Scratch Bakers...whats You Best Recipe?
Baking By FancyLayne23 Updated 4 Jul 2008 , 2:14am by peacockplace
All you scratch bakers out there willing to share your recipe with us...What is your best scratch recipe(s). The most requested, moist, best flavor, texture, etc.
Mine is a yellow cake. I get the most compliments on it.
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 14/ cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
Preheat according to pan you are using. Grease pans. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside. Cream butter, and sugar together, add eggs, and vanilla; mis well. Add flour mixture alternate with milk.Add oil and sour cream, mix well. Beat for one minute. Bake and cool.
Makes about 6 cups.
I make white velvet cake most often. (very popular wedding choice)
Fancy, you didn't add directions for the oil and sour cream. Do they go in last, folded in? I plan on trying out this recipe sometime soon. Thanks for sharing!!!
Oops I added it now. Just add oil and sour cream at the end and mix well. And I'd like to have that white velvet recipe too.
The White Velvet is from "Cake Bible" (Rose Levy Beranbaum [i think that's how her last name is spelled]).
In my humble opinion, it is a 'must have' if you intend to bake from scratch.
Here I found the White Velvet cake recipe at a 911 baking forum through a web search. I am going to try this ASAP!
This cake is from "The Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I recommend it to every person interested in cake baking. This is the best white cake I have ever had, and can be made in any flavor. The butter makes it a little on the "off white" side, but after you taste it, you really don't care! When people want a really great wedding cake, but they want traditional white, this is the cake I make. I have used this cake with many fillings & many buttercreams.
4 large egg whites / 135 grams
1 cup milk / 242 grams
2 1/2 tsp vanilla (or any extract flavor: almond, lemon, orange, etc.) / 9 grams
1 - 2 tablespoons lemon or orange zest (peel) or 1/8 teaspoon pure citrus oil
3 cups sifted cake flour / 300 grams
4 tsp baking powder / 19.5 grams
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar / 300 grams
3/4 tsp salt / 5 grams
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and then sit out to soften / 170 grams
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2, 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with bakers grease or vegetable oil spray and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper.
In a 4 cup bowl, combine the egg whites, 1/4 cup milk, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat with a fork to combine. Set aside.
In your mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix with the paddle on low speed for 30 seconds to incorporate. Add the butter cubes to the dry ingredients and the remaining 3/4 cup of milk. Mix on low until the mixture is moistened. Scrape the bowl and increase the speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape and gradually add the egg white mixture in three batches, beat 20 seconds after each addition, then scrape the bowl each time.
Pour into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake 30+ minutes until the top is light brown and springs back when lightly touched. The sides should not shrink back from the pan until after you remove it from the oven.
Remove cake from oven and let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn the cake out onto cooling racks. Cool completely and finish with your favorite frosting. You can also wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months.
From The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum
my most requested recipe is very close to fanys own without the sour cream and oil.
the recipe is
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
cream butter and sugar till fluffy. add eggs one at a time. add sifted flour, salt and baking powder alternately with milk. pour into 2 9 in greased and floured pans and bake at 350 for 20-25 min.
i must be honest and say that that time is a guestimate. i dont time my stuff. i go off of smell and then check. never burned a cake but have forgotten and remembered in the nick of time.
Cook's Illustrated white and yellow cake recipes, hands down the best.
CI's Classic White Layer Cake
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1967-1-Classic-White-Cake-II.html
CI's Yellow Layer Cake
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg00269.html
The best cookbook I have bought in a while is The Pastry Queen: Recipes from the Rather Sweet Bakery. I use many of her recipes at the restaurant. The Jack Daniels Buttermilk cake is an EXCELLENT white cake, and the carrot cake is to die for. Whenever I have it on the menu, it sells out almost imediately.
Cool. I'll have to get the book to try the recipes. Thanks.
I would love to get the Cake Bible, but it is so expensive. For now all I can do is drool over it at the book store. One day!
Ckeck ebay, I got mine for only 15 dollars with shipping included, it was used but in great condition!
This was handed down to me from my Grandmother and this is the one I have gotten the most compliments on:
Pumpkin Spice Cake
2cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1-3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin pie filling
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped nuts
mix together dry ingredients, add eggs, pumpkin and oil. Blend in nuts, grease and flour (2) 9" pans Bake for 30 minutes @ 350.
This cake is super moist and dense. I cover it with buttercream or cream cheese.
Me too. I drool over most of the cake books at the bookstore. And I bargain shop for the ones I can find in the cheap section-lol.
I am just eating this post up!! LOL
I am a realtively new scratch baker.. have tried many.. and have four right now that I consider keepers... really looking for a white.. so I am definitely trying the white velvet!!
Keep sharing everyone!! This is wonderful!! That pumpkin spice cake sounds really good!!
Mine I have found on here or epicurious..
Toba's yellow...
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109358
chocolate.. OMG this is such a good cake!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101275
I tried Toba's chocolate once and didn't care for it... but I think I am going to try it again because I see people mention it a lot.
Ultimate butter... baking911.. this got RAVE reviews
http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/index.php?showtopic=930
I sculpted a helmet cake once and needed a chocolate pound cake.. found a really good one!!
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cake/ChocPoundCake.htm
I am really on the hunt for a marble from scratch. I tried to make a yellow recipe and turn it into marble.. and as others told me they had the same issue... it came out dry and horrible. UGH!! I had to resort to my back up marble mixes to make it
If anyone has one I would love to try it out!!
Hope this helps someone. Keep those recipes coming!
Caramel Apple Cake -- Martha Stewart
Makes about 8 cups of batter
Make this batter recipe 4 times for a 3-tiered cake to serve 70. Bake 2 cakes for each tier; cut each into 2 layers (see slice on page 301-whichyou don't have and my scanner is broke)
For the Apple Cakes
Vegetable Oil cooking spray
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking SODA
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 medium apples (preferably Granny Smith), cored and peeled
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (3sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup apple butter
2 tablespooons vegetable oil
For the Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat cake pans with cooking spray; cover bottoms with parchment, and coat again. Set aside. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Shred apples on a box grater. Transfer to paper towels; press gently to drain. Transfer to a medium bowl, and toss with 1/2 cup flour mixture to coat completely.
3. Put sugars and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add remaining flour mix ture; mix until just combined. Mix in vanilla, apple butter, and oil. Add shredded apples, and mix until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans.
4. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks; let cool in pans slightly. Invert cakes onto racks. remove parchment; reinvert. Cakes can be wrapped ijn plastic and stored up to 1 day.
Batter Amounts and Cooking Times for 3 inch Deep Round Pans
6-inch: 3 cups batter per cake (6 cups total), 1 hour;
8-inch: 5 cups batter per cake (10 cups total) 1 hour 15 minutes;
10-inch: 71/2 cups batter per cake (15 cups total), 1 hour 15 minutes.
To Assemble
Review General Cake Assembly on page 319 (oh come on, you know how I won't retype that here)
Cut each cake in half horizontally, making 4 layers of each size. Spread caramel filling on 3 layers (see note below for amounts). Stack, placing plain layer on top. Frost Top and sides of each tier with buttercream.
Filling and Frosting Amounts for Each Tier
6-Inch: 1/4 cup caramel filling per layer (3/4 cup total) 1 1/4 cups buttercream for exterior;
8-inch 1/3 cup caramel filling per layer (1 cup total), 2 cups buttercream for exterior;
10-inch: 1/2 cup caramel filling per layer (1 1/2 cups, total), 3 1/2 cups buttercream for exterior.
CARAMEL-CREAM CHEESE FILLING
Makes about 4 cups
4 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 USA stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups cream cheese, room temp.
1. Put sugar and 2/3 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to boil, washing down sides of pan witha wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture turns medium amber. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk in butter and cream cheese. Let mixuture cool, stirring occasionally. transfer to an airtight container. Refridgerate overnight; beat until thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface before using.
Enjoy --Diana
Wow yal have shared some great recipes. I can't wait to try them all. Heres a great pound cake recipe. I got it from soul food website and I love it.
Awesome Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
6 large eggs
1 pound butter
1 pound sugar
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Sift the flour, baking soda,and baking powder
into a large mixing bowl. Stir in salt and
the sugar. I use a large spoon for this. Next I add
the butter. My grandmother would melt the butter
in a pan over slow heat to make it blend easier.
You can do this or just let the butter soften at
room temperature. Add the eggs, whole. At this
point I break out my mixer and begin mixing on
slow. I slowly add my buttermilk, and then the
vanilla extract. After it is thoroughly stirred,
I turn the mixer up to medium for a few minutes,
and then finally on high. If the mixture is a little
thick I add just a touch more buttermilk. If you don't
mix things thoroughly you will have lumps that will
form air bubbles in your mixture and leave holes
in your finished cake. It was always a matter of pride
not to have these air pocket holes in our cakes so we
always made sure we got all of the lumps. In the
pre-electric-mixer day that involved a lot of whipping
the cake by hand. We usually didn't have a hand cranked
mixer
that worked well, so this involved a large mixing spoon
to whip it. Some old timers even counted the number
of times they whipped the mixture - sort of made it
fun and you didn't notice your arm tiring.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Take your standard tube cake pan and oil it with
butter. Then lightly flour the oiled pan. Shake
the excess flour from the pan.
Pour the mix in, bake the cake for about 1 hour
and twenty minutes. Keep looking at how your cake
is doing through the oven door but avoid opening
the door too much while it is cooking as I have
seen this, or jarring a cake, cause it to collapse.
When you think it is done, do the toothpick test.
Stick a wooden toothpick into one of the thickest
parts of the cake. If it's dry when you pull it our,
the cake is done.
Allow the cake to cool 15 or 20 minutes in the pan.
Then gently remove it, and stick it on your favorite
decorative cake plate.
ooh ooh! I'm all for new cake recipes! I haven't found my "favorites" yet.... although the recipe on hte back of the Hershy cocoa powder (or here as dark chocolate cake) is REALLy good choc. cake. In fact - it stayed moist for over a week! I had some "scraps" that I didn't turn into cake balls but just put into a plastic baggie and that was last week - I was still eating them yesterday & they were still great!!
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2185-1-Dark-Chocolate-Cake.html
Has anyone heard of "The Wedding Cake Book" by Dede Wilson? I was wondering about her recipes - her other book "Wedding cakes you can make" some people have said the recipes were dry.... what about the recipes in this other book? They sound soooo yummy!!!
My favorite is Gourmet's carrot cake. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/102155
I omit the ginger and add 1/2 cup raisins soaked in rum for a couple of hours. I frost it with a butter pecan frosting.
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Just a note: for those that would like to purchase the Cake Bible and haven't b/c its pricey (like me), try your local public library and check the books out. I have checked out the Cake Bible, Sweet Creations and most of the newer books. Its way cheaper than buying the books!!
Regards,
Naty
Hey Naty, that is a phenominal idea... I'm gonna go to the library tomorrow!!! I can't wait to try some of these recipes, especially the white velvet. YUM YUM 
I went to the library a couple of weeks ago and got every cake book I could find . . . my branch only had a few but I did a search of all local branches and requested that they send them all to my branch and then they called me when they were in. Great way to preview books without the added cost! And if there's one you fall in love with, then you know it's worth the $$$!
I also did this with polymer clay books because as I've read on here, you can learn how to mold fondant, etc . . . by reading books on clay molding.
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