Let me clarify my last reply, I'm not talking about general substitutions.
I understand there are times when you may not have the specified ingredient, for example you may have to use AP flour in place of cake flour etc.,
I'm talking about changing it to the point where the finished product has no similarity.
The following are from two different people (who I "virtually" know from another non-cake forum) and they are frustrated w/ how the cake turned out.
I start my usual questioning line - what ingredients, were they outdated, stuff like that...turns out, the first person used nesquick powder instead of cocoa, and lso used vegetable shortening in place of the butter,

Then the second person added in a dry packet of jello pudding

Obviously this is not a box mix, it is a from scratch recipe - what do you expect would happen when you choose to franken-cook a recipe?!

If the cake were meant to use jello or meant to have nesquick powder it would call for it
