Question For Those Who Bake From Scratch And Use Mixes...
Decorating By TamiAZ Updated 17 Jul 2011 , 1:21pm by GrandmaG
I've never eaten hummingbird cake either, but I've always thought it sounded like something I'd like to try.
Do you leave the pineapple and bananas chunky or run them through the food processor a bit?
Cayman, I have always thought that Hummingbird cakes could use a little coconut. In the cake or on the frosting, or both?
It wouldn't be traditional, but I specify in the descriptions whether they are classic or a new version. On some cake flavors, I offer both.
Depends on the person I'm doing it for...most of the time I just use it in the icing but if the person likes coconut, I add some into the batter as well 
I've never eaten hummingbird cake either, but I've always thought it sounded like something I'd like to try.
Do you leave the pineapple and bananas chunky or run them through the food processor a bit?
Personally I mash the bananas and use crused pineapple. It's very good and very moist! The base is very similar to my carrot cake recipe, it just has nuts, pineapple and banana instead of the carrots...
Nice job researching!
You mentioned Land O' Lakes ultra creamy...I've never seen that, have you?
The biggest noticeable difference that I found when I made the switch from regular butter to the Plugra, was the texture of my cakes.
They were definitely more tender and more "fluffy", for lack of a better word.
They rose higher and didn't deflate at all when I took them out of the oven.
I have never seen it in the stores either but they make it. I wonder if Land O Lakes butter is really that much better. I noticed it had the same percent of ingredients as the store brand of butter at my grocery. I'll just have to try it out and see I guess. I still want to try the Plugra though. On a mission to find it. 
BTW, I wasn't allowed to post that info so it was taken off of the thread. I didn't realize I couldn't do that as long as I gave credit. 
Nice job researching!
You mentioned Land O' Lakes ultra creamy...I've never seen that, have you?
The biggest noticeable difference that I found when I made the switch from regular butter to the Plugra, was the texture of my cakes.
They were definitely more tender and more "fluffy", for lack of a better word.
They rose higher and didn't deflate at all when I took them out of the oven.
I have never seen it in the stores either but they make it. I wonder if Land O Lakes butter is really that much better. I noticed it had the same percent of ingredients as the store brand of butter at my grocery. I'll just have to try it out and see I guess. I still want to try the Plugra though. On a mission to find it.
BTW, I wasn't allowed to post that info so it was taken off of the thread. I didn't realize I couldn't do that as long as I gave credit.
what info was taken off that you couldn't post?
Everytime I see someone post about how great lano o'lakes is I roll my eyes. It's not much better then using a box mix with all the artificial flavors, fillers and color added to it. It's got one of the lowest butterfat contents you can get. I have seen the ultra creamy, I assume trying to compete with the european butters becoming popular, but it still says "natural flavors" in the ingredient list. Fail. That means chemicals to cover up the sub-par butter they produce... and it's the same price as the high quality butters right next to it - like Plugera, which is AWESOME. If I'm going to spend $5/lb for butter, it better be naturally delicious instead of artificially. But that's just me.
FromScratch - here you go - two recipes for Mud Cakes.
I have postd these recipes before on CC.
This is the convesion chart i use when needing to convert ingrediants.
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/Measures.cfm
White chocolate mud cake
250g butter
250g white chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
200mls water
.......Melt all of these together in a saucepan
.......then
1 cup SR flour...sifted
1 3/4 cup plain flour...sifted
2 eggs...
1/2 cup sourcream
AND I ADD I TEASPOON OF VANILLA PASTE - WHICH WASN'T IN THE ORIGINAL RECIPE.,,,,makes a differance -
......Mix into chocolate mixture.
Bake at 160C for up to 2 hours - this is for a 10" round cake tin but will all depend on tin used and your oven
I use this for cupcakes and cakes
My oven is fan forced so i knock the temp own during the last 45 mins.
Dark Chocolate Mud Cake.
Ingredients
250g unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 & 2/3 cup coconut milk
200g dark chocolate
2 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Dutch cocoa)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method
1. Preheat oven to 150C A SLOW OVEN FOR US IS = 150c = 275/300F
And Line tins with baking paper.
2. Combine butter, coffee powder, coconut milk, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan and stir until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Sift dry ingredients in a bowl, add chocolate mixture, whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla, whisk.
.
4. Pour into tins
5. Bake in slow oven for about 1hr and 45 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cool in tin.
This cake improves each day and is at its peak on about day 3. It also freezes really well
Bluehue
Okay, I give. How exactly does one get this information regarding butterfat content and other ingredients standing in the grocery store? The ingredients list says butter and flavor, if I remember correctly. Nowhere have I ever seen a butterfat statement on butter like you sometimes see on the different creams.
I had no idea different butters could differ in their butterfat content.
Is this something I can determine from the nutrition label?
Argh. I've never seen Plugra or Plugera or whatever it is. I'm not sure I've ever seen a European butter at my local stores. I'm assuming it would be stocked with the other butters?
<gasp> Bluehue, thank you for posting those!
Lolll @ the <gasp>
I have been known to type a few *nice* *helpful* things on this forum
LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Enjoy making your Mud Cakes.
As your signiture line says - any excuse for cake -
Bluehue
At my grocery store, the Plugra is no where near the other butter. Instead it's at the front with the fancy cheeses.
I was surprised to see it, because it's often hard to find gourmet or exotic ingredients in this area (half the grocery stores don't even carry Dutch-process cocoa). It costs five times as much as the butter I usually buy, though, so I couldn't bring myself to try it.
Okay, I give. How exactly does one get this information regarding butterfat content and other ingredients standing in the grocery store? The ingredients list says butter and flavor, if I remember correctly. Nowhere have I ever seen a butterfat statement on butter like you sometimes see on the different creams.
I had no idea different butters could differ in their butterfat content.
Is this something I can determine from the nutrition label?
Argh. I've never seen Plugra or Plugera or whatever it is. I'm not sure I've ever seen a European butter at my local stores. I'm assuming it would be stocked with the other butters?
nope, not on the nutritional label. the usda has standards - http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004470
Land O Lakes meets the minimum butterfat standards of 80%. I use a local organic butter that is 82% and only has "cream" listed on the ingredient label. It's perfect for me and works great in my cakes/buttercream. European butters are 85-87%. Here's an interesting article:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2000-12-13/food/17673326_1_butter-pound-cake-unsalted/2
The butter I use is similar to the Cremerie Classique they used, both having 82% butterfat. Land O Lakes did not do well when compared to other butters when making a cake.
Anyway I think you can get the info off the manufacturer's website. It's on Land O Lakes.
Sooooooooooooo off topic. Sorry
Thanks Bluehue! Can't wait to try!
FromScratchSF, the info was how the different kinds of fat affect the structure of cake. I can't say who it was because they don't want to be mentioned on CC. But just google how fat content affects cake structure and I'm sure you can find it.
Okay, I give. How exactly does one get this information regarding butterfat content and other ingredients standing in the grocery store? The ingredients list says butter and flavor, if I remember correctly. Nowhere have I ever seen a butterfat statement on butter like you sometimes see on the different creams.
I had no idea different butters could differ in their butterfat content.
Is this something I can determine from the nutrition label?
Argh. I've never seen Plugra or Plugera or whatever it is. I'm not sure I've ever seen a European butter at my local stores. I'm assuming it would be stocked with the other butters?
So what you're saying is not only does the high fat content but also the purity is what affects the flavor. Is that correct? So try to find a butter that is more pure in content.
nope, not on the nutritional label. the usda has standards - http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004470
Land O Lakes meets the minimum butterfat standards of 80%. I use a local organic butter that is 82% and only has "cream" listed on the ingredient label. It's perfect for me and works great in my cakes/buttercream. European butters are 85-87%. Here's an interesting article:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2000-12-13/food/17673326_1_butter-pound-cake-unsalted/2
The butter I use is similar to the Cremerie Classique they used, both having 82% butterfat. Land O Lakes did not do well when compared to other butters when making a cake.
Anyway I think you can get the info off the manufacturer's website. It's on Land O Lakes.
Sooooooooooooo off topic. Sorry
My daughter's 16 year old boyfriend loved it so much, he ate seven pieces... and then threw up.
You westerners don't know what you are missing. This is a southern cake. Bananas and pineapple, pecans, cinnamon... with a cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with more pecans.
Keeping it classy, that's a winner! lol! Kind of cute! If they ever get married, you can tease him about for the rest of your life,
I always bake from scratch, just because box cakes are too dry
Then you are baking them to long! Even when I baked from a box following the recipe, I had someone tell me my cakes were almost too moist. And EVERY always told me they were very moist.
Nice job researching!
You mentioned Land O' Lakes ultra creamy...I've never seen that, have you?
The biggest noticeable difference that I found when I made the switch from regular butter to the Plugra, was the texture of my cakes.
They were definitely more tender and more "fluffy", for lack of a better word.
They rose higher and didn't deflate at all when I took them out of the oven.
I have never seen it in the stores either but they make it. I wonder if Land O Lakes butter is really that much better. I noticed it had the same percent of ingredients as the store brand of butter at my grocery. I'll just have to try it out and see I guess. I still want to try the Plugra though. On a mission to find it.
BTW, I wasn't allowed to post that info so it was taken off of the thread. I didn't realize I couldn't do that as long as I gave credit.
I was wondering what happened to that part of your post. It's a shame it was deleted because it contained some really valuable information...it's not like it was false information either. It was actually quite helpful.
Oh well. I'm glad I had a chance to read it.
Everytime I see someone post about how great lano o'lakes is I roll my eyes. It's not much better then using a box mix with all the artificial flavors, fillers and color added to it. It's got one of the lowest butterfat contents you can get. I have seen the ultra creamy, I assume trying to compete with the european butters becoming popular, but it still says "natural flavors" in the ingredient list. Fail. That means chemicals to cover up the sub-par butter they produce... and it's the same price as the high quality butters right next to it - like Plugera, which is AWESOME. If I'm going to spend $5/lb for butter, it better be naturally delicious instead of artificially. But that's just me.
I think it's just one of those brand names that's readily available in most regions of the US, which is probably why so many people use it.
I know in my grocery stores we have the store brand and Land o' Lakes and that's pretty much it.
I have to go to my baker's wholesaler to purchase Plugra, but in my opinion it's worth the trip.
To me Land o' Lakes butter is tasteless...like eating a spoonful of shortening.
Plugra actually taste like the butter I remember eating when I was a child...my mom bought it from a local dairy farm and it was marvelous.
I pay the same $$ for Plugra that my grocer sells Land O'Lakes for. $4.49lb
Someone mentioned paying "5 times the amount for Plugra as opposed to regular butter". That's nuts. Wow!
Important to remember though that cakes vary so much from recipe to recipe...mud cakes for example are at their best after a few days. I have one particular recipe for a white chocolate mud cake that stipulates it must be wrapped well and stored at room temperature for a week before decorating & eating. And traditional fruit cake should be aged for a minimum of three weeks...I generally age mine for 3 to 6 months, which is common. But a light & airy true sponge cake needs to be baked & eaten the same day - you can't serve it up next day, by then it's stale.
Very true - my American brain only thinks of our sweet butter cakes - I've never had or seen a mud cake, and fruit cake is something people re-gift at Christmas because they are gross. And totally NOT the same thing you are talking about
. Actually, I've been wanting to try mud cake after chatting up all you Aussies, I posted a White and Dark Mud cake recipe for you on page 4 or 5 for you - Hope you enjoy -
Making both in the next week - will take snaps and show you the inside of them
Both moist and dense - but light on the tongue - iykwim.
Blue
or at least see a picture of what one looks like on the inside. Do you have a picture of a sliced cake? Do you happen to have a recipe to share? Is the texture really dense like the word mud implies?
Totally off topic!
Jen
Important to remember though that cakes vary so much from recipe to recipe...mud cakes for example are at their best after a few days. I have one particular recipe for a white chocolate mud cake that stipulates it must be wrapped well and stored at room temperature for a week before decorating & eating. And traditional fruit cake should be aged for a minimum of three weeks...I generally age mine for 3 to 6 months, which is common. But a light & airy true sponge cake needs to be baked & eaten the same day - you can't serve it up next day, by then it's stale.
Very true - my American brain only thinks of our sweet butter cakes - I've never had or seen a mud cake, and fruit cake is something people re-gift at Christmas because they are gross. And totally NOT the same thing you are talking about
. Actually, I've been wanting to try mud cake after chatting up all you Aussies, I posted a White and Dark Mud cake recipe for you on page 4 or 5 for you - Hope you enjoy -
Making both in the next week - will take snaps and show you the inside of them
Both moist and dense - but light on the tongue - iykwim.
Blue
or at least see a picture of what one looks like on the inside. Do you have a picture of a sliced cake? Do you happen to have a recipe to share? Is the texture really dense like the word mud implies?
Totally off topic!
Jen
ooo I missed it! Was too stuck in my butter snobbery!
Blue, you RULE!!!!!! Thanks, I'm going to have to try it next week!!!!!!
Bluehue, you are so going to get me in trouble....I promised DH that I'd try no new recipes for a month, 'cause he's training for a marathon, but now I've GOT to try these awesome sounding cakes!!!! Thanks so much for posting.
Blue, here we go again...
I've always wanted to try mud cakes, but I haven't gotten around to researching them. Without research, I don't know what a good recipe would look like. I am sure yours are good and can't wait to try them. Thanks for the recipes. How do you like to frost them?
FromScratch - here you go - two recipes for Mud Cakes.
I have postd these recipes before on CC.
This is the convesion chart i use when needing to convert ingrediants.
http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/Measures.cfm
White chocolate mud cake
250g butter
250g white chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
200mls water
.......Melt all of these together in a saucepan
.......then
1 cup SR flour...sifted
1 3/4 cup plain flour...sifted
2 eggs...
1/2 cup sourcream
AND I ADD I TEASPOON OF VANILLA PASTE - WHICH WASN'T IN THE ORIGINAL RECIPE.,,,,makes a differance -
......Mix into chocolate mixture.
Bake at 160C for up to 2 hours - this is for a 10" round cake tin but will all depend on tin used and your oven
I use this for cupcakes and cakes
My oven is fan forced so i knock the temp own during the last 45 mins.
Dark Chocolate Mud Cake.
Ingredients
250g unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 & 2/3 cup coconut milk
200g dark chocolate
2 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I use Dutch cocoa)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method
1. Preheat oven to 150C A SLOW OVEN FOR US IS = 150c = 275/300F
And Line tins with baking paper.
2. Combine butter, coffee powder, coconut milk, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan and stir until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Sift dry ingredients in a bowl, add chocolate mixture, whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla, whisk.
.
4. Pour into tins
5. Bake in slow oven for about 1hr and 45 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cool in tin.
This cake improves each day and is at its peak on about day 3. It also freezes really well
Bluehue
I have really enjoyed reading this thread -including all the butter posts.
I have never made a mud cake, but I love dense cakes too (if they are meant to be that way 
). So I am excited to try these recipes.
Would anyone know how to convert the flour in the recipe. I don't use Self Raising flour. So for the 1 cup mentioned (in the white choc. recipe). Is it like cake flour? Could I just add 1 tsp baking powder?
Also, is plain flour the same as AP?
Sometimes threads go off topic and everyone gets buttsore and hate eachother. But sometimes, sometimes..... the stars align. The clouds part. The birds chirp. And some really great love comes out of threads. Today, my friends, that has happened.
I just want to give you all a virtual hug. <HUG>
Man my arms are tired reaching down under
Wait. That sounded bad.
http://www.cakejournal.com/recipes/self-raising-flour
Plain flour = APF, 4.25 oz/cup. I'll probably measure the homemade self raising the same.
J
Sometimes threads go off topic and everyone gets buttsore and hate eachother. But sometimes, sometimes..... the stars align. The clouds part. The birds chirp. And some really great love comes out of threads. Today, my friends, that has happened.
I just want to give you all a virtual hug. <HUG>
Man my arms are tired reaching down under
Wait. That sounded bad.
I was just thinking the same thing.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%