Homemade Vs. Store-Bought - the Realm of the Chocolate Cake
Birthdays, graduations, and special occasions all call for the presence of a chocolate cake and often people rush off down to the store to try and find something edible and spectacular. When it comes to the kitchen not everyone has the time, the knowledge or the magic touch to create the perfect chocolate cake and this is where the supermarkets manage to cash in.
Man vs. Machine
However let’s be honest, even though you can dash on down to your local supermarket any time of day and pick up a chocolate cake it is going to have that supermarket chocolate taste. In an era where we are becoming more and more concerned about what we put in our bodies, the shelf life of chocolate cake shouldn’t be overlooked. The reality is that the ingredients to be found in these cakes are often lower quality, mass manufactured and full of junk like stabilizers, starch and additional salts and sugars. The actual chocolate percentage is low and the probability is that this cake hasn’t been touched by human hands from the whisk to the box.
Doesn’t sound so edible does it?
However it is cheap and it looks the part. For those who are looking for a better option there are also the independent cake makers and passionate bakers out there who create chocolate cakes with a loving touch. Using only the very best, fresh ingredients and working long hours to get the frosting just right. But homemade chocolate cakes are so expensive, we hear you wail, why should I fork out an arm and a leg for a cake when I can pick one up in the supermarket for less than $20?
The Proof is in the Pudding
It is true homemade chocolate cakes from master bakers and chefs are more expensive but in a world where you get what you pay for it’s not hard to work out why. These chefs will use only the very best chocolate such as Santa Barbara pure cacao, they will use free range eggs from happy hens and then will spend hours of their life carving, conceptualizing and sweating in the kitchen.
But it doesn’t end there…
Cake makers spend many years developing the skills of the senses, experimenting with taste and texture, attending night school and expensive courses to learn how to stiffen frosting and hours with the pipe learning exactly how to decorate a cake. They are artists, designers, scientists, mathematicians and engineers – they are not merely bakers. Any old machine can crank out a chocolate cake at the push of a button, but a master baker will put their life into a cake.
Supporting Talent and Taste
Not only are you paying for the best possible ingredients, or the highest possible skill, but the baker also has to package their cake to make it fit in with the occasion, they need tools to polish and perfect the cake. They need premises to do it on, they need to spread the word via websites and advertising about their delicious designs. When you choose homemade chocolate cakes you are supporting an industry and you are helping keep talented professionals in their jobs.
Every penny will be worthwhile knowing that you are keeping an industry alive, that you care about quality, skill and talent. And you can bet that with every bite of that rich, indulgent and dreamy chocolate cake that you can not only taste the difference, but you can feel the difference.