Question for the floor?

[andrewducker]

So, why do we bother putting cakes in ovens rather than just eating cake mix?

Comments

[matgb]

1) raw cake mix includes raw eggs.

2) the process of baking introduces air bubbles &c, which give it a nice yummy texture

3) you can keep cakes that're baked and have a slice at will

4) they look pretty if done right, even without any sort of icing, coating or whatever

5) Anyone can throw ingredients into a tub and mix them together to make goo. I reckon even you could do it. Baking is an art.

6) Freshly baked cakes smell nice

7) Because we do, OK?

8) having said all this, raw cookie dough kept in the fridge doesn't always all make it to the oven when I know it's there

9) Some flavour aquire a completely different effect during the baking process--orange and cinnamon comes to mind, goes from quite harsh to very very nice while in the oven.

10) it's easy to cary baked cakes around, share them out, etc without implements, cake mix being gooey is going to need something to hold it and a spoon

11) for bonus extra points. No one is ever impressed being given a spoonfull of goo. A decent cake can get you laid.

[andrewducker]

Raw eggs aren't actually a problem - in the US it's about 1 in 30,000 eggs that have salmonella, and in the UK vaccination against salmonella is indicated by a stamp (And is quite common, I believe).

[flick]

Some crap about salmonella, afaik....

[andrewducker]

Nowadays people do seem scared (for not much good reason - see above) - but cake predates that by a fair way.

Not that I object to cake, but you'd think that people would eat cake mix as it's own thing sometimes. Due to it tasting of pure awesome.

[flick]

you'd think that people would eat cake mix as it's own thing sometimes. Due to it tasting of pure awesome.

I do!

I may have baked cookies last week on account of wanting some cookie dough and then realising that I'd be ill if I actually ate all of it raw.... Actually, that may be your explanation: really, the scrapings are about as much as you'd want to eat raw in one sitting, and if you didn't bake it then you would be compelled by the loveliness to keep eating, and then you'd throw up....

[andrewducker]

True. I can't eat more than a tiny bit, due to sugar and whatnot, but even when I could eat more eating more than a slice or two's worth is inadvisable, no matter what form it's in.

[flick]

Also, "some crap" = yeah, I know it's bollocks!

[cyprinella]

Generally it lasts longer in baked form.

[purpletigron]

This! But, great cakes don't have to include any eggs ... which makes the batter even more appealing :-)

[cyprinella]

This is true. I made a vegan coconut-lime cupcake a few weeks ago and honestly, the batter was better than the cupcakes. So good!

[darkoshi]

My mother used to warn that if one ate raw flour / dough, it could cause worms to start growing in one's body. Not likely to happen nowadays, but maybe it used to happen.

It almost always tastes better baked anyway, to me.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Cos it'd be cruel to keep them in the cold?

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Frosting.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

You can't put frosting on cake mix.

Though I often wonder this. Also about cookies and brownies.

[momentsmusicaux.livejournal.com]

One could also live in the bath... ;)

Subtle changes in texture

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

And no raw egg?

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[andrewducker]

Raw egg not actually bad for you, so far as I understand.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Other than it can give you salmonella, no, it's not bad for you.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[andrewducker]

1 in 30,000 eggs in the US are contaminated. In the UK vaccination is commonplace (and marked on the eggs themselves). And the number of people it harms is incredibly small from the infection rate. Its dangers are blown wildly out of proportion.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Vaci wot? We ain't got none o' that socialized medicine over here, specially not for chickens.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[feorag.livejournal.com]

Most of the people it hurts are pregnant women, who clearly don't count, no.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[laplor.livejournal.com]

The risk of getting a contaminated egg are pretty low on average - lowest if the eggs are very fresh. The bacteria is most dangerous for members of vulnerable populations too. So, for a healthy adult with no particular risk-factors eating a fresh raw egg once in a while isn't such a crazy thing at all.

Lettuce may be more dangerous.

Re: Subtle changes in texture

[feorag.livejournal.com]

Bad for me, whether raw or cooked.

[skington.livejournal.com]

Keeps longer, and not as messy to eat?

[andrewducker]

Also, I suspect, you can do more complex things with it (layers, etc.)

It just seems like cake mix would be one of those things that you'd see eaten as a thing in itself sometimes.

[nmg.livejournal.com]

Because cake mix tastes foul.

[andabusers.livejournal.com]

HOT AND SPONGY GOODNESS, that's why.

[lilysea.livejournal.com]

...so we don't get really nasty food poisoning (such as Salmonella)
from raw eggs.

It's rare, but really nasty when it does happen.

[andrewducker]

Incredibly rare though. 1 in 30,000 eggs in the US. And in the UK you can get eggs from vaccinated chickens to make it even rarer.

[lilysea.livejournal.com]

There was a recent outbreak here (Australia) in the news with custard pies and custard cannolonis that was due to raw eggs.

At least 60 people became ill, nearly half of them needed to be admitted to hospital.

So, rare, but serious when it happens.

[kurosau.livejournal.com]

Because cakes do not come from cake mixes. Shitty cakes come from cake mixes. The baked version is in all ways superior.

And while you can get pasteurized eggs in the US, making up for the fact that we don't have tons of immunized supply, that doesn't quite make up for the non-raw egg eating population around here.

Plus, cake mix is like a nasty flour milkshake.

[andrewducker]

By cake mix I meant "The stuff you have when you've mixed together the ingredients for cake", not "the stuff you get in a cake mix packet".

[kurosau.livejournal.com]

That's why I said nasty flour milkshake, but I was specifically referring to the kind you get when you take a mix from a store and use it to make a cake.

Still, the cake mix, even if made with the right bits, isn't what I'd call appetizing. If it's really good, it's still gruel soup with sugar bits in.

[andrewducker]

It tastes awesome. At least as nice as when it's cooked, most of the time, to me.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Because cake is also awesome, and can have icing!

But make enough mix to eat some raw too :-p

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I was going to guess chemistry. But if it does taste as nice, I don't know.

[erratio.livejournal.com]

Easier to transport and share with others. Also, I find it easier to stop after one piece of cake than after one spoonful of batter.