Carving, or sculpting, cakes requires a cake with a dense crumb that won't fall apart while you're working with it. Try this doctored mix for a delicious cake that won't crumble when you need it to hold-up.
So many people have asked me about my durable cake recipe in chocolate so I did a bit of experimenting and think I came up with just the right combination. This chocolate cake is a bit thicker but not overwhelming. It holds up so much better than a regular cake during sculpting. There is less crumbling and the taste is just right.
Durable Cake for 3D in Chocolate
Ingredients
1 Duncan Hines Devils Food Chocolate Mix
4 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour pans.
On low speed begin incorporating all ingredients together.
Once combined, give a very good stir with a spatula making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Turn mixer to medium and blend well for approximately 2 minutes.
The batter will be thick but don’t worry – this is normal.
Spoon equal amounts into pans and using spatula even out the batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on oven. Toothpick inserted in center should come out clean and top should spring back when pressed.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto cooling racks.
I tried this cake after a friend of mine said "you'll get better the more you make it" about the chocolate cake recipe I was using. Everyone loved it! It was easy to make and easy to carve. I'm glad I was warned about the batter being thick. I would have worried I'd done something wrong if I hadn't of known. Thanks! It's the only chocolate cake I use!
I made this, but just converted the regular receipe that does not have the addidtional oil. It turned out awesome. I did it with the Dark Chocolate Duncan Hines with Chocolate Fudge pudding. The family I made the 3d bear for loved it. My only recommnedation is with the 3d bear, DON"T use the core, cook for 2 hours and only let it sit for a few minutes before you set the bear somewhat on his butt, if you don't this batter is SOOOO heavy that the head will seperate from the shoulders.
I froze it and it still wasn't too easy, but way better than any other cake I've tried to carve. I even pasted pieces together, froze that, and then carved some more... so I guess it worked out pretty well. Definitely freeze it!! Don't worry - from the time you start putting on frosting to the time you serve it, it won't be still frozen.
Do you think I can generally use this recipe with any boxed mix??I have a customer who wants cherry chip flavor cake and I thought about using vanilla pudding instead.
not sure if i'm using this recipe wrong, tried to make a 13x9 and it only rose 1 inch :( are you supposed to replace the ingridients on the box with the ones listed?? Should i have doubled the recipe for a 13x9?? thx
One question, i like to make my recipes from scratch. Does anyone know how to replace the devil food box for actual ingredients? Please!! I need to do a 3D chocolate cake and would love to use this recipe :D Thank you!
Awesome recipe. Used to make a teapot cake. It held its shape and was easy to work with. My friends loved the flavor and raved about the moistness. Thanks so much for a great recipe!!
Am just about to make this recipe for the first time after having read all the comments and compliments! Just a quick question... what does "small package" of chocolate pudding mix mean? how small is small? I have some sachets that I just bought... which I think are about 125g... is that right? or is that too much? too little? Many thanks for any help!
I baked this last night to see how it would work for sculpting. It was ok to carve but the taste.. that is what sold it to me. Sooooo good!!! I'm not a big chocolate cake fan but this cake may be my new favorite!
Well...so far so good! I have a Captains Hat to make and just tried this recipe and they turned out of the pans on my hands great without cracking. I only had a large box of Chocolate and Vanilla pudding on hand so I used all of those and whipped my egg whites adding them last. Ran out of sour cream so the last half of that was whipping cream and I added 2 tablespoons of good vanilla.
Oh my Goodness!! Finally I have a chocolate cake recipe that I can trust! I don't like chocolate cake and I can't bake it for the life of me (high altitude)...but this one turned out fabulous even in 10" rounds!! Thank you :)
I use this recipe all the time, but I use 3 whole eggs instead of egg whites. Everyone loves it. It's very similar to the Darn Good Chocolate cake recipe.
I'm going to do a "ditto" here and ask the same question. What is the missing ingredient that is 1/3 cup? We can't even go by the instructions as it just says to use all the ingredients.
It looks like Cake Central changed their format for recipes and lost something in the copy and pasting. It should read 1/3 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tablespoons. Shannon is correct in saying it should be on the same line.
I don't see why you couldn't make a pudding mix of your own. One I use is 3/4 cup dry milk powder, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa. Use a scale to measure out 4 ounces to replace the commercial pudding mix. I hope this helps.
This is my go to chocolate cake recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. The only difference is I replace the water with espresso and add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to give it more depth. Before that, I always felt it was lacking something. Now it's perfect! :-)
I never leave a review, but after making three unsuccessful different recipes from scratch - which weren't firm enough to carve or even strong enough to stack (including Hershey's recipe) I finally found this one. I baked it in a shiny metal (Wilton) 2 x 8"by2" round pans at 350 F for 30 minutes with a flower nail in the middle, I also used even baking strips. The only modifications I did were adding 1 x tsp of pure vanilla extract, 1 x TBsp of unsweet ground cocoa, and I warmed the water in the microwave for 1 minute and added after blending all the ingredients with a spatula.
I tried this cake after a friend of mine said "you'll get better the more you make it" about the chocolate cake recipe I was using. Everyone loved it! It was easy to make and easy to carve. I'm glad I was warned about the batter being thick. I would have worried I'd done something wrong if I hadn't of known. Thanks! It's the only chocolate cake I use!
This cake is delicious! Thanks so much for posting! I too, was glad to be warned about the thickness. Wonderful recipe!! :)
I made this, but just converted the regular receipe that does not have the addidtional oil. It turned out awesome. I did it with the Dark Chocolate Duncan Hines with Chocolate Fudge pudding. The family I made the 3d bear for loved it. My only recommnedation is with the 3d bear, DON"T use the core, cook for 2 hours and only let it sit for a few minutes before you set the bear somewhat on his butt, if you don't this batter is SOOOO heavy that the head will seperate from the shoulders.
Love Love this recipe!! So easy to stack and carve!! Tastes great!!!
how do you store the cake..if you bake it before hand a couple of days?
Why is only the egg white used in this recipe?
I love this recipe! I have used it many times and it holds up great when using fondant!
how many people will this recipe feed please??
Stasia1985: I'm guessing it will feed slightly more than the cake mix says, since the egg whites and extra ingredients puff it up a lot.
If i were to do this with vanilla cake and pudding would it work the same??
How hard is this to carve? Should it be frozen first? Refrigerated?
Also, how full is best to fill pans? So that it won't flow over or crisp at the top?
I froze it and it still wasn't too easy, but way better than any other cake I've tried to carve. I even pasted pieces together, froze that, and then carved some more... so I guess it worked out pretty well. Definitely freeze it!! Don't worry - from the time you start putting on frosting to the time you serve it, it won't be still frozen.
Do you think I can generally use this recipe with any boxed mix??I have a customer who wants cherry chip flavor cake and I thought about using vanilla pudding instead.
Would this make 2 x 8" or just 1? Thanks
not sure if i'm using this recipe wrong, tried to make a 13x9 and it only rose 1 inch :( are you supposed to replace the ingridients on the box with the ones listed?? Should i have doubled the recipe for a 13x9?? thx
Kiddiekakes: I've used this with several different boxed mixes & pudding flavors now. Worked great every time!
Cristee- do 2 layers for 13x9 (which is easiest if you just have 2 of the same pan- takes less time).
One question, i like to make my recipes from scratch. Does anyone know how to replace the devil food box for actual ingredients? Please!! I need to do a 3D chocolate cake and would love to use this recipe :D Thank you!
Awesome recipe. Used to make a teapot cake. It held its shape and was easy to work with. My friends loved the flavor and raved about the moistness. Thanks so much for a great recipe!!
Am just about to make this recipe for the first time after having read all the comments and compliments! Just a quick question... what does "small package" of chocolate pudding mix mean? how small is small? I have some sachets that I just bought... which I think are about 125g... is that right? or is that too much? too little? Many thanks for any help!
I baked this last night to see how it would work for sculpting. It was ok to carve but the taste.. that is what sold it to me. Sooooo good!!! I'm not a big chocolate cake fan but this cake may be my new favorite!
Well...so far so good! I have a Captains Hat to make and just tried this recipe and they turned out of the pans on my hands great without cracking. I only had a large box of Chocolate and Vanilla pudding on hand so I used all of those and whipped my egg whites adding them last. Ran out of sour cream so the last half of that was whipping cream and I added 2 tablespoons of good vanilla.
Honeybees- 3.4 oz box of pudding is what I've been using. But I think I'm too late for your January cake! Hope it went great!
-Candice
Oh my Goodness!! Finally I have a chocolate cake recipe that I can trust! I don't like chocolate cake and I can't bake it for the life of me (high altitude)...but this one turned out fabulous even in 10" rounds!! Thank you :)
I use this recipe all the time, but I use 3 whole eggs instead of egg whites. Everyone loves it. It's very similar to the Darn Good Chocolate cake recipe.
Thank you for this recipe!
Just wondering, there is a measurement of 1/3 cup but no ingredient to go with it. Is this a typo or is there another ingredient?
Thank you
I'm going to do a "ditto" here and ask the same question. What is the missing ingredient that is 1/3 cup? We can't even go by the instructions as it just says to use all the ingredients.
thanks
My recipe is the same and the 1/3 plus 2 tbs vegetable oil should be on the same line. So 1/3 plus 2 tbsp veg oil :)
It looks like Cake Central changed their format for recipes and lost something in the copy and pasting. It should read 1/3 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tablespoons. Shannon is correct in saying it should be on the same line.
@heartsfire , @shannonh917 , @basketpam , @lbensoncan Thank you for questioning and correcting the error in this recipe.
It has been corrected.
@heartsfire , thanks for sharing your recipe!
Leanne
@heartsfire Chocolate pudding mix is very hard to find where I live can I susitute some other ingredient.
Thanks
I don't see why you couldn't make a pudding mix of your own. One I use is 3/4 cup dry milk powder, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa. Use a scale to measure out 4 ounces to replace the commercial pudding mix. I hope this helps.
This is my go to chocolate cake recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. The only difference is I replace the water with espresso and add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to give it more depth. Before that, I always felt it was lacking something. Now it's perfect! :-)
I never leave a review, but after making three unsuccessful different recipes from scratch - which weren't firm enough to carve or even strong enough to stack (including Hershey's recipe) I finally found this one. I baked it in a shiny metal (Wilton) 2 x 8"by2" round pans at 350 F for 30 minutes with a flower nail in the middle, I also used even baking strips. The only modifications I did were adding 1 x tsp of pure vanilla extract, 1 x TBsp of unsweet ground cocoa, and I warmed the water in the microwave for 1 minute and added after blending all the ingredients with a spatula.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
What size box of pudding mix? Should it be instant pudding mix? What size cake does this recipe make?