But what if you just want a quick cake (or batch of cake batter…)?!
And this is where my old friend, Betty Crocker, comes in.
I have been using cake mixes for years. Ever since I discovered their brilliance I have delighted in the extensive range which is now available in supermarkets. I really do not understand the taboo which comes with saying you have used a cake mix to produce a nice-tasting cake. Is there really any shame in buying a box of the dry ingredients already weighed out for you in perfect amounts? In a quantity which is easy to predict? And that you know will bake well? For me it is often a very cost-effective way to produce a cake because there are no wasted ingredients or anything special which I’ve had to buy and will only use once (red food colouring… I’m looking at you).
Some days you want the main focus to be on the decoration of the cake. Or maybe you just can’t be bothered traipsing all over the supermarket for all the different dry ingredients some cakes need. Or maybe it’s 7pm and your child has just announced they need a cake for the next day for a bake sale and you’re not prepared to let that bitch who outshone you over the easter bonnets lord over you that you failed to perform. Again.
This isn’t to say I don’t think we should be creative with our bakes because we absolutely should. But I also think that there are many a time and a place where a trusty box of cake mix is absolutely necessary.
So, put those scales away and embrace the warm, cosy knowledge that at least your cake will taste great even if your Peppa Pig icing sculpture skills leave much to be desired.