The Sad Truth About Cake Mix | Shrinkflation and what to do about it Part 1

[@MielleBelleNoire]

OMGEEEE!!! This just solved a mystery thats been kicking my butt for years! My mama taught me as little girl how to make sock-it-to-me w/box mix. I aced it thru my teens. Fast fwd to the 2000s married chick, using the SAME recipe but it failed. Always too wet or underdone. I finally gave up thinking I'd lost my touch after my mom passed in 2008. BUT this video hit me that her recipe is from the late 70s, with 180z of mix. But Ive been using 14 or 15 oz, not even realizing there was shrinkflation at play!!!!! Let me tweak that recipe and try it for Christmas! Thank you🎉

[@AlexKojfman]

I’m so glad this helped and you can figure it out. My next video is me experimenting w the upmix. It should provide some answers. Thanks for watching and I love the comment. Happy thanksgiving and I hope your dessert comes through on Christmas😊!

[@colleenunvarnished]

Please let us know how the revised recipe turns out. Merry Christmas.

[@AlexKojfman]

@@colleenunvarnishedI’d like to know too. My subsequent video showed the upmix will work and frankly I found it worked well!! 🎉

[@sislertx]

I use to get two 8 inch round from one box...now I struggle to get one!!!

[@DawnM-g3d]

Also, those mixes had flour as the first ingredient. The new ones have sugar as the first ingredient. So you are dealing with two issues.

[@steveo4749]

A box cake mix would give you a 2.5" high 9"x13" pan. Now, you get very flat, THIN sheet cakes. The food companies are disgusting.

[@AlexKojfman]

Im going to do some experimenting w cake mixes and upmix to see that. Im planning on doing two rounds so one of the things I’ll have to track is the height. Thanks for watching and commenting. Means a lot.

[@Stephanie-vn6ir]

No wonder, that why my last 2 cake's looked like they needed fix a flat!😂

[@BlessedLifeOriginal]

They might as well instruct us to bake it in a 9"×9" pan

[@steveo4749]

@@BlessedLifeOriginal I'm really surprised they haven't adjusted the pan size recommendations.

[@forplayplay]

imagine blaming the companies trying to make a product at a size and price people can afford instead of the big government sociopaths spending you into poverty

[@chibinyra]

11:33 If I have to measure separate ingredients to top off the box.... why not just make the whole cake from scratch?

[@AlexKojfman]

Great point. I mean at that point sure. But this upmix is just to top if off if you like using cake mix. Also, cake mix is different than scratch cake. The end result will be different (sweeter, moister, fluffier). My next video I'm going to experiment on the different levels of upmix to a cake mix and see how it turns out. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@glynislailann9056]

Baking a cake from a box involves the same amount of time and perspiration as when you bake from scratch. People in general sadly rely too much on 'instant solutions'. My opinion.

[@Sine-gl9ly]

@@glynislailann9056 And if you make a cake from actual ingredients, YOU control what goes into it, not some corporate conglomerate!

[@kwillow12]

Making cakes from scratch is fun if you like to do it. But it is time consuming, messy, and expensive.

[@Sine-gl9ly]

@kwillow12 Not at all. I can, and frequently do, make a cake out of good, wholesome ingredients _which cost less than_ the price of a box of cake mix, and will take no, or only 5 minutes, longer to mix than the packet mix. It may use a spatula, a spoon and a jug more. So there's that extra washing-up to do, of course. However, I am in the UK and I believe that basic ingredients often cost less here than in the USA, although packet mixes quite possibly cost more.

[@LokasatheTV]

ALGORITHM BOOSTER ACTIVATED

[@AlexKojfman]

I’m not sure what that means but 🙌 yes🤓!! 🥳🤠

[@LokasatheTV]

comments help with the algorithm, and i just didnt have a good comment. love the vid.

[@kitefan1]

Canned pumpkin too. It's an ounce short. Used to be a pound in that can. And yes when the pie comes out wrong because the egg to pumpkin ratio is off, you notice. Yes, it's almost impossible to mess up a box cake mix. That was wonderful compared to truly bake from scratch.

[@AlexKojfman]

I didn't realize that about pumpkin cans...I'll check that out when i make dessert for Thanksgiving! And i'm currently editing my next video where I made 5 cake mix cakes to test that theory and yeah they are pretty foolproof!

[@debrapalmer9772]

Even Jell-O has reduced their portions. So has Marshmellow Fluff.

[@monsieurlespaique2333]

Except that cake mixes have a weird flavor, mostly preservatives and other chemicals. My mother never made mix cakes and you can really taste the difference. Americans always make the mistake of not being able to recognize quality when they eat it.

[@Marynicole830]

@@monsieurlespaique2333 lol you are obviously someone who doesn’t understand chemistry so think every chemical is bad. Box cake mixes have basically what i would put into a scratch cake. It’s dry ingredients. It doesn’t need preservatives and just some anti caking agent (very inert powder that many people have in their own kitchens like baking powder) Just because they list the chemical name instead of the common name of something doesn’t change what it is. Yeah the US allows a lot of crap in our food and it’s a problem but not in most cake mixes boxes. There may be a few outliers but I always check the ingredients before I make it anyway.

[@katie7748]

​@@monsieurlespaique2333 I was with you until you just HAD to poke at Muricans. Get over it and yourself.

[@shavinmccrotch9435]

I’ve been observing shrinkflation for 40+yrs. You should have seen candy bars and bags of chips in the 80s. They were glorious. I don’t understand how everything isn’t down to 1oz by now.

[@AlexKojfman]

Grew up in the 80’s eating a lot of chips. Those were the good days. But I never noticed the shrinking. Thanks for watching!!

[@gohawks3571]

Filler🤪🤑 I can get hooked on something for a while, then tell myself, No! Eat healthy. Then come back a few months later and everything tastes like wax, or cardboard carrying artificial flavors. Ick, I wanted to enjoy my junk food, jerks!

[@Laura-xy7td]

And , have you noticed, there are no more “ small “ eggs.

[@sjenkins1057]

@@Laura-xy7td Small and even peewee (not making that up) size eggs certainly exist, but they tend to go into industrial uses (frozen ffoods, powdered eggs, liquid pre-pasturized eggs, that sort of thing) rather than sold whole to home consumers.

[@BlessedLifeOriginal]

Myself and many other consumers noticed the weight of cake mixes shrinking 5+ years ago, and it has steadily gotten worse. I haven't been able to get 24 cupcakes out of a box for several years now, but only very recently have companies changed the instructions on the back of the box to say "makes 18 cupcakes" instead of 24. At least they've stopped pretending... 🙄

[@ernestyeagley512]

This is why box cake sales are up, the consumer is forced to buy more to make the same size and weight of cake that they have done before with only one box.

[@superstarcat7654]

@@BlessedLifeOriginal It takes two boxes now for a dozen cupcakes with enough top to frost.

[@barbaraboethling596]

I am vegan, so I make all my cakes from scratch. Sometimes, I use cake flour. The last time I did, I noticed the number of ounces per box was a lot less. You have to be really vigilant. It's so aggravating!

[@AlexKojfman]

oh interesting. I just bought a lot of brown sugar and white sugar from costco, I wonder if the weights match up. Thanks for commenting!!

[@katie7748]

I care about what my family eats, but we are most decidedly NOT vegan, so I make everything from scratch.

[@Mariecherement]

If you want a decent amount of candy, or anything else, you may as well get an old recipe, from before 1950, Fannie Farmer cookbook, and make all of your own fudge, caramel, hot sauce, jams and homemade candies at home for your friends and family, too.

[@audreydeneui192]

Maybe 20? 25? years ago I noticed that the instructions on the blueberry muffin box mix had changed from 12 to TEN muffins!!! I was angry. I changed brands. I broke down and started using the high altitude option on the side of the boxes. (I live at near sea level!) Then I started doctoring the muffins. I found that if I used melted butter instead of oil and milk instead of water, that the volume increased back to nicely fill a 12 'regular' muffin pan. I never had this problem with bran muffins, but then I always make those from scratch. Most of my cake recipes are hand-me-downs or are pre-1970's. Thank you for including the "upmix" recipe. That will come in very useful!

[@AlexKojfman]

Check out my mix experiment video. I tried different ratios and was surprised. I appreciate you watching and commenting. If you ever care to share one of your family cakes I’d love to see what got passed down to you.

[@brianshaw373]

You made a big mistake… the Pillsbury Dough Boy is not a fictitious mascot; he’s a real boy. He walks, he talks, he giggles. HE IS REAL. 🤣

[@AlexKojfman]

😂 up next: Alex Kojfman’s KZbin apology video “I was WRONG! I’m sorry…” (thanks for watching)

[@Squaretable22]

From the UK, a country which itself is no stranger to industrialised food *cough*Gravy Mix, Custard Powder* but cake mix, while available, never really took off like in the US. I personally use it because I only cook cakes like 2 times a year so when I do bake a cake I want it to come out perfectly, but I'm a guy in his mid 20s 😅. My grandmothers' cakes were variable, sometimes dry, sometimes dense, but always made from scratch :) I made a cake for my Romanian friend for his Citizenship and had to hope and pray his mother didn't ask for a recipe 😁

[@AlexKojfman]

Haha. I hope your friend enjoyed it regardless. From what I understand marketing made a big impact on the population. Maybe British people are less susceptible😅 thanks for watching and commenting. And btw makes sense if you only do it twice a year it’s better to be safe than sorry 😂😊

[@mollyruby5]

I ruined so many old dessert recipes because I didn't realize the shrinkage. I just thought I wasn't paying attention to the actual recipe at times.

[@AlexKojfman]

I feel this. It’s one reason I went down this so called rabbit hole. My next video puts upmix to the test. I’m posting it tomorrow.

[@debrapalmer9772]

I hear you! These reduced portions wreak havoc on recipies that were calibrated for specific amounts.

[@DawnM-g3d]

Depending on the age of the recipes you may also be dealing with a change in ingredients. The first ingredient use to be flour. The last box I read had sugar as the first ingredient.

[@debrapalmer9772]

@DawnM-g3d I hear you! The ingredients for my 1950's fudge recipe: evaporated milk and Marshmallow Fluff have been downsized. It annoys me when I have to buy extra to make up the difference of an ounce two. If I don't make the adjustment, the fudge won't set.

[@katie7748]

That word makes me think of George Costanza yelling, "I was in the pool!!" LOL

[@destinylovelantern]

You’re awesome! This video is awesome and I encourage you to keep at it! 🥰💜

[@joanneperry8021]

Several brands now have boxed Mug cakes in the marketplace. Glad I saw this as I wasn't actually aware of the shrinkage. Thanks.

[@AlexKojfman]

my pleasure! Thanks for watching and commenting! means a lot to me.

[@bettyir4302]

If you're using a pre-1990 recipe, watch out for shrinkflation. Chocolate chips used to come in 1 lb bags vs. 11.5 oz today. That's >1/4th less in a bag. If you've noticed your tuna salad doesn't make as many sandwiches, well, uh huh. A small can of tuna used to be 7 oz so if a recipe calls for 2 cans then you're going to have to use 3. I measured the tuna and water and today's is half and half. Don't pearl clutch but the cats get the liquid watered down. Opened a 40 oz can of Bruce's yams the other day only to see 22 oz of it was liquid. Hey, Brucey, you lost this customer. I saved the liquid and we tried some for a homemade coffee pumpkin spice. I froze two cups to use later in baking. Not going to waste that overpriced flavored water. BTW, scratch cooking is all this budget friendly kitchen knows.

[@AlexKojfman]

Amazing. Love how you save the overpriced liquid. I only save chickpea liquid (aquafaba) to make chocolate mousse. And bean liquid like black bean or navy beans. The liquid is great in vegetable soups for added flavour. Thanks for sharing and commenting!

[@brt5273]

King Arthur still makes a 22oz yellow cake mix and a 24oz chocolate cake mix, both described as a two layer cake mix. These work really well in 9" pans. They are over over $8 each but it does seem more honest and you will be producing a real, full sized cake. I'm more inclined to purchase Duncan Hines or Betty crocker when they are on sale and measure out the mix to 18oz, adjusting the liquid an egg ratios, to produce a respectably sized cake. Helps to split the layers to make four, with three layers of filling to produce a tall, proud cake.

[@AlexKojfman]

I agree it is more honest. I saw Whole Foods 365 brand had a large box for $4.99 but I was at least 18oz. But at Ralph’s I saw it for $3.99 and it was 13.25oz Betty Crocker. May I ask how much liquid do you use to compensate when you bring it up back to 18oz? One commenter asked and I’ll be doing an experiment w the upmix so it’s only fair to adjust the oil and water/milk if I use 3 more oz. (Although I think the cake mix can handle an extra three ounces regardless it might be more prudent to consider adding more liquid)

[@clairestanfield-ui1fg]

I searched for King Arthur cake mix and all I see is gluten-free mixes, are they the same as regular cake mixes?

[@AlexKojfman]

@@clairestanfield-ui1fg ​​⁠no. King Arthur has both. If the package says gluten free it’s gluten free. But they have regular versions as well. thanks for commenting!

[@bombaybeach208]

I recently read the ingredients in these mixes and it's awful what's in them.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah. It is the “magic” of science. I’m going to experiment w adding the upmix to a cake mix and see how that changes the taste and structure. And tbh making a cake from scratch isn’t that much slower but a cake mix is convenient. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@bettyir4302]

Here's to RFK, Jr. to fixing the chemicals in our food. If companies can make a product without all the toxins for foreign countries, they certainly can do the same for the US.

[@luv2fly745]

I stopped buying them because they 'contain a bioengineered food product' IOW GMO sprayed with glyphosate/Roundup

[@SupremeOverlord10]

Seriously, how hard is it to make an actual cake? My 13 year old daughter does it with no parental instruction.

[@douglashogg4848]

A big concern for me is the amount of preservatives that companies use in their products. Bring “natural” foods home and you have to use them in a day or two. These “processed” foods can sit around for months and even years. How can our bodies process this stuff?

[@leighannebrown-pedersen7536]

Butter instead of oil, milk instead of water. And a smidge of extra vanilla. Box cake “hacks”

[@AlexKojfman]

Yes! Also don’t forget the extra egg. The Dolly Parton Duncan Hines mix doesn’t play around. Their recipe is exactly as you describe. They say butter, milk and four eggs (instead of three). She don’t waste any time. Dolly is the hack! ☺️😂😅

[@wintersprite]

@@AlexKojfmanMy mom bought several of the Dolly Parton box mixes to try.

[@leighannebrown-pedersen7536]

@@AlexKojfman yes! The extra egg. Also, sounds weird but totally works. Chocolate cake and brownies - coffee. Either hot fresh plain coffee or a tsp of espresso powder.

[@AlexKojfman]

@@leighannebrown-pedersen7536oh yeah!! ☕️ 🎉

[@loriki8766]

@@AlexKojfman Noooo! IDK Y everyone thinks that extra egg is a good idea??? It makes the cake too eggy. I got my mom a Dolly cake and she made it per the box and hated it. It's that awful extra egg thing.

[@Mercy-v9e6m]

Subscribed and liked after hearing that you had job issues😢 thanks for making desserts for the children🎉

[@AlexKojfman]

that's very kind! thank you. Looking forward to making more videos in 2025. I mean I have another video coming out next week, and probably before the holidays, but ALSO excited to keep this momentum going. Appreciate your kindness!

[@doreenrichards2021]

U Rock !! Very informative and well presented,, Della from Toronto Canada

[@ThisIsARubbishName]

Oh, i must have got here early. What a great video mate! I thought our boxes were shrinking!

[@AlexKojfman]

Thanks! Really appreciate the comment and you watching!!

[@trishayamada807]

My recipes from my mom from the 1970s don’t work with the shrunken sizes.

[@AlexKojfman]

That’s what I was wondering. And figured. I’m planning a part 2 and 3 on cake mix boxes (since I bought so many 🤪) where I experiment w the upmix. And sharing a doctored up cake mix my wife likes to make. Would you like to share one of your mom’s recipes? I’d love to see it. Thanks for watching! Really appreciate it

[@trishayamada807]

@ sure I’ll share! I have recipes going back to WWII when food and other goods were rationed. My grandmother wrote recipes on discarded envelopes! It’s so cool to see the postage and the dates mailed. It’s touching history and it brings me close to my grandma. She loved to cook and bake. Before she passed I made sure to go over her recipes. I’m so glad I did.

[@AlexKojfman]

Would posting the recipe in the comments be best? You’re so lucky to have recipes from your grandmother. I’d have to check in w my brothers. But I don’t have any from my grandmother or mother before they passed. And if you want to share a WW2 recipe that would be interesting too. I found a cookie recipe from late 1700s that I am scheduled to post about soon enough. I find this all interesting and worth sharing.

[@trishayamada807]

@ sure I’ll post in comments. It’s been a long day so I won’t be posting tonight. I’m aiming for afternoon as I’ve two appointments earlier in the day tomorrow.

[@AlexKojfman]

Of course! Have a great day. Nice chatting w you

[@wytchyprepper3370]

So interesting! Subbed and look forward to your channel growing!

[@AlexKojfman]

Thank you!!😊

[@DawnM-g3d]

I have never had problems with any homemade cake recipe, until having to learn making gluten free and keto cakes. That took a few failures. But I inherited my mothers recipe books. Most baking was from the Victory Cookbook. Also the Canadian Cookbook from the 1960s. But when making something large like a wedding cake, I go for mixes. Not as good, but much faster. And easier to do different flavours in different layers. Buy carrot cake mix, add dark rum, and you have rum carrot cake.

[@krazycatz]

I have no objection to anyone using a box cake mix. I have used them myself on occasion when they were on sale. If I remember correctly the last time I checked out the price for box cake mix in my area they were almost $5.00 each. I personally think it’s a waste of money to spend $5.00 just to make one cake. I prefer to purchase flour (on sale of course) and the other ingredients (also on sale) and make my own cakes by scratch. To save time I will mix up the dry ingredients for various types of cakes, put the ingredients for each cake in a ziplock bag that has the air squeezed out of it, label it with the type of cake it is along with the other ingredients required and baking instructions, and store them in a dark dry place for up to 12 months. This allows me to have a head start when I bake a cake.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah five bucks seems crazy to me too.

[@barbaraparker6996]

I've never saw boxed cake mix even close to $5. Most are under $2. at my Walmart. When they go on sale I buy 3 or 4.

[@AlexKojfman]

@@barbaraparker6996 that's great! Where in the US are you? out here in LA some ralphs and Von's have them for $3.99 and I've seen $4.99 (but then on sale.)

[@barbaraparker6996]

@AlexKojfman l am so sorry for you. I should have known you were in LA. I live in a small city south of lndianapolis, lndiana. We have seen price increases but nothing compared to what you and some other states have experienced. I pray things get better soon. 🙂

[@brendarose3941]

I am so disappointed that Corporate greed has caused so much distress in a product that is near and dear to the heart of millions of consumers and they don’t care. I recently made a yellow butter cake from Duncan Heinz and changed the oil to butter , the water to milk and added an extra egg. I followed the box instructions very carefully and the cake was awful. Very dry and so bad that I threw it away. My oven is calibrated and I didn’t over bake it so I have no idea what happened. I sent a comment to the company and scolded them a bit for putting their greed in front of the customers. I just happened upon your channel and I have subscribed. I wrote down the upmix recipe so thanks for that. I do have a question does it matter if the cake is a devil’s food cake mix? I am not an avid baker so I apologize if that’s a silly question. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.

[@AlexKojfman]

Hi, thanks for joining the community! The upmix is for yellow or white cake mix, but you use 3/8 of a cup of cocoa powder and remove that much flower. 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. If you are using metric just substitute 35-40g of cocoa powder instead of the flour. Also sorry to hear the cake turned out badly that time around.

[@talesofbravelyemblem4009]

This is a very well written and researched video. I really like how you referenced your sources and inspirations too. I look forward to more videos like this, keep up the good work!

[@AlexKojfman]

thank You!

[@anonygrazer3234]

I made cookies last night from an old recipe I had that called for a box cake mix, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of oil, then mix & roll on to UNgreased cookie sheet & bake at 350degrees for 10min. While they've _always_ been really moist because of the oil, I realize I need to adjust the oil accordingly because of you video. Thanks! PS: I'm off to watch part 2 now :)

[@AlexKojfman]

Glad I could help but the manufacturers seemed to have kept the oil and eggs amounts relatively the same. Video two goes through the upmix and I’ll be posting a third video soon on a doctored cake.

[@anonygrazer3234]

@@AlexKojfman Awesome, thanks for the heads up!

[@jacquespoulemer]

Hello Alex Kojfman, Saludos from southern Mexico where I retired 38 years ago. I enjoy learning things on the internet. Lots of interesting details. I'm from the Julia Child Generation of cooks with a bit of Irma Rombauer tossed in (Joy of Cooking), so I tend to prefer scratch cakes but if for one reason or another I find myself visiting an alien planet with cake mixes to hand, there will be some mad scientist experimentation. Of course there is an even easier way to Make up the difference in cake box contents and that's to have a supplemental neutral box of commercial cake mix. That way if you're doing an older recipe you can 'top it off'. To increase longevity of the mixes I would probably put them in air tight freezer bags and freeze them. you could probably get away with mixing flavors together as well. I taste everything before I cook it ,so a bit of chocolate and lemon (for example) taste them together and if you like it Mix to your heart's content. To make scratch cooking quicker you could mix up basic cake recipes (all the dry ingredients) and when ready to bake, add the milk, eggs, and liquid fat (I lean towards butter). Cakes also freeze perfectly well in seperate layers and just remove the number of layers you want. Ice them with your favorite icing (and or filling) and in an hour or so they will defrost. Boosting the algorithm for fun and profit hehehe All the best to you and yours Jacques

[@AlexKojfman]

I’ll be testing out using the upmix I mention in the video. And I will be frosting them and sharing them w neighbours. So I’m glad you shared that they freeze well. I believe I read that cake mixes don’t really save you much time (maybe a few minutes) but that creativity was the main reason so it’s good you are trying new things w cake mixes. I never would have thought to mix flavours like that so I’m glad you mentioned that. Thanks for your comment!! 😅

[@jacquespoulemer]

@@AlexKojfman Thanks for responding. One more time saving tip for the busy parent. I have another rule when making desserts (or anything really) Since you're going to have the oven on, double the recipe. you can bake 4 cake boxes on the same time as 2. And Cake mixes make interesting swirl cakes. just put the different flavors side by side and run through it with a chopstick... you get that marble cake effect. And everytime I make cookies I make extra and freeze them raw so that when the holidays come around I have a freezer full of different cookies. Be sure to mark the bags with oven temp and cooking time. Jacques

[@AlexKojfman]

​​⁠you’ve been very helpful. I am planning on making cakes soon and I’ve always wondered about the as time if you put in more pans in an oven. I’ll explore how that affects bakes time but I will do that. My issue is my freezer is never empty enough to put stuff in there but I love the cookie idea. One last question which might sound strange but your last sentence “boosting the algorithm for fun and profit”. Some people have been saying something similar. Was there something I said in the video that prompted a comment or is there a trend I’m not familiar with going on? (Just trying to figure it out … so I can do it again hahah🤠)

[@jacquespoulemer]

@@AlexKojfman Glad to be of help. At the 10:40 mark you mentioned being shrinkflated (losing your job) and asking for us to comment. I think that was it. We're all sensitive to losing livelihoods. Regular watchers of youtube know what they can do to help a creator out. I noticed on this rewatch that you have several vanilla cake mixes. I think you can use those to supplement the flavored ones. I don't think mixing different brands will make any difference. I also think using other mixes will interfere less with the overall texture of the cake. Did you know you can make cookies with cake mixes? just omit the milk (water). refridgerate the batter (it's a bit sticky) and scoop out as cookies. 350F (185C) for 10-12 minutes. All the best from way down south Jacques in southern Mexico....🥳

[@AlexKojfman]

Oh yeah I was being honest there didn’t know that was it. I don’t think I’ll mention it again but I love how supportive KZbin community is!! I’ll consider trying the cookies but I have so many cookie recipes to try. I’ve read seven books on just cookies and desserts.

[@jstamps9578]

Boycott cake mixes until these corporations feel the loss, after thinking they'd boost their profits by skimping on what they put in the box mixes. We can bake incredible cakes from scratch, without rewarding these food corporations by adding more purchased ingredients.

[@glynislailann9056]

Thanks for your interesting video. I don't buy instant cake mixes as I suffer from migraines & the list of ingredients is scary. I dont look down on people who buy them, though, as my philosophy is: If it makes you happy, thats fine by me. However, instant cake mixes only make mixes for medium to high altitude baking. If you bake at low altitude (sea level), your cske won't rise as much due to the increased air pressure at sea level. To remedy this, one has to add an extra half teaspoon of baking powder to every cup of your bought cake mix. If you work out the cost of baking a cake from scratch as opposed to the cost of boxed cake mix, a cake made from scratch is way cheaper and contains no scary additives like preservatives. My opinion.

[@AlexKojfman]

Thanks for sharing your baking expertise. I appreciate it! I’ve always wondered what the deal was w low altitude baking. And I agree scratch is cheaper. I’m just sort of experimenting w cake mix bc I got so bother about one recipe in a recipe book (that’s all scratch except for that one or two recipes in there. The book was a Nestle cookies and bars book. It was like 25 years old. And filled w great recipes and info. I figure I can learn a lot from older recipe books and see how I can apply it to things I create. Also I am on a sort of make it from scratch mode - w making my own yogurt as well since that too is much cheaper than in the store. Thanks for the amazing comment

[@glynislailann9056]

@AlexKojfman My pleasure. Whenever I see people reaching for cake mix in box at the supermarket, I tell them that they have to add baking powder as we live at the coast here in Cape Town, South Africa.

[@croonch6538]

great video!! the quality is excellent, I'm surprised you don't have more subscribers. and I love how you quoted Adam Ragusea - he's one of my favorite KZbinrs :)

[@AlexKojfman]

Mine too!. And I’m working on the subs. Like share comment I dunno. I’ll keep making videos regardless. Hahaha. Thanks for watching. I really appreciate it.

[@croonch6538]

@AlexKojfman no problem!! keep doing what you're doing. the KZbin algorithm is hard to master. you got this!!

[@teresamckeown5594]

Good job Alex.

[@NaishaArnold]

Thanks!

[@l3eyondl3irthday]

that was super good! I love how you address the food science aspect of how adding back would affect the cake! It was absolutely charming to heard how its essentially adding back the charm of homemade cakes :) Cant wait to see what you come up with next that was super informative !!!!

[@AlexKojfman]

That means so much. Really grateful 🥹

[@juelettefadness7344]

Loved the video. Thanks!!

[@AlexKojfman]

I appreciate it, glad you enjoyed it!

[@GardenGal-f3o]

They can start selling the box cake mixes for the easy back oven on the bakery aisle!

[@JanScogin]

I have a question. I have a "mother-in-law" cake that had to be from the fifties. It uses a cake mix but changes the liquid ingredients and added flavors. I have noticed in recent years that the cake just didn't rise as much (it becomes a bundt pan). Something to ponder. Since I make it twice in the holiday season, buying an extra mix won't be that extravagant.

[@AlexKojfman]

Hmmm... so it depends if you may not have noticed that there is less mix in the box you used. That could be one reason. Also the manufacturers could have lowered certain components in the mix and one of which could be leaveners. And yes, the next box you buy just get another box to top it off to about 18oz. :) Maybe even 18.5oz. (Thanks for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!)

[@bc5441]

They are virtually foolproof, but it’s not difficult to develop the skills to bake from scratch. Then you will have better-quality, consistent results. I don’t know exactly what the origins of the Duncan Hines or Pillsbury mixes are, but the Betty Crocker cake mixes actually seek to emulate recipes in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. There is a scratch version of Super Moist yellow cake from Betty herself.

[@AlexKojfman]

You are right a scratch recipe isn’t difficult I read that it really wasn’t about saving time. Also I stopped buying pancake mix for that reason. However you know Betty Crocker isn’t a real person. Crocker was the last name of a General Mills executive and Betty was a name they picked as relatable.

[@RockyLizzard]

"What to do about it"...just make your own cakes, cakes are simple and easy and no one needs a MIX to make a cake, pancakes, or cornbread. Heck cornbread was one of the first things I learned to make as a very small child. Prepared foods/convenience foods will always be more expensive, and honestly a cake mix doesn't even put you much further ahead--you still have to add water/milk, eggs, and oil, right? Same with doing it yourself! You have flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, add the water/milk, eggs, oil, and throw in vanilla, boom, there you have your very own cake with no mix necessary. Easy, inexpensive, and--even better--you'll have the rest of all of those ingredients on hand next time you want to make another easy vanilla cake!

[@AlexKojfman]

You’re right, making cake from scratch is easy. I feel that way about pancakes. I just hated how I was always left w a little pancake mix in the box bc of how they portion it out. So I just make my own. There is a convenience to a cake mix bc you use the whole thing. I’m going to use that upmix and see what I can do w that since it’s basically a scratch mix. Thanks for watching!! Really appreciate the comment too.

[@L83467]

exactly! i find it ridiculous that people will buy, say, pancake mix when they are so easy to make from scratch. a batch of pancakes is just one cup of self raising flour, a cup of milk, and an egg. pancake mix only replaces the flour. and you know whats even more annoying? when people get defensive say that they cant afford to shop from scratch (making it out like youre being classist), or that it takes too long or whatever. like making yourself takes just as long but is cheaper, as you said!

[@AlexKojfman]

@@L83467true. I’m experimenting w making my own yogurt w my instapot and in some instances it’s cheaper but not by much so having to wait 12-24 hours I don’t know if it’s worth it.

[@bettyir4302]

@@L83467 A couple days ago I got hollered at for claiming scratch is cheaper, LOL. I don't do more than 30 minutes of actual hands on cooking. Homemade yogurt at 74 cents a qt can be subbed for sour cream or cream cheese and it can become an 8x8"

[@puggirl415]

@@bettyir4302 You are my kind of gal. I love making homemade vanilla.

[@GyroCannon]

Funny that you mentioned Adam because if you keep up this level of quality, you’re gonna be the next Adam - same success but less sassy lol

[@AlexKojfman]

I can up the sass. 😂😃 I actually hold back a bit to keep my videos on topic. truth is I really enjoy his stuff. He is definite one person I looked up to.

[@PinkTigger33]

Boxed cake mix tastes like chemicals and nothing like real made from scratch cake. The last time I used a cake mix for a recipe, I noticed the volume of batter was small and my cake came out flat and thin. That's very disappointing as the recipe didn't turn out as a result of the ratios being off.

[@ravendev101]

So glad to have found you! You should definitely have more subscribers, no idea how I only just came across your video. Best of luck!

[@AlexKojfman]

Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it, I’m trying to make more content! Share the video if you can. Everything helps. Again thank you!! 😊

[@swannoir7949]

That's why now recipes only call for two eggs, instead of three.

[@AlexKojfman]

Hi, thanks for commenting. Which cake mixes require 2? The ones I have used and checked out require 3 (Dolly Parton's Duncan Hines actually ask for 4). The reason I ask is in my next video (Part 2 of this series) I accidentally forgot to add a third egg so I made one with only 2 eggs and it still turned out (not great - it did the worst of the 6 cakes I experimented with.) But it's crazy to use 2 eggs. It's necessary to keep the cake together. Thanks for watching!!

[@daveb-d4t]

up-mix recipe: 1.5 cups AP flour; 1 cup sugar; 2 tsp baking POWDER; 1/4 tsp baking soda ... use it to top off the boxed cake mix to 18.25 oz.

[@AlexKojfman]

Also for chocolate cakes: sub 6 tablespoons of flour for 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

[@Anne_Onymous]

Companies will only do what consumers tolerate 🤷‍♀️

[@AlexKojfman]

Very true! As mentioned in the video PepsiCo had to reverse course and add more chips to their bags. And I was in the grocery store yesterday and while I noticed some $3.99 cake mix (on sale for $2.49) the amounts in the boxes varied wildly from cake mix to corn bread it was 13oz, 14oz, 16oz etc. wild! Thanks for watching!

[@bettyir4302]

Thankfully, many customers are waking up.

[@bettyir4302]

@@AlexKojfman Noticing the various sizes, too.

[@susanshelton2161]

Especially during the holidays, I really feel this. My recipes are 50 years old. I have no idea what the original item weighed. I could measure my way out of that, I think. Wish the companies would publish the weight of their products by decades.

[@pinkroses135]

I had the last straw some years back when they changed the bake times, directions and ounces multiple times. Someone in my area that used them in their cake decorating business said they had to make changes so it wasn't just me haha. If you have a handful of ingredients on hand, flour, cocoa powder, extracts, pineapple, blueberries etc you can get more creative spur of the moment imo. Part of me felt more restricted with them I suppose. That upmix sounds like a nifty solution to get your true two dozen cupcakes though. Big difference if someone needs them for a class of kids. Get it together duncan hines! 😜

[@AlexKojfman]

Hey thanks for watching. The upmix works really well. Last night I just did five cake experiment using upmix. It was a little insane and I have waaaay too much yellow cake but I was happy w the results and upmix worked great to get it back. It’ll take me a bit to go through the footage but that video should be up next week.

[@bettyir4302]

Yeah, if I'm going to do all that, might as well just bake from scratch like always.

[@Sotweetie]

Thank you! Great information and analysis!

[@AlexKojfman]

Thanks so much for watching, I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@rangerannie5636]

Comment for the algorithm. 😊 Sacramento, California USA 🇺🇸

[@AlexKojfman]

Appreciate you watching, thanks for the comment! 💖

[@justpinkcandy]

I love my 60s and 70s cake mix recipes. So, I just make my own cake mixes after I realized store bought cake mix shrinkflation.

[@pamelas6951]

I keep an extra box that I can use to bring the smaller box up to 18.25 oz and just add in more water and 3 eggs. The size of the layers are much better with a larger cake mix.

[@AlexKojfman]

Awesome! I mentioned upmix and topping up later in the video, but I'm curious how did you figure or decide to add more water? Also which company - Dh, Pillsbury or Betty Crocker do you prefer? btw thanks for watching!!

[@annmcevoy9299]

How much dry cake mix and water do you use? Thank you

[@AlexKojfman]

@@annmcevoy9299I made a second video where I experimented w the upmix. I used 3oz w the pillsbury and recently used a Betty Crocker and added 5 oz (just depends on the size of the box and getting it to 18-18.25oz.) as for liquid. I just add 1-2 tablespoons per every 3 oz over the box amount - of liquid (water/milk/etc). I used two in my video for the 3oz I used to top it off. But I found I added the liquid later in my upcoming video because I was looking at consistency. You want it to be a thick pancake batter but not heavy if that makes sense - meaning check it by mixing it a big w a spatula and then adding 1-2-maybe a third tablespoon of liquid to loosen it up.

[@puggirl415]

This was interesting. I mean I haven't made a box cake since I left home. I have my go to cake recipes and I make them from scratch. I don't have to make cakes often so I don't need cake mix. It sounds like your channel will be exploring cooking from that same journalistic approach AR has. I will subscribe to see if that is where you're content is going.

[@AlexKojfman]

I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I would live to hear more what you mean about AR. I haven’t noticed him mocking people as much but I’m fairly forgiving of people. But if you have examples I’d be interested to check those videos out. Glad you subscribed and I’m going to post some interesting videos like this that are opinion pieces and recipes I find interesting and worth sharing. Looking forward to hearing from you and your thoughts on AR

[@puggirl415]

@@AlexKojfman Yes I thought better of my comment and removed my opinion of Adam Regusea from it. Guess you got to it before I was able to do that. I do have a few examples and they were enough to unsubscribe from his channel. I was offended by his exploration of the carnivore diet which I have used with great success and which I don't feel he even did any research on. I also get annoyed with the videos when he decides that a cooking method needs to be debunked and he absolutely excoriates the method in favor of a method that isn't any better but instead of saying that it's his opinion he makes it out like his opinion is a fact. I remember one video where he asserted that we don't need to fold ingredients in carefully and that it makes no difference to the recipe and it's success. I don't agree with that but I suppose a non professional and a beginner would love to know that how you fold ingredients into a recipe doesn't matter. I'm just not his audience. I'm open to new methods and hypothesis in cooking but I just don't like his way of making his opinions fact and the way he frames his opinions is something I don't need to take on. He is fine in terms of the quality of the videos and he can teach. I just don't like him. Having watched 20 or so videos he has little to teach me and I don't agree with most of his ideas so...

[@AlexKojfman]

@@puggirl415interesting I remember seeing a few videos and how he careful to say how he does it because he doesn’t want to imply that’s how you have to do it. I need to search his archive about the carnivore diet. I’ve read over fifty books on nutrition and my opinion of a full carnivore diet isn’t positive given that we are omnivores. I have read Paul Saldinos book (didn’t like it although he can come across as convincing and affable) I read Big Fat Surprise which Paul mentions in his book and it was more of a discussion on how business interests dictated which kind of medium we use to cook our food (the move from saturated fat to poly/mono/unsaturated fat. I for one think meat has a lot of valuable filling nutrients including protein but I wouldn’t advocate full carnivore. I don’t believe vegetables are trying to kill you. I also read Eat The Yolk and again while I didn’t really buy into the full paleo lifestyle she did advocate eating creature foods which again has incredible benefits (especially salmon, tuna, sardines, eggs, shrimp, beef) but imo life’s too short to cut out whole food groups. I’m hoping to do some videos on the books I read and my own fitness food relationship journey.

[@Mariecherement]

Boxed cereal is now a lot less in quantity today too. A complete rip off. I switched to oatmeal, . cornmeal and whole wheatmeal which I now buy wholesale and in bulk.

[@qyn8886]

unrelated but i got a can of salmon to use in baking yesterday, the can said 170g but it only included 115g it was so obvious and i had to half my recipie. Is this legal?

[@AlexKojfman]

That’s insane. I’m afraid to measure my food like that I’d get so disappointed. And I measure my food all the time! Ha just not as a whole thing.

[@superstarcat7654]

But that will change the amount of egg, butter, and water to add. No wonder the mix does not taste good or come out right.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah it’s definitely been a complaint but I think the scientists at Betty Crocker or DH or Pillsbury figure it out since those things are pretty “flexible.” I did note in my second video that when you add upmix you can or should add 1-2 tablespoons of liquid to keep the consistency of the batter. Thank for the great comment!

[@AnonymousMusing]

Omgosh! I can't believe their raising the price and shrinking the cake mixes.

[@douglashogg4848]

It’s not that surprising.

[@katie7748]

​@@douglashogg4848 Yeah. Anyone surprised clearly hasn't been paying attention. Better late than never.

[@MG-xs6kq]

Thanks for the informative video👍

[@AlexKojfman]

Appreciate you watching! 😊

[@Itslorii93]

Great video!

[@AlexKojfman]

Thanks! Really glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheCraftydevilSpeaks]

I have a few old recipes that involve a cake mix. One in particular, a cheesecake type mixed with ricotta, used to come out perfect and was a family favorite on holidays. The last couple of years, I noticed the recipe did not come out right. It was soggy, not the same balance of cake and cheesecake and after I day had a slight chemical taste . I realized the cake mixes are smaller and not the same honest flavor. I’ve had to shelve all of my recipes from the 50’s and 60’s that involve any type of mixes because they no long come out as they are supposed to. Now I make everything from scratch.

[@AlexKojfman]

It’s crazy how shrinkflation affects older recipes that used to be a staple. Upmix can or might be able to help! thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Simsane]

I noticed the shrinkflation in cake mixes several years ago so I stopped buying them when they were at 15.25 ounces per box instead of 18 ounces. I bake all my cakes from scratch now. It's not that much more trouble, ends up tasting way better and you get a cake that's the size you expect.

[@wintersprite]

I make baked goods both from boxes as well as from scratch. It can depend on how much time and energy I have, what I’m making, etc.

[@AlexKojfman]

What kind of baked goods get the scratch treatment vs cake mixes? Like is cake mix exclusively for cakes and you always make for example muffins from scratch? Also thanks for watching and commenting!!

[@jillefeldme9452]

I don’t use boxed cake mixes at all. I do keep one box around for emergencies. However, I don’t like making frosting. The frosting cans now don’t have enough to frost a scratch cake.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah we had one for emergencies and that’s the one that expired in 2023. I now have ten boxes and need to make them soon since some expire in December and January (I got them on discount) I made that chocolate frosting at the end of the video. I was surprised how simple it was and I can share my experience but it was a chocolate Swiss buttercream. Claire Saffitz has a video on buttercream video that helped and I saw and read a few other things to bolster my confidence. I also heard of you microwave the frosting it makes it runny so maybe you can cover more ground w a runny jar of frosting? ☺️ thanks for watching!!

[@bettyir4302]

Ack, the frosting in tubs taste bland but chemically.

[@janem3575]

Did you end up using the expired cake mix? How did it turn out?

[@AlexKojfman]

Oh dear no. I used the new boxes I bought. I threw the expired box away. I didn’t want to take any chances. With the fat in the box it could have gone rancid. I wouldn’t want to risk it especially w kids.

[@chris5942]

I dont buy boxed or bagged anything now. Corporate can kma.

[@AlexKojfman]

Hahah😅 nice.

[@vinidelucci6192]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@SK-ki1te]

I grew up with/ learned to bake with box mixes. I can’t eat them now…so artificial, too sweet and chemical everything. I’m trying the DIY make-ahead mixes from KZbin. LOL occasionally I find myself not being able to walk by the cake mix aisle without grabbing some out of habit, unable to resist the amazing variety of packaging 😂🤣then end up giving them away when I get home and remember how bad they are. ( I’m still tempted to try the new Dolly Parton flavors🙃)

[@AlexKojfman]

Her cakes are rich or at least the use of butter, milk and sour cream help.

[@lyndelgado6138]

Btw, r they shrinking the pan sizes 2?

[@AlexKojfman]

Haha. When I read older recipe books I noticed they mention pan size sometimes but never thought much since it usually only an inch. I’ll have to measure my pans etc. what a great question 🤯

[@steveo4749]

Current box cake mixes do not fill out a 9x 13" pan like in the 80's. They are now thin and less moist.

[@bettyir4302]

@@AlexKojfman The measurement should be on the handle or on the bottom outside of baking pans. Cast iron skillets have it on the handle. Corningware usually has the amount it'll hold on the outside bottom or the handle.

[@suzieq4750]

I would have gladly paid a few more cents if they had kept the same amount of mix. I can definitely make a scratch cake but the boxed mixes stayed moist longer than a scratch cake. I haven't bought a cake mix since they shrank. The frostings taste like chemicals so I don't buy those.

[@hfo1967]

Leaving a comment for the algorithm ❤

[@luvzfrance24]

Did these companies adjust the baking time and size of the pan required?

[@AlexKojfman]

they take that all into account with they Frankenstein that all out. They do rigorous testing with labs and whatnot.

[@happybakergirl1292]

If you were to measure the cake mix booster hack you shared at the end, how many tablespoons is three ounces?

[@arfriedman4577]

Enter in Google and get answer

[@AlexKojfman]

6 tablespoons. (2 tablespoons per ounce). My next video I’ll be experimenting w the upmix! Thanks for watching and commenting. Really appreciate it!

[@arfriedman4577]

Who erased my comment

[@celtdoggy]

Can you just use self rising flour to make up the difference?

[@AlexKojfman]

Upmix has sugar and baking soda. Self rising has flour and baking powder, so yes... just note it might not be as sweet. (upmix has sugar and baking soda along with powder and flour).

[@fclefjefff4041]

Videos like this are proof that people are willing to get flustered over literally anything. My goodness, what are we going to do about cake mix shrinkflation?? 😂

[@AlexKojfman]

For sure a first world problem. 😩🤪 But I think it goes to say that people are flustered w everything getting smaller and the price staying the same or going up. And the solution for cake mix -> upmix which I mention near the end plus part two I experiment w it to see how it works. Thats what we can do about cake mix shrinkflation. Appreciate the comment. Thanks for watching.

[@katie7748]

Yes and your comment is proof of your own point LOL Cheers, internet stranger!

[@dinar471]

A lotta bakeries use a cake mix as well despite popular belief that it’s all from scratch. I don’t think anything is wrong with them but pleaseee make your own frosting, it will make the whole thing taste like you did it from scratch.

[@AlexKojfman]

True. I mention that part that bakeries use a mix. I’ve been making my own frosting and it’s not as hard as I thought. I’ve done ermine butter cream and Swiss buttercream both chocolate and they turned out well. What I like about ermine is that it’s not as sweet

[@hfo1967]

Please do Mini cake tin recipes, if you can

[@AlexKojfman]

That is a great idea! Do you mean muffin tins? I was thinking of doing a French toast breakfast muffin w cake mix. Or from scratch for a quick breakfast.

[@hfo1967]

Anything you come up with will be perfect! I saw a few mini cake tins with lids, looks like a personal mini cake with frosting. I trust your creativity. Turning on post notifications right now 😅

[@bonniewills2814]

I have a recipe for cookies using box cake mix and (thankfully) I included the box size on the recipe card. I have since worked out how much flour to add to the mix to bring the total back up. I also add a teaspoon of baking powder because I don't know how long the box has been sitting on the shelf. Ironically, I have the butter softening right now to make these cookies!

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah I'm glad I figured out about upmix too just so the recipes I have work a little better. Good luck with the cookies! let me know how they turned out!

[@bonniewills2814]

@@AlexKojfman They always turn out so good! Last night I ate too many and couldn't finish my dinner 🤣

[@FrugalQueeninFrance]

Cake recipe. Same weight of: flour, butter, eggs and sugar with baking powder. For chocolate cake remove 1/5th flour and add cocoa.

[@AlexKojfman]

Thanks! For my upcoming video I plan to share both the upmix again and one for chocolate. :) Appreciate your comment, thanks for watching!

[@alicemorrison1518]

THE UPMIX IS ABOUT TO SAVE A LIFE THIS XMAS We couldn't figure out why our traditional bake was no longer working.

[@AlexKojfman]

Oh that’s wonderful! Check out video part 2 where I experiment w the upmix and give the results. Or just use it to your hearts content. Thanks for watching and appreciate the comment. Merry Christmas!🎄

[@ronk9830]

Quite often, when I see shrunken products on the shelf, I walk away with the "They can keep it" attitude.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah it’s really sad especially when it’s something you like. Or well used to like … thanks for watching and commenting. Really appreciate you!

[@tylergood3773]

Its also skimpflation. The ingredients are lower quality. With all the recalls, maybe they should be more productive and stop skimping ingredients for an extra cent more.

[@AlexKojfman]

Tell me more. I’m not surprised but I hadn’t thought about it. I’ve read a lot about food and nutrition and they do mention how certain tweaks to food items occur to use cheaper materials or ingredients but I never thought about it in existing products just new products.

[@tylergood3773]

@AlexKojfman a few examples could be that like some snack food used to have honey as a sweetener now use like corn syrup or dextrose for the sweetener. Watch out for xytoil being labeled as birch sugar in pet food. Quite a damaging substance to your pets health

[@AlexKojfman]

yeah. sweeteners make sense.

[@Nanook128]

Shrinkflation really needs to be illegal. We really need national standards like canned goods and cake mixes that you are not allowed to deviate from.

[@AlexKojfman]

Agreed but that’s where the government comes in. So they need to put forth legislation and we need to advocate how it’s important to us. Trouble is most companies can resist these government intervention as anti capitalism.

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

box cake isn't cheating. Unless you have precision measuring equipment, cake flour and a professional grade oven, you're just not ever going to get a cake as good from scratch as from a box. In most cases, a from scratch cake is going to be denser and less flavorful. If you feel you need to avoid "chemicals" or have specific dietary reasons, fine, make your own. Otherwise, save yourself the time and effort and use a box and get a better end product. (obviously there are exceptions, I would never use a box cake as the base for my great grandmas applesauce cake, but that isn't meant to be a light fluffy beautifully iced cake)

[@AlexKojfman]

My upcoming video is a doctored cake that upon me eating most of it (I made 2 for the video) but I realized that w the sour cream and pistachio pudding you can’t taste the “chemicals” and it was one hellofagoodcake. I don’t want to yuck on anyone’s yum and box cakes are good. Do they save you time. I think a bit. But just got a recipe book with a really fancy yellow cake so maybe I’ll do a video conspiring the two. Thanks for watching and commenting!!

[@errantstitch9220]

I hate the “doctoring” garbage. It never fools me. It still tastes like boxed cake mix. Might as well make it from scratch at that point. It’s not that hard but it’s so much better tasting. Call me a cooking snob, but I actually hate to cook and bake. Making a cake from scratch though is worth it.

[@AlexKojfman]

You aren't alone. I did however make a really great pistachio cake from a mix and I did note that it really didn't taste or smell like a cake mix box bc of the doctoring. (I'll post that as my third and final cake mix video from this series.) Thanks for watching. I don't think it's snobbish to make cakes from scratch it's really rewarding.

[@GGTanguera]

There is also aquaflation (more water in let’s say pipkin pure). Old recipes would not work 😢

[@AlexKojfman]

Oh, that's really interesting. I t ink someone did mention that. Crazy.

[@indianne9781]

A few years ago my mom wrote to one of the cake mix companies (don’t remember which one, and it doesn’t matter) that calling it a cake mix was false advertising, that it should be called a PANcake mix. One more reason to bake from scratch.

[@AlexKojfman]

You just gave me an idea🎉😮. I’ll see how they go as pancakes. Thanks for watching and commenting means a lot. Also I love your mom’s gumption. I’ve emailed a company or two and I think when I was younger I wrote to a company for something. Not sure but they always end up giving you coupons for their product. 😂

[@irhyn2300]

KZbin worked their magic! Found on KZbin main page

[@AlexKojfman]

Haha. Appreciate you stopping by!

[@ijustlovebritcoms]

Guys…guys…. Just learn how to mix up baked goods from scratch!! It is not difficult!! And healthier to boot! I haven’t bought a commercial cake mix in forever.

[@lisah336]

I can see how shrinkflation is annoying, but I dont mind it for making a few cupcakes. I rarely eat the entire batch so I'm good.

[@AlexKojfman]

I love the silver lining. I think it. Starts to bug people more when the price goes up too. But you make a good point.

[@sonofsandwiches6892]

It's flour, baking soda, coloring, and preservatives. No reason to use a boxed cake mix really. Cook from scratch and save your money.

[@AlexKojfman]

I plan to. I mean I used to make this white sheet cake from scratch when I was 10. I loved doing it. I’ll try sharing some recipes when I find a worthwhile recipe and concept to share.

[@kwillow12]

Cake mixes use to require 2 eggs, and no extra oil. Now they demand 3 eggs and a ¼ cup of oil. Why is this?

[@AlexKojfman]

You know I’m relatively new to cake mixes since I remember using them when I was younger but didn’t remember the egg count. Or oil requirements. I also used to make cakes from scratch as a kid so I couldn’t keep track. But maybe some of the mixes kept some of the powdered egg in their mix and then removed them completely. Also removal of powdered fats could explain the need for oil. Great question. Thanks for the comment.

[@kwillow12]

@@AlexKojfman I just turned 70. Born in 1954. Made a lot of cake mix cakes in the 60s and early 70s. 2 eggs and some water. We had a bad oven, tho and the cakes frequently burned and/or fell apart. We still ate them, tho.

[@AlexKojfman]

@@kwillow12 yeah. My family didn't waste food either :) Crazy that it changed so much from 2 to 3 eggs. But tastes change too...

[@cydkriletich6538]

Box cake mixes are simply doing what the majority of food manufacturers seem to be doing today. Has anyone recently bought a half gallon of ice cream? I bought a box of Popsicles this past summer and I think the popsicles were at least 1/3 smaller than I remember them being. And this goes on and on! If more people realized that box cake mixes are on the “top 10” list of food products with the highest amount of cholesterol, maybe more people would start baking cakes, cookies, etc. from scratch, where they can control quality, ingredients, and amount.

[@AlexKojfman]

NOT POPSICLES! I have to check that out, but I heard even Reese's PB cups are smaller and don't get me started on Cadbury Creme eggs!

[@cydkriletich6538]

@ sad, isn’t it.

[@sunflowerbaby1853]

I want to know why the white or vanilla cake mixes now require “five” eggs. That’s ridiculous.

[@AlexKojfman]

Which brand? That sounds crazy. I have one or two in my pantry so I’ll have to check it out. 😮

[@sunflowerbaby1853]

@ Both the normal brands. I even looked at the ALDIs and Walmart ones and for some reason, white cakes primarily now require 5 eggs or egg whites. For me that makes a quickie cake mix more expensive.

[@--harry_]

My kids love cookie cakes, they ask for 1 at their birthday. I use a recipe that uses box cake mix. Comes out great and i save $20.

[@AlexKojfman]

I bet it comes out really moist and delicious! I’ll have to look it up and give it a try. I have a lot of boxes. 😂😊

[@susanhanstock6879]

Because of shrinkflation, there is a lot of things I have stopped buying. A lot of things are just not worth the money anymore.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah. It’s kind of sad. I’m hearing that a lot. There is a Reddit forum on shrinkflation and seeing what they post is just infuriating. Thanks for watching!

[@mozempire5096]

@AlexKojfman : Your Upmix solution DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR LIQUIDS! Great, I add 3 oz of dry goods to my boxed mix. HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL LIQUID DO YOU ADD?!??? If you don't add any liquid, you've just made your improved cake mix so dry your mouth will pucker. Forget the rising, it will be a dry mess.

[@AlexKojfman]

You are right! And someone commented that they add a bit of water. I’m experimenting w upmix in an upcoming video but I did think of it. The upmix recipes I saw and shared didn’t mention liquid but here is what I’m thinking: first the cake mix should be able to handle it given how much shortening and emulsifiers, etc already there but you’re right it’ll be more dry (perhaps closer to scratch cake?) Old time cake mix used to be 18 oz and those boxed cake recipes still used about the same amounts of liquid roughly. I think the amount of oil has changed but Eggs were always 2-3 (although now some even suggest adding a fourth). I’ll be looking into this and provide an addendum in the description. Thanks for commenting. You make an excellent point worth exploring!

[@AlexKojfman]

@mozempire5096 I just finished filming the upmix experiment. Adding 3oz of dry ingredients to get to 18.25oz add 1-2 tablespoons of liquid (water or milk for example) I used 2 tablespoons in my experiments and the batter was a good consistency. (Also the upmix worked wonderfully!!)

[@bwasman8409]

C'mon...there are two ways companies have changed their profit margin for years! One....reduce the size of the amount of product....two...increase the price. Oops, I forgot one...raise the price and reduce the amount of product. Duuuuuuh!

[@AlexKojfman]

Haha too true!

[@sophieonthemtn1239]

I haven't used a mix since I was a teenager (and THAT was more years than you'd want to know), especially when I discovered the Devil's Food Cake recipe on the side of the Swan's Down Cake Flour box. Super yummy. But as a Luddite without a dishwasher, I have come to hate baking more and more, just because of the dishes. And my friends swoon over my bread, danishes, and pies. But looking at the sinkful of dishes from my latest cookie adventure, I thought I'd like to buy a Dromedary gingerbread mix. Are they out of business???? Not in any of the grocery stores in my rural metropolis. So sad. And now to hear that cake mixes won't fill a standard 13x9 potluck size sheet pan... I guess I'll stick with the Swan's Down Devil's Food recipe.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah I haven’t seen a ginger spiced one and that was one of the first flavours. Let me know if you find one around this time since it’s Christmas.

[@clarevette459]

You would have to add your own cake flour to make up for the shrinkage.

[@AlexKojfman]

Yeah in my video I talk about solutions in the last part and I give an upmix recipe to add to it. My next video is experimenting w upmix to see how well it works.