My husband knows to expect the unusual sometimes in our family's quest for real food. So, he wasn't surprised when we celebrated his birthday with not one, but two competing cakes. He likes carrot cake. I mixed up a common boxed variety, plus an old-fashioned made-from-scratch cake from a popular cookbook recipe. Both had a homemade cream cheese frosting.
The most obvious difference was the amount of real carrots in the two cakes. The homemade one contained three cups of grated carrots, which required about seven fresh organic carrots. The boxed mix contained "carrot flavored pieces" and "carrot powder." The box also noted that it contained artificial colors "yellow 6 and red 40." I won't even try to list the numerous preservatives and corn products. On the homemade recipe, I substituted one cup of whole wheat flour for white flour.
The girls thought it was fun that we blindfolded their dad to let him taste both cakes. He said he liked the homemade cake best, but he misidentified it as the boxed cake. He noticed that the two tasted like "completely different flavors" to him. The girls were evenly split on which pastry they preferred. After tasting the "real" carrot cake, all my tastebuds could detect was a funny aftertaste in each bite of the imposter.
The girls thought it was fun that we blindfolded their dad to let him taste both cakes. He said he liked the homemade cake best, but he misidentified it as the boxed cake. He noticed that the two tasted like "completely different flavors" to him. The girls were evenly split on which pastry they preferred. After tasting the "real" carrot cake, all my tastebuds could detect was a funny aftertaste in each bite of the imposter.The most amazing thing we noticed was how well the food full of artificial color and flavor mimicked the look of the homemade one, even though it was a bit lighter in color. Those little orange-colored pieces really look like carrots! I remember admiring the picture on the cake box when I picked it off the shelf.
A few disclaimers: We all know that cake is not exactly a health food, even when it is chock full of something as wonderful as fresh carrots. My goal was not to produce something low-fat or low in sugar, but to make something wholesome for a special occasion. I also realize that we all lead such busy lives that cooking from scratch can seem like an impossibility. I don't want to be critical if someone else is using a boxed mix to make their child's birthday cake this weekend. I've done it many times myself.Closely reading the food label is giving me reason to stop thinking of boxed cake as homemade and acknowledging it for the processed food that it really is. My goal is to bake fewer sweets, but to make them from scratch whenever I do. How do you deal with the challenge of making more wholesome food, even when you're short on time? I'd love to hear your comments.
I love this! Especially the blind-fold taste test. I'm curious, what about the homemade cake made him think it was the boxed cake? I think it's great that you're working to feed your family more wholesome food!
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think a processed box cake can beat a homemade cake for taste, especially with a cake like carrot. And these days, I don't even enjoy store bought cookies or baked goods, since I've gotten used to homemade.
I've worked on finding ways to make eating wholesome homemade foods work for me. Between being a college student and working, I'm tied up 50-60 hours a week (or more). To compensate for this, I cook a lot on weekends, and freeze meals. Cakes and brownies freeze well, and I also make large batches of cookie and pie dough, and freeze the unused portions for later. Cooking in bulk and always having a couple easy meals pre-prepared in the freezer keeps me from cheating and grabbing fast food. :)
I also LOVE my bread machine and crock pot. There's nothing like 15 minutes of prep work, and then coming home to freshly baked bread and a crock pot stew. :)
Good question. He said, "I just figured the box cake would be better." I don't pretend to be a baking expert, but I have baked him things for several years, including some from scratch. Sounds like he assumed that I would somehow mess up with the homemade one. I love him anyway.
ReplyDeleteMen! To think that the box version would be better! My husband would've said the exact same thing. LOL
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love carrot cake and also recently tried it from scratch. I used all whole wheat white flour and coconut oil instead of canola and evaporated cane juice and molasses instead of brown sugar. No one at the party noticed a difference in the "healthified" version. When I told them, they couldn't believe it.
I agree that cake will always be cake (a sometimes food), but if you are going to have it, you might as well make it a little better for you.
Just so you know, I would really like a big piece of carrot cake now! =)
Maybe not the healthiest choice, but we bake cookies about once a week at our house, and make a cake probably twice a month. My rationale is that we would eat sweets anyway, and the benefits of homemade are twofold: first, it is something fun for me and my daughter to do together, and second, the cookies we make HAVE to be better for us than the Oreos we would be eating anyway. I don't make any attempt to cut down on sugar or fat, but I think that the absence of preservatives and artificial ingredients counts for something.
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