I've seen similar questions to this one but am still not sure I've found the right answer...is there some way to take a cake mix recipe and change it into a scratch recipe? I specifically wanted to try a mix recipe based on yellow cake mix (I used a yellow cake scratch recipe & just tried to modify a bit it instead). I used all the same moist ingredients, including eggs & sour cream, that were called for in the mix recipe. My one "different" substitution was a bit of alcohol to achieve the same flavor needed in the mix recipe.

The cake turned out dense, heavy, and chewy, almost like a bread pudding texture! Yuck!

Is this because you just can't modify a cake mix recipe to make it from scratch instead, or could my adding alcohol have interfered with the outcome? Looking for tips on this so that I can try converting other cake mix recipes, not just this one with alcohol which didn't turn out. Thanks!!

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by converting a box mix into a scratch recipe.

There are doctored cake mix recipes that use normal scratch recipe ingredients added to the cake mix (which is not reconstituted per the box directions but used as a base).

The WASC doctored cake recipe is very good; it combines the reliability of a mix with a more home taste.

Here's the expanded flavors version of WASC:

http://tinyurl.com/2cu8s4

A cake that is dense, heavy and chewy is usually the result of overmixing.

Technique is more important when making scratch cakes than box mixes or doctored mix recipes. (Although you can overbeat a mix or doctored mix!.)

Here are some cake troubleshooting charts:

http://tinyurl.com/2p5bdu

http://tinyurl.com/32goqe

http://tinyurl.com/6c745g

7 Professional Secrets to Baking a Great Cake:

http://tinyurl.com/2fxvuv

Wilton has revamped their website... Here's a link to all kinds of cake baking and decorating help:

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/

Good luck!!!!

Here are quite a few scratch recipes (by type) recommended by CC members:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-440803-.html



Here's

I know what you're asking. You want to bake from scratch, but LOVE a doctored cake mix recipe & want to know if there is a way to acheive that doctored cake from scratch (by adding the ingredients that make the mix a "doctored" cake). I've wondered this myself.

Wow!! Thanks so much for the tips! I'll have to try the shortening-based or chiffon recipe, as you suggested, Jan...I really appreciate your help. There's a watermelon cake recipe on here that I've wanted to try...but by making it from scratch, not with a mix. Here I go!!! Will let you know how it turns out.

MMM...shortening-based cake seems to have worked! I combined that recipe with the one for a watermelon cake recipe on cakecentral (which called for a cake mix). I substituted cake flour & kept other ingredients the same, and it seems to have turned out well...the truth is in the tasting, but the crumbs sure have been good! Thanks again!