| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| katie-ell |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 4:38:48 PM
Interesting little piece in the Chicago Tribune today about making cakes from scratch -- which has been on my 'to do' list recently. Thought some of you might like this article, too. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-cake-texture-7may07,0,879830.story
I don't think I've made any cakes from scratch except for carrot cake. I think a great chocolate cake with mocha frosting is in our future!
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
| 24 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| JudyBlueEyes |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 11:46:06 AM
Um, yeah, I thought about melting the chocolate for the cake, but the recipe didn't specify that, so I didn't. Next time I'll know! Thanks J
We come from the earth, we go back to the earth, and in between, we garden! |
| MsCwick |
Posted - May 12 2008 : 10:39:23 AM
I would imagine that you could melt the chocolate down with a tad bit of butter, like maybe a teaspoon full? Mine wasn't speckled, but I only made it once or twice.. :/ |
| JudyBlueEyes |
Posted - May 11 2008 : 6:27:36 PM
Hi, Cristine...I made your perfect chocolate cake...a couple questions. With using the grated chocolate, I was a little doubtful, but thought with the heat of the baking it would all dissolve and turn into a brown chocolate cake, but it didn't...I ended up with a chocolate speckled cake. The rest of the recipes that used unsweetened chocolate said to melt the chocolate...but in any event. The cake was a little dry, even though I tried not to beat it too much, and I even took it out of the oven before the 30 minutes was up. I am wondering if being at 2,000 feet altitude would make a difference. I always thought that when they gave altitude directions it was for like, 5,000 feet, but what do I know? Also, on the frosting, I used the 1/3 cup cream cheese, and had to really whip it and I added more milk to make it spreadable...I was surprised there wasn't any butter in the recipe. So, people ate it and said it was good, so at the end of the day, I guess that's what matters...thanks for the recipe!
We come from the earth, we go back to the earth, and in between, we garden! |
| MulberryMama |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 2:45:00 PM
I loved to bake and made many wedding cakes(when I had more time to do such things (pre-kids). I have a book "Great Cakes" by Carole Walter. She is a cooking teacher and provides very detailed instructions and appropriate technique. It is nearly impossible to produce a bad cake if you follow the instructions. The angel food and chiffon cake recipes are fabulous. And it covers the gamut of nearly every kind of cake you can imagine.
If you are learning scratch cake baking, this is a good place to start. However, it is very different from the dump-everything-in-a-bowl and mix-it-up method, my sisters and I practiced on the farm.
My other "essential", a KitchenAid Mixer. My sister still has hers from when she started her wedding cake business 25 years ago. I got mine for Christmas one year from my husband when we were dating, and all my girlfriends thought he should have given me a ring. I cried for joy over that mixer, but got the ring a few years later.
I wasn't born in a barn, but I was raised in one. - FarmGirl #162 |
| joanieh |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 2:26:47 PM
I've found that cakes and muffins turn out more moist when I use recipes with buttermilk or sourcream as an ingredient. Two of my favorites are Chocolate sourcream cake and pumpkin spice cake with buttermilk. |
| tziporra |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 09:05:22 AM
I also make all my cakes from scratch.
And if I get a dry cake, I just blame the recipe, since 9 times out of ten that's whose fault it is (although minimal stirring helps too).
In particular, I'm thinking of Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess". I love Nigella, and this is a beautiful cookbook, but EVERY LAST CAKE in there comes out dry. I think it must have something to do with the recipe translation from british measurements to US equivalents (I've read this complaint from other home cooks too) So I use it for cake inspiration, but not actual recipes. Martha, on the other hand, is very reliable for cakes.
So my best tip is find a recipe that works well and stick to it. Or a recipe book, if you just have to have a different cake all the time.
By the way, I love my Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook, but the red velvet cake came our heavy and dry as toast. Sure was pretty though.
Best,
Robin
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| JudyBlueEyes |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 08:41:05 AM
Okay, Cristine, the test is on. I am making a chocolate cake from scratch today and I am taking all these tips and your recipe to heart. Was going to use a recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, but this one is similar enough, and if you say it's perfect, well, I'll go with it. Will let you know how it comes out. Thanks, Judy
We come from the earth, we go back to the earth, and in between, we garden! |
| windypines |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 08:29:50 AM
Gosh I always make cakes, and everything, from scratch. They have so much more substance to them. Practice makes perfect!!
Michele |
| katie-ell |
Posted - May 09 2008 : 04:01:22 AM
Thanks for the recipe! Interesting that it uses whipped egg whites -- that would make it light, wouldn't it.
Now, on to the kitchen.
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 6:08:17 PM
Thanks, Diane...and thanks for that recipe!!! Maybe I'll make that instead of cookies :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
| MsCwick |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 4:21:27 PM
Perfect Chocolate Cake
2 cups all purpose flower
3tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs seperated
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 squares semisweet chocolate coarsly grated
flosting(see below)
grease and flour bottoms of two round cake pans. in small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. IN medium bowl cream together sugar and shortening. Beat in egg yolks, mix together milk and vanilla. alternately add to creamed mixture with dry ingredients, blending well after each addition. fold in chocolate. in small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and moist, fold gently into batter. pour into pans and bake at 350 for 30-35 mins. cool efore frosting
Frosting
1/3 cup cream cheese,
3 tbsps milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 squared unsweetened chocolate melted
1 tsp vanilla
to make frosting
in small bowl, blend cream cheese, milk, and salt. slowly add powdered sugar, beating well. add chocolate and vanilla. continue beating until smooth and spreadable. if necessary, thin with milk
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| katie-ell |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 3:26:26 PM
I'd love the chocolate cake recipe, Cristine! Can you post it here?
Somewhere I saw a recipe for chocolate cake with mocha frosting and it's just what we need around here ;)
So if that recipe is yum and moist -- lemme have it!
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
| MsCwick |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 2:58:25 PM
I have a retro cookbook with cake recipes from scratch. The chocolate one was YUM and MOIST! lemme know if you want it.
Cristine |
| DaisyFarm |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 1:02:58 PM
If you want your cakes to rise high and not be dry, DON'T beat the batter too much before putting it in your cake pans. Just blend it enough to mix it thoroughly and moisten all the ingredients. Works, I promise! :)
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| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 11:32:12 AM
Katie...I'm sure you're right...I've never done the spring back test, either because I just poke it full of holes with my toothpicks! As smart as I am about cooking, cakes and I...we just don't get along.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
| Corinnelouise |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 07:07:31 AM
Usually in the recipes, they say "pre-heat the oven at this temperature" and they give you a specific time for how long the cake would stay in the oven. If you feel that your oven is heating over the temperature is shows, turn the heat off and leave the cake inside for 5 or 10 minutes without opening the door. That gives good results.
I do not use a thermometer, we have a gaz stove.
Corinne
Sister # 101 |
| katie-ell |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 06:43:43 AM
Jonni -- I thought 'when the toothpick comes out clean' means no gooey batter sticking to the toothpick. Not no crumbs. And isn't there a finger-tip test, too? When the cake springs back / no dent?
Opinions/tips?
Recipes, anyone?
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 06:30:03 AM
Well...what's with the "when the toothpick comes out clean"? Clean meaning....? Crumbs, no crumbs...because clean to me means no crumbs...and that's when they come out too dry.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
| katie-ell |
Posted - May 08 2008 : 04:40:54 AM
I'd love a recipe, Brenda. And Corinne, I'm interested in your tip about cooking time and oven temp -- how do you monitor? Do you have an oven themometer? I've been thinking about getting one for my new range, which seems much truer to temp than my old one . . . I think I was baking with an erratic oven for years.
Anyone else with recipes or tips?
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
| Corinnelouise |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 9:25:51 PM
I always do my cakes or breads from scratch. You have to monitor the cooking time and the temperature of you oven carefully, so the cake doesn't come out too dry.
Corinne
Sister # 101 |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 5:21:43 PM
Yes, but I'll have to change the name to something "pretty" so my goofball husband doesn't see "Vinegar" in the title like he did my mom's chocolate mayonaise cake--he flat out refused to eat another bit after someone said the name and (afte professing how wonderful it was) he then claimed it had a "funny" flavor all a long!!!
I'd love one :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
| Moonsanity |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 5:17:25 PM
When I was a kid I used to make scratch cakes and had a great Devil's food one that I loved. Do you think I kept the recipe? Of course not. The cakes that use vinegar-- often called wacky cakes or some variation are super moist and really good-- frugal too. Do you all want a recipe for one of those?
~Brenda
Journey of Grace and Whimsy
http://grace-whimsy.blogspot.com/ |
| Mountain Girl |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 5:07:24 PM
I was talking to a younger (than me) woman who thought baking a cake from scratch was using a mix. My mother-in-law would always make cakes from "scratch" but they were sooooo dry. She always like my cakes from a mix. JoAnn |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - May 07 2008 : 4:40:30 PM
I saw that article, too, Katie...I'm not at all good at cakes. I just make them too dry. Not so much the 13X9 pans, but the 3 layers or more. Just no good. So I shy away from them for sure.
I keep thinking I will try one again, but I chicken out. Good luck to you!!!
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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