topic Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes in Kitchen

Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:54:16 GMT

Hi!

I attempt to bake a cake from scratch about once a year. They are always edible, but certainly not perfect. I remember my moms being MUCH better. Mine seem to have a coarser texture & are slightly dry most the time (even though I watch the cook time closely).

Soooo....

Do you have any basically foolproof chocolate & white cake recipes? You know, the kind that include a moisturizer , like sour cream, buttermilk, & such. I want to make some cupcakes for my nieces, & I want them to be moist & delicious. BUT, I'd like a "forgiving" recipe, if possible.

Thanks so much, & have a great weekend!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

IamMrsG — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:05:00 GMT

Click here, and scroll down to Post #19 for a recipe for Buttermilk Devil's Food Cake. This is a tried and true recipe for a very dark and moist cake.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

Zhills — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:21:32 GMT

One secret of a moist cake is the baking time. I always bake less than the recipe shows. If it says 18 mins, check with a toothpick at 16. If it is done at 16, baking an extra 2 mins will dry it out. Hope this helps.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

ahoymate — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:32:57 GMT

Cake flour helps.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:07:50 GMT

Thanks for all your suggestions. The cake recipe looks REALLY good!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

KYToby — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 23:04:54 GMT

Google "Woodland Bakery Blog" and check out the tips and tricks there. The baker who runs the site is a professional and owns a bakery, and most of the recipes are home versions of what she uses in her shop. She also has a very active YouTube channel. In addition to her recipes, she includes information on ingredients and determining when a cake is done.

Based on your post, a few thoughts came to mind which may be impacting your end product. You may be overmixing, baking fortoo long or in too hot of an oven (or both), or it could be your flour. Flours are different, and ones with higher protein (such as King Arthur) can easily become overworked. Additionally, when measuring flour, make sure to stir first, lightly spoon into your measuring cup, and then level off -- do not measure by scooping your cup into the flour because you will compact it and get too much.

Good luck!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

GinzTonic — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 02:03:53 GMT

The one with the hersey syrup is a great moist choc cake.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

sfnative — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 02:14:52 GMT

The recipe I've included is a chocolate cake that also includes sour cream and has liquid coffee as a flavor booster. It was used as my go-to chocolate recipe when I had my small commercial bakery before returning to nursing school.

The cake was frosted with a fudge icing and served to restaurants, delis and coffee houses in S.F.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Makes 2-9” layers or 1-10x15” sheet

2 cups a/p flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2-1/4 cups light or dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temp

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (I prefer Guittard), melted and cooled

1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1 cup very strong hot liquid coffee

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease pans and line with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, sugar and eggs for 5 minutes in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, until very light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate and vanilla. Stir in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, half of the sour cream, another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the rest of the sour cream, and finally the remainder of the dry ingredients. Stir just until mixed. Gently, stir in hot coffee and then pour equally into prepared pans or pan. Drop each pan several times onto the counter top from a height of about 12” to release air bubbles. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick is retrieved clean. Cool pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge, turn out and cool completely. Enjoy!

Edited to correct the amount of liquid coffee. Has been corrected to read 1 cup.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

Mustang Shar — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 03:24:18 GMT

This sure looks good! In all my years, I have never baked a cake from scratch! I need to DO this, LOL

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

sfnative — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 05:16:31 GMT

goldenretriever,

Here's a great white cake recipe!

Magnolia Bakery Old-Fashioned White Cake

The famous Magnolia Bakery is a mainstay of the most excellent cakes, pies and pastries in Grennwich Village. I’ve provided their recipe vice my commercial white cake recipe, as the Magnolia White Cake is lighter and does not have egg yolks!

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1-1/2 cups cane sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup milk, room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large egg whites, room temp

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour two 9x2 inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper or waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour in three parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition. (Start with flour and end with flour.) In a separate bowl, on the high speed of an electric mixer (I use my hand held mixer for this step), beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter, making sure no streaks of whites are showing. Divide batter between the cake pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. When cakes have cooled, ice between the layers, then ice top and sides of cake. Note: Our family enjoys lemon curd between layers, then vanilla frosting on top and sides, with dollops of lemon curd on top placed in the middle of piped circles. Enjoy!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

ECBG — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 05:47:21 GMT

I use cake flower and put a an inverted glass plate over the cake about ten minutes after it comes out. It makes a lot of the steam (escaping moisture) stay in.

With pound cakes, after they are turned I cover with them my Tupperware cake keeper top to hold the moisture.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:36:07 GMT

Sfnative

Thanks for the recipes- I printed them both & will give them a try!

KToby- thanks for that rec. I need ""tips & tricks""!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:37:00 GMT

On 10/18/2014 IamMrsG said:
Click here, and scroll down to Post #19 for a recipe for Buttermilk Devil's Food Cake. This is a tried and true recipe for a very dark and moist cake.

YUM....this looks like a good one. Thank you!

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:38:44 GMT

On 10/18/2014 ECBG said:
I use cake flower and put a an inverted glass plate over the cake about ten minutes after it comes out. It makes a lot of the steam (escaping moisture) stay in.

With pound cakes, after they are turned I cover with them my Tupperware cake keeper top to hold the moisture.

Thank you for the info. I REALLY have a hard time with pound cakes. They seem easy, but there's definitely a method to baking a quality cake.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

BOYINTX — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:41:29 GMT

love a pound cake with a hard glaze. I choked on Angel food years ago and never touch that stuff.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:46:52 GMT

When I bake a cake, I TRY to do everything right. I know over-beating is bad, so I'm careful not to do that. And I watch the cooking time carefully. I don't know what I do wrong!

Like Skylands suggested, I bought cake flour & will try that.

I DO have a problem with measuring the batter from one cake pan to the next. One is ALWAYS more full than the other, so of course that effects bake time.

It always helps to watch a person make something, rather than read about it. My mom could make perfectly moist cakes with ease. She has passed, so I rely on the internet & Youtube videos. But still, I always have questions, & a video doesn't respond back when I ask them.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

spot555 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:48:08 GMT

On 10/19/2014 BOYINTX said:
love a pound cake with a hard glaze. I choked on Angel food years ago and never touch that stuff.

I love a good pound cake....never had one with a hard glaze. That sounds yummy.

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 16:28:14 GMT

I will be watching this thread closely! My big fat 54th is this week, and this morning as I watched a glorious sunrise, my thoughts turned to the all important task of birthday cake-and pound cake is one of my all time faves. I thought I would whip up a batch of ice cream (vanilla flavored with vanilla bean paste is to die for!!!) To guild the Lilly, over on Recipe Swap there is a recipe for Honey Crisp Apple with Pecan Conserve that I just can't get off my mind....and of course, I am positive it would be wonderful on some crispy homemade from scratch waffles-which I plan on making next weekend. I'm not home right now, but I have a nice collection of cookbooks. I'm pretty sure The Lady and Sons probably has a killer pound cake recipe...maybe it's even posted online somewhere..... Poodlepet

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

travelin grandma — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:05:37 GMT

I have made this pound cake a number of times and it is fabulous. Especially with the added cranberries mixed in.

Orange Poundcake Recipe

1 1/2 C butter
3 C sugar
5 eggs
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C milk, plus 2 Tbsp
1/4 C orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond
2 Tbsp rind

Cream butter, gradually adding sugar. Beat till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking powder and salt and add to creamed mixture, alternately with milk and orange juice, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavorings and rind.

Pour into greased tube or Bundt pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Cool in pan for 10 minutes

Re: Need Rec- MOIST Cake from Scratch Recipes

travelin grandma — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:08:03 GMT

I should have said that I added a package of fresh cranberries and folded them in by hand. Just perfect. I may try this again but using lemon juice and rind in place of orange juice and rind, and adding blueberries. It's a very versatile cake.