Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Recipes › scratch cake...big flop!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

scratch cake...big flop! - Page 2

post #16 of 27
2/9/06 at 4:10pm
Sarah's recipe has gotten mixed reviews. I don't have a lot of time to bake so I opted not to try her recipe. It seemed to fall in the "too heavy, cornbready" category. People have gotten better results with the spin-off recipes that one of the CC members created like the egg nog cake. Those recipes are also on baking911.

Like anything in life, baking takes practice. It takes a few tries to learn how to properly cream the butter and sugar, mix the batter the right amount of time, fold in egg whites, and bake the right temp and right amount of time.

I still am in complete disbelief that no one remembers all the "doctored" cakemix recipes from the 70's. The cakemixes then were not full of overpowering fake flavor and readily absorbed anything added to the mix. It pains me that the cake doctor lady has made a fortune off what was common knowledge. I guess there really is nothing new under the sun. icon_razz.gif

If you don't live in a city, then visit one nearby. Go to a real bakery or deli and buy cake slices. You will know the scratch cake when you make happy noises like when you're eating an Oreo blizzard on a hot summer day. icon_smile.gif
Sleep deprived
Reply
Sleep deprived
Reply
post #17 of 27
2/9/06 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bubblezmom


I still am in complete disbelief that no one remembers all the "doctored" cakemix recipes from the 70's. The cakemixes then were not full of overpowering fake flavor and readily absorbed anything added to the mix. It pains me that the cake doctor lady has made a fortune off what was common knowledge. I guess there really is nothing new under the sun. icon_razz.gif




I have church cookbooks from the 70's and 80's with those doctored mix recipes. Most of them were Bundt cake recipes.

I say good for the cake mix doctor for making money by bringing that stuff back to the light of day! I just wish I'd thought of it first. icon_smile.gif


Mami2sweeties-Maybe you should try a new scratch recipe instead of trying Sarah's again. You'll find one you like eventually.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 27
2/9/06 at 8:38pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I really like what Squirrely told me about the texture. As I tihnk more about it, I will not try Sarah's recipe again.

I have a yellow cake recipe that has cake flour and it baked up fluffy. Almost like a box mix but a more tender crumb. It was not "spongy" like Squirrely called it.

I also went back to read the review and realized I was not dealing with the same type recipe. It was pound cakey but lighter and that is not the cake recipe type I am looking for. Squirrely said the same thing about all butter and ubleached flour type recipes.

Thanks for your help. I think I am sticking to Barbara Kafka recipe in Great American Cakes.

I also learned that every recipe is different. I know that sounds obvious but I really was looking for more a cake mix type scratch cake. I just wanted to make it from scratch so I could avoid any preservative and artificial flavorings for some friends that can't handle that.
mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
Reply
mami2sweeties

Take time to smell the flowers!
Reply
post #19 of 27
2/9/06 at 8:55pm
k I think I will put in my two cents here.
I have found that cake recipes where you add the egg yolks and beat the whites seperately make for a more delicate crumb like a mix cake. I have tried other scratch recipes and yes they are heavier than mix cakes. Which is aok in my book they have their purpose. When I am baking a cake the is especially tall or is an odd shape the heavier scratch cakes hold their shape much better.
when you want delicate then probably use a mix instead.
I am going to do some experimenting this week to see if my hypothosis is correct about seperating the eggs to make it fluffier and lighter textured. I will let ya'll know how it turns out.
Look twice, save a life. Motorcylcles are
Everywhere!
ABATE of Colorado
Reply
Look twice, save a life. Motorcylcles are
Everywhere!
ABATE of Colorado
Reply
post #20 of 27
2/9/06 at 8:57pm
sheesh, my grandma would roll over in her grave if she saw how I was butchering the english language, ( she was an english teacher)
*hypothesis*
Look twice, save a life. Motorcylcles are
Everywhere!
ABATE of Colorado
Reply
Look twice, save a life. Motorcylcles are
Everywhere!
ABATE of Colorado
Reply
post #21 of 27
2/14/06 at 6:32pm
I have tried this one and it was good. White buttermilk cake. I found it at cooks.com
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 27
4/12/07 at 10:39am
save
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 27
4/12/07 at 10:52am
when I made a scratch butter cake, it came out tasting like bisquick. Yucky.

I am not sure if I posted this before, but I did a taste test with scratch VS extended box mixes, and the boxed ones one each time. With the only exception being the chocolate. They were about equal, but with the amount of extra work entailed, I have given up on scratch cakes.


Stephanie
Beggin for Cake
www.begginforcake.com
Reply
Beggin for Cake
www.begginforcake.com
Reply
post #24 of 27
4/12/07 at 6:33pm
I have great sucess with Toba Garrett's 'Moist yellow cake" recipe and Slyvia Weinstocks "Classic yellow cake recipe. I only use softassilk cake flour. Both cakes taste very good.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 27
4/12/07 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ellepal

I did this same recipe with the same results; and what was worse is that noone at work liked the cake. They thought it was too heavy and "weird". That is why I am sticking to doctored mixes; they don't get complaints!....



Just this week, I tried the add-pudding-an-and-extra-egg and sent in a test cake with hubby to my official cake testers! (They luv being my test audience!)

I will never use this again. It's back to my 25-years-and-never-failed method of straight mixes. The comment that nixed it was "....this taste like every other cake you can get anywhere. Debi's cakes usually POP!" I've gotten too many comments over the years on how "different" my cakes taste (which is weird to me because it's just a mix cake!). I do *not* want my cakes to be described as "they taste like everyone else's".

But this is why we keep trying new things! Some things work and some don't. I made a scratch diabetic cake for a sampling last week. The bride didnt' like it, but I ate all the leftovers - wasn't bad! icon_wink.gif (Bride said, "It's ok for a DIABETIC cake!").
Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://debiswritingcollection.blogspot.com/
Reply
Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://debiswritingcollection.blogspot.com/
Reply
post #26 of 27
4/12/07 at 10:17pm
I didn't see it mentioned here but I've noticed that when you make scratch cakes gas vs. electric ovens make a difference.

If you have an electric oven note that electric dries your cake a little more than a gas oven. Also, keep in mind elevation and change your recipe ingredients accordingly.
Engineering is mathematics only louder.
Reply
Engineering is mathematics only louder.
Reply
post #27 of 27
4/12/07 at 10:40pm
I have to share a funny story. My son's preschool teacher recently asked me to make her husband a "belated bday cake". She specified...box mix yellow cake and canned chocolate frosting!! She originally ordered a custom cake from a prominent local bakery and spent quite a bit of money on it. He told her he didn't like it, and really wanted one just like his mom used to make. I think the mixes are a form of comfort food for many.
Pam
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Recipes
Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Recipes › scratch cake...big flop!