I Don't Want To Give Up.... Baking From Scratch

Baking By nenufares Updated 21 Aug 2007 , 12:22pm by spongemomsweatpants

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nenufares Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:17am
post #1 of 29

I GIVE UP... that is what I said also like 2-3 months ago.
I've been baking for a while using doctored cake mixes because no matter what all the time I try a recipe from scratch it turns out .... nasty! Too dry... too dense, no flavor or a combination of all
I guess I am really picky...
Even baking with mixes... I like just certain recipes that kinda hide the flavor of a cake from a box.
I like to try a new recipe at least once a week and I've been doing it for almost six months and so far I've found 5-6 cakes worth the effort.

Well...
Today I tried to bake from scratch again... tried 2 recipes from the cake bible (I've heard good comments about her recipes). Tried the pound cake and the sour cream one..... and guess what?
I just hated them...

I know there is somebody out there who has the most wonderful recipe from scratch... please... please....
icon_cry.gif HEPL! I don't want to give up.

28 replies
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MavericksMommy Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:24am
post #2 of 29

I don't have any from scratch that are good, I've had the same experience as you with every one that I tried. But here's a BUMP!

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Loucinda Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:27am
post #3 of 29

I don't even try the scratch baking anymore. The doctored mixes work out so well for me, it is not worth the time and effort just to say it is from "scratch".

I wish you luck on your journey to do so though!

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RitzyFritz Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:35am
post #4 of 29

I personally really liked the below mentioned cake from scratch. I thought it had a great flavor and it held up well after being frozen for several months. I have made it for several folks and EVERYONE who has had this cake thought it was great. Maybe this one would work for you? Good luck!

The Ultimate (Yellow) Butter Cake (buttercake) Recipe
By: Sarah Phillips on Baking 9-1-1.

http://www.baking911.com/recipes/cakes/buttercake_yellow_ultimate.htm

The recipe is long, as she gives very detailed instructions, but very much worth it in my opinion. She also gives variations to the recipe to change it up when you so desire.

Let me know if this one works for you or not!

*edited to include web site link (forgot to include before submitting my post the first time icon_redface.gif )

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nenufares Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:46am
post #5 of 29

Thank you all for your comments.
Ritzyfritz... thanks for the recipe. I hope to try it sometime during the week. icon_rolleyes.gif

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chefcindy Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:48am
post #6 of 29

OK I am new at commenting in the forums, and haven't posted many pictures, but I always buy cake on sale... use the store brand, and I have had people tell me that they don't like cake usually, but can't resist "homemade". I never say I made them from scratch... and I don't doctor them, but I always receive high praise from the run of the mill box cake.

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RitzyFritz Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:48am
post #7 of 29

You're welcome. I hope this one works for you. I know it is hard to work off others' opinions, but just maybe this one will do the trick. If not, then I feel confident there will be a recipe (of all the THOUSANDS available) come along that will click for you.

Good luck, and keep us posted! I did just edit my first post to include the link to that recipe if you want to check it out.

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leta Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 4:48am
post #8 of 29

If you found 5 or 6 recipes, then you are successful!

I like the white chocolate whisper cake from the cake bible.

I really don't enjoy the taste of the sour cream cakes. I prefer the cakes made with buttermilk. Choc fudge cake from Toba Garrett and her Yellow cake recipes are the best. I like the almond paste recipe in her book also, though, some might consider it dry.

I also really like the choc chip pound cake in the Whimsical Bakehouse book.

I have found that cakes dry out quite rapidly as they cool, so I have had good results wrapping them up before they are totally cool.

I also think that scratch cakes taste better with a non-crusting buttercream.

To make up a recipe book, you need dozens of recipes, of those, a handful will be really good.

Sounds like you have a great start. People mostly want chocolate or white--if you are making cakes for the masses.

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leily Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 11:10am
post #9 of 29

I have been trying to find scratch recipes I like also and so far the following Chocolate cake is the only one I will make out of scratch consistantly. It is a recipe I got from my Great Grandmother and I love it.

I hope you enjoy it

Leily

Moist Chocolate Cake

2 C.  All Purpose Flour
1 tea.  Salt
1 tea.  Baking Powder
2 tea.  Baking Soda
3/4 C  Unsweetened Cocoa
2 C  Sugar

1 C  Oil
1 C   Hot Coffee
1 C   Milk
2  Eggs
1 tea.  Vanilla

  Sift together dry ingredients. Add oil, coffee, and milk. Beat 2 min. Add Eggs and Vanilla. Beat 2 min. Batter will be thin.
   Lightly grease and flour pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 min. Up temp to 350 degrees and bake an additional 10 min.

For an angel food or bundt pan bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees

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mkolmar Posted 13 Aug 2006 , 8:01pm
post #10 of 29

i love from scratch cakes, I prefer the ones with buttermilk. I do usually screw up the first one though and have to make another. It's a curse. I bake for just family and friends right now, so I'm no pro. Don't give up, it takes a while to get a good scratch recipe. I'm always on the hunt. baking911 has some good ones!

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margiebirds Posted 14 Aug 2006 , 3:57pm
post #11 of 29

For chocolate and white cakes, mixes are so dependable and effortless that I really like to use them. I like the fine texture they give. Pillbury Plus and Betty Crocker SuperMoist have given me good success. I usually add lemon and/or almond axtract to white cake mixes. Finely shredded (especially dessicated) coconut is a great addition to white cake mixes. I also like to add nut flavoring and finely chopped nuts to the mixes. I like to add pineapple or chopped marashino cherries to white cakes from mix.

For other flavors I have tried many recipes from allrecipes.com. Most of the recipes have been rated by others, so you can see how others like them, and sugestions they have made. They have over 2,000 cake recipes and most have ratings and comments to make the selection easier.

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7yyrt Posted 19 Aug 2006 , 7:02am
post #12 of 29

Hershey's Black Magic Cake Yields 10 to 12 servings.
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
* 1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired.

To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.
(Virginia Phillips is a Mt. Lebanon freelance food writer. )
----------
I tried this Aug,2006. The batter looks like SOUP! Glass 9x13; 45 minutes at 325 degrees. EXCELLENT! Flat top, dense crumb, and I could even make a cut-up cake from it. 7yyrt

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nickshalfpint Posted 21 Aug 2006 , 1:51am
post #13 of 29

Leily, I just tried this recipe and it's soooo good. Thanks for sharing thumbs_up.gif

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nenufares Posted 28 Aug 2006 , 3:05pm
post #14 of 29

I just want to say that......... Yesterday I tried the Ultimate buttercake from baking 911. I used vanilla flavoring and some orange zest on it and let me tell you that for the very first time in a long long long time, I liked the cake! and it was made frorm scratch!
It is dense but still fluffly and has a good flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe RitzyFritz!.
Now 2 more recipes to try, those chocolate ones sounds excelent. Probably sometime next weekend.

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imartsy Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 5:00pm
post #15 of 29

I have this problem too! I just made the cinnamon-vanilla cake from the Food Network's Throwdown w/ Bobby Flay and it turned out so dry! And I also tried making a chocolate cake - I think I got the recipe from this site but at the moment I can't remember which one it was - anyway - they both turned out fairly dry! And they both had a little "crust" on the top - and I tried baking at a lower temperature and I don't think I baked them too long so I don't know what's up. I tried the Hershey cake (dark chocolate cake or look on the back of the Hershey cocoa box) and that turned out really really moist and everyone loved it. I'd like good pound cake recipes too b/c I'd love to get into carving cakes - so if anyone's going to add those here, I'd love to see them!!

This is another reason I wish we could comment in the recipes section of the site - so we could say "this cake recipe turned out dry for me" or "I tried baking this twice - the first time it came out dry but the second time i added 1/2 cup more milk and it came out great..." etc. It would just be a great feature!

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leta Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 5:48pm
post #16 of 29

Are you pregnant icon_confused.gif When I was pregnant nothing I baked came out right! I've heard that's quite common icon_lol.gif

But aside from that, Wah, bummer! icon_cry.gif

Do you have your ingredients at room temp when you begin? Also, might want to stir your flour or sift before measuring, when I weighed mine, I had about 1/4 c. less per cup than when I measure it!

Don't give up!

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kay52178 Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 5:53pm
post #17 of 29

I was not happy with the buttercake results. I thought it was too dense for my liking. I could barely even get the leveler through them. I make four of them for my wilton class, threw them all out and then make doctored cake mixes. I guess I'm just not a scratch cake person!

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karateka Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 5:54pm
post #18 of 29

I know I sound like a broken record, but The Cake Bible has never failed me once. I consider it a must in any bakery.

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RisqueBusiness Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 6:00pm
post #19 of 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by chefcindy

OK I am new at commenting in the forums, and haven't posted many pictures, but I always buy cake on sale... use the store brand, and I have had people tell me that they don't like cake usually, but can't resist "homemade". I never say I made them from scratch... and I don't doctor them, but I always receive high praise from the run of the mill box cake.




I had a chef tell me NOT to feel so arrogant that I could bake better than a multi million dollar company that has spent years and millions researching the BEST cake mix they could come up with.

We do not have the time nor the resources to develop one ourselves. I am truly grateful that I found something that works for me, even if it's a doctored cake mix. NO ONE COMPLAINS and even the chefs I bake for LOVE IT!

so, relax...enjoy the ride.

I was NEVER impressed with the cake bible. I did hear that her cakes are awesome tasting, but her book was VERY CONFUSING TO ME. I could NEVER FIGURE IT OUT and I do NOT recommend it to ANYONE ...homebaker or professional..

Just my opinion!

Just to let you all know, that Yes, I know I have a gift..small one at that, but I never....put it down, nor think I could do better than ANYONE ELSE. I am VERY HUMBLE and grateful that I have managed.

SO, no..I am NOT arrogant enough to think I can do any better than DH or BC!! lol

Sorry for being so harsh, but that is MY truth as I see it.

When I get asked if I bake from scratch...hahaha sure I tell them I scratch my head every time I put cake in the oven to bake!! ( actually a lower part of my anatomy, but keepint it clean here...lol)

So, Please, Please, don't kill yourself with self doubt and second guessing. You have 5 recipes? GOOD FOR YOU! work those to death!!! build your business around those!!

keep your options open and devote some time off to experimenting. I am already planning a "WORKING " vacation after the holidays.

I am taking myself a week off in January and going to take some classes!! dunno where yet, but it will come!!

Thanks for listening!

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MaisieBake Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 6:45pm
post #20 of 29
Quote:
Quote:

I had a chef tell me NOT to feel so arrogant that I could bake better than a multi million dollar company that has spent years and millions researching the BEST cake mix they could come up with.




What nonsense.

The boxes work because of the assorted "other" stuff they have in them. No scratch cake is going to taste like the stuff from a box because that weird wet dissolvey (or pleasantly moist and melty, depends on which you prefer) texture is a chemical thing.

Box mix is made to be cakelike regardless of what's done to it, to be impossible to really mess up, to work for someone who can read but doesn't know how to bake. The beauty is that it's idiotproof, not that it's great tasting. (Try substituting applesauce and soymilk and adding a box of pudding mix in your next genoise and see how well it works without the cakemix stuff you can't pronounce.) What makes a box mix "best" isn't what makes a cake best.

Quote:
Quote:

We do not have the time nor the resources to develop one ourselves.




Who is this we? Do "we" not have access to good cookbooks? Do "we" not have access to sites like eipcuious where each recipe is reviewed and commented on?

People have been baking for centuries probably. The recipes and the knowledge are out there if you care to look.

Quote:
Quote:

I was NEVER impressed with the cake bible. I did hear that her cakes are awesome tasting, but her book was VERY CONFUSING TO ME. I could NEVER FIGURE IT OUT




If you don't like the recipes that's one thing, but yes, it's not a book for someone who's never baked from scratch. She assumes a base of knowledge that apparently you don't have. Try Joy of Cooking (read the explanations and introductions, not just the recipes) for more basic instructions if you want to learn.

Quote:
Quote:

When I get asked if I bake from scratch...hahaha sure I tell them I scratch my head every time I put cake in the oven to bake!! ( actually a lower part of my anatomy, but keepint it clean here...lol)




Hahaha! So cute.

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Narie Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 6:59pm
post #21 of 29

I'm a bit heistant to list anything because someone tried my suggestion from the food network for Classic white cake and didn't like the results at all. However, recipes from brands are usually very reliable, like Hershey's Black Magic Cake mentioned above or on the previous page or Welsh's jelly roll-- both great recipes.

So I went to the Swansdown site to see what they had. This recipe is very much like the one from the food network and is only a one bowl recipe. They also had a recipe for Lady Baltimore cake which is a two bowl white cake. (ignore the filling and the fruit- unless you really want a Lady Baltimore Cake.)

http://www.luzianne.com/recipe_details.cfm?RecipeID=97&Category=Swans%20Down%20Cake%20Flour&RecipeList=99,103,108,106,107,93,96,104,95,98,109,97,91,257,101,94,144,105,110&

I haven't tried either but both look very sound and the Swansdown home economists are unlikely to list a recipe they weren't proud of. I also looked over the yellow cake recipe from Baking 911. Again it looked very sound. I know the black magic cake is good and the other chocolate cake recipe looked very similar so it should be very good too. So you have yellow, chocolate and white cake recipes that all should produce good cakes. One thing to consider, scratch cakes don't have preservatives and need to be frosted promptly. They also have a much shorter shelf life than box cakes.


I do have a question for anyone out there. I have never eaten a scratch recipe Angel food cake. Is it worth the effort?

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RisqueBusiness Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 7:11pm
post #22 of 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaisieBake

Quote:
Quote:

I had a chef tell me NOT to feel so arrogant that I could bake better than a multi million dollar company that has spent years and millions researching the BEST cake mix they could come up with.



What nonsense.

The boxes work because of the assorted "other" stuff they have in them. No scratch cake is going to taste like the stuff from a box because that weird wet dissolvey (or pleasantly moist and melty, depends on which you prefer) texture is a chemical thing.

Box mix is made to be cakelike regardless of what's done to it, to be impossible to really mess up, to work for someone who can read but doesn't know how to bake. The beauty is that it's idiotproof, not that it's great tasting. (Try substituting applesauce and soymilk and adding a box of pudding mix in your next genoise and see how well it works without the cakemix stuff you can't pronounce.) What makes a box mix "best" isn't what makes a cake best.

Quote:
Quote:

We do not have the time nor the resources to develop one ourselves.



Who is this we? Do "we" not have access to good cookbooks? Do "we" not have access to sites like eipcuious where each recipe is reviewed and commented on?

People have been baking for centuries probably. The recipes and the knowledge are out there if you care to look.

Quote:
Quote:

I was NEVER impressed with the cake bible. I did hear that her cakes are awesome tasting, but her book was VERY CONFUSING TO ME. I could NEVER FIGURE IT OUT



If you don't like the recipes that's one thing, but yes, it's not a book for someone who's never baked from scratch. She assumes a base of knowledge that apparently you don't have. Try Joy of Cooking (read the explanations and introductions, not just the recipes) for more basic instructions if you want to learn.

Quote:
Quote:

When I get asked if I bake from scratch...hahaha sure I tell them I scratch my head every time I put cake in the oven to bake!! ( actually a lower part of my anatomy, but keepint it clean here...lol)



Hahaha! So cute.




I spent 2 years of my life baking EVERYTHING from scratch, you cannot use mixes in culinary school........!! EVERY DAY!! mind you...and to be honest with you...I am not really that impressed with scratch baking. and before that another year that I spent in culinary school in NY

That's JUST a matter of opinion and like belly buttons..everyone has got one!

I am NOT putting her cakes down, I heard they were EXCELLENT, I just have an issue with her formulas in the back of the book for quantity baking. I couldn't make head nor tails out of them, and even some of my chef instructors told me the same thing.

The recipes, I guess are great for a single yield, but the formulas for the baking powder and baking soda and such where a mystery to me....and I just didn't have the patience to sit there and figure them out...that's JUST me!!! lol.

But, if scratch baking works for you..(general you) hey, MORE POWER TO YOU!!!

As SOON as I can afford to, I am getting a 20Q mixer so I can use the scratch recipe from school. It was an awesome cake!!

I use the doctored cake mixes because the work, they are convinient, I can buy 1 or 100 as needed and everyone so far, hasn't got a complaint!!

Even the chef instructors at school like the cake!

So...I'm not going to be arrogant and think that I can bake better, lol. The yellow cake that we use at school...is ok...I'm not really a cake snob..I just don't really like cake...

lol

I'm in the wrong business!!!

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ckkerber Posted 5 Sep 2006 , 7:19pm
post #23 of 29
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narie

I do have a question for anyone out there. I have never eaten a scratch recipe Angel food cake. Is it worth the effort?




Oh my, yes. And not difficult to make, either. I have an amazing recipe for a Maple Iced Angel Food Cake (so yummy, especially with fall and winter coming. I always associate maple syrup with chilly days!) It's from Gale Gand's cookbook, "butter sugar flour eggs". If you'd like the recipe, I'd be happy to post it.

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Naty Posted 7 Sep 2006 , 2:26am
post #24 of 29

This is my favorite.....

Great American Cakes
by Barbara Kafka
Gourmet December 1987

Yellow Cake Layers

Makes two 8-inch layers

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Into a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter, add sugar gradually, beating, and beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture and the milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, add the vanilla, and beat the batter until it is smooth. Divide the batter between 2 lightly greased and floured 8-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pans, smoothing the top, rap each pan on a hard surface twice to expel any air bubbles, and bake the layers in the middle of a preheated 350-degree F. oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean and the layers pull away slightly from the sides of the pans. Let the layers cool in the pans on a rack for 8 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge of each pan, and invert the layers onto the racks. Let the layers cool completely.


Regards,
Naty thumbs_up.gif

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MariaLovesCakes Posted 21 Aug 2007 , 11:57am
post #25 of 29

Don't give up. I have all my scratch recipes that I love.

I have the Cake Bible and absolutely love the Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe. I've been told that the White Veltet Whisper cake is to die for. Try that one too and see. Rose Levy Beraunbaum recommonds using the simple syrup to keep the moisture in the cake as they pass. It preserves it longer.

I use it all the time in my cakes and they stay nice and moist for days.

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ZAKIA6 Posted 21 Aug 2007 , 12:11pm
post #26 of 29

see this thread for additional scratch recipes.....

http://forum.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=365233&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

its long but it has alot of recipes and people have commented on any of the recipes they made.

hope it helps.
****i too think we should be able to leave comments in the recipes section

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mgdqueen Posted 21 Aug 2007 , 12:12pm
post #27 of 29

This thread was a year old people. She has probably moved on and found new recipes by now. icon_wink.gif

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MariaLovesCakes Posted 21 Aug 2007 , 12:16pm
post #28 of 29

Gee, I only looked at the first part of the date of the thread, Aug 13! Didn't look at the year... icon_redface.gificon_redface.gif

But, hey, you never know!!! icon_razz.gificon_wink.gif

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spongemomsweatpants Posted 21 Aug 2007 , 12:22pm
post #29 of 29

don't give up you'll find one that works for you

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