Scratch Bakers...whats You Best Recipe?
Baking By FancyLayne23 Updated 4 Jul 2008 , 2:14am by peacockplace
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 $$$!
I also did this with polymer clay books because as I've read on here, you can learn how to mold fondant, etc . . . by reading books on clay molding.
Hi ckkerber,
I am looking to make crosses out of polymer clay...funny you should mention this. There are some that you bake the clay and others that you don't. I want to make cross favors that you can hang from a rear view mirror. Could you PM me if you have any tips for me? Have you worked with this clay before? I am totally NEW at this!
thanks,
Naty
I would love to get the Cake Bible, but it is so expensive. For now all I can do is drool over it at the book store. One day!
This might make the book more affordable 
http://f.chtah.com/i/9/276579820/coupon10email0831.htm
Superfine sugar is just that. It is a finer grind of sugar, just as Cake flour is a more finely milled flour than AP flour. Domino makes it, but I prefer the C&H that comes in 2 lb. cartons.
Do you have to go somewhere special or order superfine sugar online? I don't see it in my grocery store - I was wondering if it was similar to powdered sugar - or if I put it through my sifter if that would help to make regular sugar "more fine". What is C&H?
C&H is a brand.
Process regular (granulated) sugar in a blender or food processor to make good-enough superfine sugar.
Or to buy superfine, also check the grocery aisle with drink/liquor supplies (mixers, rose's lime, etc).
My grocer sells superfine sugar, which is sometimes called Bakers sugar as well. But, yes, you can pulse regular sugar in the blender or food processor a few times and get a reasonable facimile of superfine sugar.
I went to the library a couple of weeks ago and got every cake book I could find . . . my branch only had a few but I did a search of all local branches and requested that they send them all to my branch and then they called me when they were in. Great way to preview books without the added cost! And if there's one you fall in love with, then you know it's worth the $$$!
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.
Hi ckkerber,
I am looking to make crosses out of polymer clay...funny you should mention this. There are some that you bake the clay and others that you don't. I want to make cross favors that you can hang from a rear view mirror. Could you PM me if you have any tips for me? Have you worked with this clay before? I am totally NEW at this!
thanks,
Naty
I am so sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I am actually very new to molding things, too. I have never really tried it but have a birthday cake to do for my son next week and wanted to try molded fondant figures. Of the books at the library that I looked at, I only checked out the ones that did people / animals but there were quite a few that did things along the lines of what you need.
A lot of people on this site use polymer clay books to get ideas for molding (that's where I got the idea to look into polymer clay books!) so you may want to post a general question to see if anyone can help. I bet someone would be able to! Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
can someone please share a good red velvet cake please!!!!!!
Here is a red velvet recipe from CC!
I have not tried it but it sounds good!
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2259-Sarahs-Red-Velvet-Cake---a-tradition-of-excellence.html
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.
Hi ckkerber,
I am looking to make crosses out of polymer clay...funny you should mention this. There are some that you bake the clay and others that you don't. I want to make cross favors that you can hang from a rear view mirror. Could you PM me if you have any tips for me? Have you worked with this clay before? I am totally NEW at this!
thanks,
Naty
I am so sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I am actually very new to molding things, too. I have never really tried it but have a birthday cake to do for my son next week and wanted to try molded fondant figures. Of the books at the library that I looked at, I only checked out the ones that did people / animals but there were quite a few that did things along the lines of what you need.
A lot of people on this site use polymer clay books to get ideas for molding (that's where I got the idea to look into polymer clay books!) so you may want to post a general question to see if anyone can help. I bet someone would be able to! Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer me. Its OK, I know this site is for cake stuff. Thanks again, Naty.
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
Does anyone know how long this keeps? I'm looking for a recipe that I can freeze and take out four days before the wedding to decorate- the cake has to go on a plane and then in the car four hours!! any other suggestions?
I freeze cake bible white velvet cake all the time. I do like to soak mine in a cointreau-valiina bean syrup first though.
My best is the" Velvet Underground Cake" from Rosie's Bakery.
It consist's of her famous Chocolate Sour Cream Layer Cake
Hot fudge filling
And Mocha buttercream Icing! It's delicious.
It's from the cookbook, All-Butter.Fresh Cream-Sugar Packed Baking book by Judy Rosenberg. It's one of my favorite cookbooks. 
I have been experimenting both with white/yellow (just a staple one of this) without much success. I have my personal favorite--the traditional Puerto Rican cake that is posted here but its more on the denser side, not as sweet side that people in the states are used to. It reminds me of home. For the longest time I have been trying to find THE perfect white or yellow and the perfect chocolate. Well I think that I finally found my chocolate (after trying a bunch from the Cake bible and a couple of recipes from this site that would not satisty my palate) I used Scott Wooleys tweaked recipe from egullet but tweaked it a bit more myself. People adored this cake yesterday. I got an immediate request for chocolate cake from this guy (a guy loving chocolate?! woa) so it is now my staple. I am posting it below w. my changes. Now, for the white, I used Sarah Phillips recipe and found it good in taste but doughy too doughy even for me. This is the second time Ive made it and its the same. Doughy and bland. I have tried the White Velvet from Cake Bible and rembered it being good. Have not tried it again but after last night's fiasco with Sarah's cake I am having a tasting soon at work to find my staple. This thread is awesome.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
combine, cover, and let cool to room temp:
1-1/2 cups cocoa (I used Dutched processed though recipe calls for natural. I preferr Dutch any time I can use it)
1-1/2 cups boiling coffee with a quick pinch or two (maybe 1/2 to 1 tsp of espresso instant coffe---i used turkish coffe finely ground at coffe shop)
Then add:
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
Combine separately and set aside:
3 cups AP flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Cream together:
3/4 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
Add one at a time, beating well:
3 eggs
Add flour mixture altnernating with the cocoa mixture, ending with the flour. Bake at 275-300 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Unmold and wrap in plastic and freeze immediately to shock the cake into smoothness.
Great thread! I've got to get the Cake Bible!
Someone on another cake site introduced me to the King Arthur's White Cake and it is by far my favorite recipe! I absolutely love it and it is my "go-to" recipe for white cakes. It also does really well with substitutions (the cake calls for a cup of milk, I've substituted a cup of brewed Vanilla Chai Tea and it makes the most delicious Chai Tea Cake. I make this with the WBH House Buttercream which calls for a cup of boiling water and I sub that out for another cup of brewed Vanilla Chai Tea and it's heavenly!!! Of course, when subbing tea into the buttercream, I can only do it for cakes where I'm coloring the icing because with the tea added to the buttercream you won't get a white icing, more of a cream one). Here's the recipe:
King Arthur White Cake
8 tablespoons (1 stick, 4 oz.) butter, softened
1/2 cup (3-1/4 oz.) vegetable shortening
1 tablespoons (1/2 oz.) baking powder
1-3/4 cups (12-1/4 ounces) sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
-- Cream together until light. 5 min. or more.
5 large egg whites (6 to 7 oz.)
-- Add egg whites one at a time and beat well after
each addition.
2-3/4 cups (11 oz.) cake flour
1 cup (8 oz.) milk
-- Stir in flour and milk, alternating between the
two, starting and ending with the flour. (i.e. 1/3
flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour)
-- Bake at 350. 25-35 minutes or until done.
Nigella Lawsons buttermilk birthday cake. Sandwiched it with choc b/c for a birthday. Turned out fantastic!! I'll type it up some time.
Hands down my favorite yellow cake recipe is The All-American Yellow Downy Cake from "The Cake Bible". So soft and so tasty. I made them into cupcakes the other night and slathered them with the quick buttercream recipe from Williams Sonoma and they were gone the next day! I'm looking forward to trying other recipes from her book.
Great thread- thanks. Someone asked this a couple pages back (sorry, I can't remember the name, Dutcher?) Anyway, I would love to know the answer, too.
About the white velvet cake--Can you really taste the lemon zest? Can this be omitted and still taste good? or is it really worth putting in the lemon zest?
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!!!
I recently purchased her "Wedding Cakes You Can Make" and tried her Essential Yellow Cake (I don't usually bake from scratch so her book was perfect w/all the detailed instructions). I liked the flavor, but found it VERY dry after just 1 day. Now...she suggests using a moistening syrup because of that very reason and I didn't do it...sooooo...that probably would change my opinion...I may try again!
It would have to be the red velvet cake that's been past down in my family (I posted it to the CC recipe section "Sarah's red velvet")...I've never had anything but compliments, it's just so incredibly delicious.
DH tells me that I'm the type that would challenge anyone over whose RVC is better 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%