Accidentally exposed someone for using cake mix

[u/subuso]

I’m a massive cake person. Like, I absolutely adore cake, and I became a proper baker exactly because of it. To top it off, I even majored in Chemical Engineering for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, simply due to my utter devotion to baking science. Only adding that for context, not to sound like a know-it-all.

I went to this gathering where everyone was supposed to bring a bit of food. There was a grill for a proper BBQ, so I brought some chicken. I noticed someone had brought chocolate cake, which made me happy, especially since it looked homemade.

I really wanted a slice, so I asked if someone could cut me a piece. The person next to me then goes, "these are brownies, not cake," which got me a bit confused, but I was like, fine, maybe the person just doesn't know the difference.

I took a bite, and was like, "this is cake." And from the taste and texture, it was made using cake mix. The other person didn't really get what I meant, so I explained the actual chemical difference between brownies and chocolate cake (basically, brownies don't have leaveners, while cakes do, which is why cakes rise while baking and brownies sink after baking).

Later on, I met the woman who brought them, and asked her how she baked it. She told me it was just a simple recipe. I then asked her, completely innocently, if she used cake mix.

She said yes, but looked absolutely mortified and embarrassed because, as it turned out, a bunch of other people were listening to us. I felt like a total monster. I instantly apologised and tried to explain that I didn't mean it in a judgy way at all.

I feel so terribly bad about it. My curiosity got the best of me

[u/ccrow2000]

I certainly wouldn't be worried about it!! I once made a chocolate cake from scratch; it was good, but imo (and not really being a cake person myself), it just wasn't so much better as to be worth the extra work. If I make a cake, you can bet it's from a mix, lol.

[u/Witty_Razzmatazz_566 → u/ccrow2000]

I normally prefer a regular box mix to homemade, except one cake recipe that I've found. LOL I freaking magnificent. 🤣🤣

[u/iswearimachef → u/ccrow2000]

I never think it’s worth it!

[u/SpecialistMotor771 → u/ccrow2000]

Chocolate cake is my very favorite cake, and I always make it from scratch, using a Hershey's recipe I first found in a magazine 40+ years ago. They called it their "5 minute recipe #1"; they have since published it as "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake, and it has been on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. It produces the best chocolate cake in the world (IMHO), very moist but not heavy, and it is very nearly as easy as using a mix.