to say, their product development experts know a thing or two about baking and making cakes. We talked to them about why cake mixtures are ideal for small cake businesses and home baking enthusiasts who want to simplify and speed up baking processes.
Why should I use a cake mix?
- Quite simply, quality cake mixes are a quick and easy way to make cakes that taste great!
- Using pre-measured ingredients saves you precious preparation time. There’s no individual weighing, measuring or sifting which can also mean less waste because you don’t need to buy all the separate ingredients in pack sizes that outweigh your needs. This also means you could end up saving money too.
- A cake mix is relatively effortless and doesn’t require the same level of skill as scratch baking can take.
- Using a quality baking mix can help you get more reliable results because there is less room for error in cake preparation.
- Crucially, our cake mixes have been tried and tested to taste really good! Our research has suggested that people often can’t tell the difference in taste and texture between a cake mix cake, and a homemade cake baked from scratch. We believe there’s no shame in using a cake mix if the result is a delicious treat!
- There’s lots of choice of cake mix flavours, and often the mix suits a variety of different applications. You can use cake mixes to make easy celebration cake tiers and sheet cakes, as well as individual single serve bakes like biscuits, cookies, cupcakes, scones and muffins.
- The stabilisers used in cake mixes can help extend the shelf life of your cake which is useful if you need to make cakes in advance. This can help with flexibility in planning cake making into your schedule.
What is the difference between a cake base and a cake mix?
A cake base is a highly versatile pre-mix of ingredients that can be used for lots of different end results depending on how you customise the cake mixture or process during the preparation.
Cake base formulations are simple cake mixes that can be used alone to create a basic finished cake, but as the name suggests, a cake base is mostly recommended as a starting point for your chosen cake type. So, choose the type of cake you want to make and start with a cake base to help save some of the preparation time and effort.
The
Dawn Creme Cake Base, for example can be used to make anything from large sheet cakes to cupcakes, to steamed puddings. The
Carrot Cake Base will ‘do what it says on the tin’ with the addition of grated carrot, but can equally be used to make delicious fruit cakes when you substitute the carrot.
The value here is the speed and versatility that a cake base brings to your baking. Think of it as a kind of ‘one size fits more’ approach.
For even faster results, a cake mix generally requires less customisation or additional ingredients to produce the finished cake. Simply use it straight from the packet, add water and/or oil, and sometimes eggs depending on the instructions, and bake!
A cake mix is a lifesaver when you produce a lot of the same type of cake and want reliable results every time. That’s not to say you can’t add other things to a cake mix, you certainly can, but the value here with a cake mix is in the speed and consistency of your production.
What can I use Genoese cake mix for?
A Genoese cake is delicate and soft with a ‘foam-like’ spongey open texture. It works well with syrup, fillings and flavours so it’s a good all-rounder!
Genoese is often used in European-style patisserie baking and desserts and is also good for making layered birthday cakes. Particularly on-trend tall barrel cakes can be made with a
Genoese cake mix. Its light and airy structure means the multiple layers that create the height aren’t too dense and heavy when paired with layers of buttercream icing.
What’s the best cake to use for decorating with fondant and modelling paste?
For elaborately decorated cakes, you’ll benefit from a firm base, so Maderia cake is a good choice here.
A
Maderia cake mix will give you what’s known as a ‘close crumb’ texture. It is denser and moister than a Genoese cake. A Maderia cake will typically bake with a sturdy smooth surface which lends itself to being iced and will hold inclusions and decorations well.
Because Maderia cakes cut cleanly, it can be used for sculpted cakes too. Fairy castle?
Football cake? Animals or cars? You can rely on a Maderia cake mix to provide a good structural base, leaving you free to focus on the creativity of bringing the cake to life.
What is the best cake to use for making a wedding cake?
Of course, every bride and groom will have their own preference for their
wedding celebration, but for a traditional tiered or stacked wedding cake, Genoese works well as it’s good for making light and fluffy layers.
Maderia cake is also a popular choice for wedding cake. Applying
ready-to-roll fondant sugar paste can be easier on a more dense and firm cake. The Dawn Maderia Cake Mix has a good shelf life and freezes well. In a professional small business environment, bakers can make the cake ahead of time without the stress of last-minute baking disasters before the big day.
Is there a cake mix I can use to make a Swiss Roll?
Commonly used for making traditional Victoria Sponges, the
Dawn Plain Supersponge Mix pairs well with fillings like cream and jam, so can also be used for making Swiss Rolls. The Supersponge is a versatile cake mix to choose because you can make lots of different traditional cakes from just one bag of mix, so the cost per cake is low.
To make a traditional Yule Log for Christmas, the
Dark Devil’s Genoese Mix is a great option because it bakes flat and has a deliciously indulgent rich chocolate flavour – perfect for decadent Christmas celebrations.
choosing the best cake mix
Comments
There are currently no comments, be the first to comment.