How Do I Make A Recipe More Moist??
Baking By luvbuttercream Updated 23 May 2010 , 7:39am by dalis4joe
I tried a recipe and found it too dry... I want to try it again and was wondering if I add more milk or butter will it make the cake more moist??? And which is better to add more of? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
The simplest solution is to try another recipe.
I WAS going to write that last night .... but so often this is seen as .... not giving the OP what they want, so I left if long enough for others to assist you. That not being the case, this is WHY it would be easier to try another recipe.
Unlike other forms of cookery - baking IS a science where each and every ingredient plays its part. It is NOT as simple as saying... oh ADDING sour cream will make a cake more moist (or butter or milk as is your suggestion) - yes, it might! BUT maybe the quantity of eggs will have to be increased so that your moist cake will hold itself up, and adding more liquid (such as milk - will throw out your flour balance)
Good successful baking recipes don't just happen over night they take months of developing, and are done by people that have a thorough understanding of the role each ingredient plays.
The other problem is people's PERCEPTION of 'dry'
luvbuttercream, maybe try a recipe with oil instead of butter? they come out lighter & moister IMO
When I've substituted buttermilk for the regular milk in my chocolate cake recipes it has worked wonderfully!!! However, it didn't do a stinking thing for my yellow cake...SIGH
A friend of mine recommended this recipe to me: Durable Cake for 3D and Wedding Cakes. You can find it in the recipe section. All the reviews are really good. Haven't tried it yet though!
I don't really stray much from my recipe instructions, so I was going to suggest paying close attention to your oven's temperature as well as when the cake is actually done. I find that my cakes can take longer or less time than what a recipe calls for, and sometimes my oven runs hotter than what I have it set on. You could have the perfect recipe for a great cake, but if it stays in the oven just a little too long it could most definitely dry out some. Also ~ be careful with your measurements, too. Don't know if any of this helps, but I do wish you the best!
I once took a gumpaste flower class with a pastry student, who was in her last semester, and she said that adding one egg yolk would make a cake more moist due to the fat content. I have not tried this yet because most of the recipes that I try I always make sure that the reviews mention how moist the recipe turned out. Good Luck!!
i'm curious are you using a scratch recipe? or a doctored box mix?
If it is a scratch recipe... then you may just need to try another recipe. Scratch recipes are science and rely on the things getting mixed/creamed/and added in a certain order or to a certain consistency in order to work properly.
If it's a doctored box mix, well... then pretty much the sky is the limit. There are a couple of really good threads on here that have lots of different options for doctoring a box mix.
It is a scratch recipe.
I suggest you peruse the wwwjoyofbaking.com website for the why's and how's (and basic techniques) of baking.
HTH
I also bake with a pan of water in my oven....and lower the temp a smidge. Another thing I do, especially for my fondant covered cakes, is bake...cool 20 minutes...wrap in saran wrap...freeze for a day.
And as far as scratch recipes and "exact formulas"...this is true...but it shouldn't scare you into not experimenting....take a day, take some notes and play with your recipe. Add an egg yolk, try whole milk, add half a box of pudding, add some liqueor, etc, etc, etc.....by all means have fun and you'll never know what you come up with...and best of all, the recipe is your's and you'll be super proud of it.
And as far as scratch recipes and "exact formulas"...this is true...but it shouldn't scare you into not experimenting....take a day, take some notes and play with your recipe. Add an egg yolk, try whole milk, add half a box of pudding, add some liqueor, etc, etc, etc.....by all means have fun and you'll never know what you come up with...and best of all, the recipe is your's and you'll be super proud of it.
I'll be the first one to say that I'm a born baker of the RLV type:
"Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection", Rose Levy Beranbaum ...
Experimenting is totally alien to my baking nature. Why risk wasting all those expensive ingredients and my precious time just to experiment and risk cake failure when there are SO many great and dependable recipes to make!
JHMO
Baking & Baking Science:
http://www.bakingandbakingscience.com/Cakes.htm
HTH
yes Jan, but then there are those of us that are born to experiment....I've come up with some fabulous results...of course I stick within parameters, and certain baking rules are not flexible....but I work within those boundaries and take delight in it.
I always add 1/4 cup applesauce to all my cake batters, boxed or scratch. I use this amount for every two layer recipe, and adjust accordingly if I'm making multiple batches of batter at the same time. My cakes are moist, tender and just dense enough that they stack well. I started baking when I was 10 years old and I've been adding applesauce to my cakes for over 40 years. I use all natural, no added sugar. I may or may not add all the water called for in the recipe, it depends on how the batter looks. I'm one of those old bakers who bakes everything (cakes, bread, cookies, candy,etc) not only by the recipe but by looks and feel.
Experiment. Taste, dryness, etc is subjective. It's easy to halve, or even quarter some, recipes. If you don't, you will just end up baking the same cakes lots of others are, and you won't get that little extra that's unique only to your cakes.
there is a book out there that it's highly recommended for things like this.... I been wanting to buy it but can't recall the name.... it talks about RATIO.... the review says that if you can master the knowledge of RATIOs.... you can tweak ANY recipe to make it more or less of what/how you want.....
I would love to know about that because... well lemme just say this... I like watching ALton Brown because he explains things like this when he makes his recipes.... what does what to what and how this or that affect the end result....
if anyone knows the name of the book.... please let me know... I really want to get it....
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