Help with yellow cake recipe

[tmsouth1]

Hi--
I love to bake and have started baking cakes to give away to those at church that are sick, need cheering, etc. Anyway I have tried different recipes and it seems like my cakes taste dry. I wanted to use an all butter recipe for a yellow cake but I am wondering if that is the problem. Would it be better to use a recipe with part butter and part shortening or oil instead? I don't use cake flour either would that help? If you have a good tried and true recipe to share I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Toni

P.S. I would prefer cakes without any alcohol--vanilla extract is O.k.

 

[Alix]

If you use the Search function on the blue bar and hit Advanced search, type in "yellow" as your keyword (titles only) and then choose only the Cake subforum for it to search. That will give you a nice selection of threads to peruse. I found a couple of threads in particular that you might like to look at. This one, and this one.

 

[jennyema]

First thing I'd suggest is to look at Baking 911's site on cakes. It will help you understand all the things that make cakes go wrong and right. Like for example, you should check your oven temp if your cakes are dry.

cakes_problems

Cake flour won't make your cake less dry, but will give it a finer crumb.

Also, there is a lot of alcohol in vanilla extract. Almost as much as most booze.

 

[BettyR]

I have had much the same problems in the past...give this recipe a try I think you will be very happy with it.

Be sure to read the directions well before putting the cake together. They are a little different than the usual recipe.

There is a picture of this cake in this thread...http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f41/finally-that-perfect-homemade-yellow-cake-47665.html


Yellow Cake


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (do not sift the flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
Vegetable oil
1 stick butter (not margarine), softened
1-tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of (3) 9 x 1 1/2-inch round pans. Spray the pans with cooking spray, place the wax paper in the pans and spray the paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing well.

Measure the 1-1/4 cups of milk in a 2 cup measuring cup….then add enough vegetable oil to bring the liquid up to 1-1/3 cups.

Add the milk/vegetable oil mixture, butter and vanilla to the flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Add the eggs and continue beating an additional 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.

Cool cakes on wire racks for 15 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

Frost as desired.

 

[mexican mama]

I love yellow cake...especially with frosting..

 

[Silversage]

I've found that the most common reason for dry cake is that it's overcooked. If the recipe says 30-35 minutes, start checking at 25 mins. Your oven may be off just a bit, and that could be enough to change the time by several minutes. If you see the cake starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, get it out of the oven ASAP.

Another common issue is the size of the eggs. Remember that while eggs add structure, the whites are a drying agent. (Fat adds moisture) Most recipes are scaled based on 'large' eggs. Depending upon how many eggs are in your recipe, using 'jumbos' for instance can change your ratios.

These should be starting points. If only one recipe came out dry, I would say try another recipe. But since you said that all of the recipes come out dry, you need to check out what it is that you are doing.

 

[letscook]

BettyR
thank you for your cake recipe. I made it tonight and frosted it with a cherry flavored buttercream. It came out great and it was very good.

The only thing is i prepared 3 pans but only used 2. ???? they came out ok so it was a 2 layer not a three. no matter just wondered.

 

[BettyR]

BettyR
thank you for your cake recipe. I made it tonight and frosted it with a cherry flavored buttercream. It came out great and it was very good.

The only thing is i prepared 3 pans but only used 2. ???? they came out ok so it was a 2 layer not a three. no matter just wondered.

If 2 pans work the best for you then that is what I would use. The pans I am using are very old (I got them in the 70's and they were hand me downs then)... I have a feeling that the newer pans are probably larger than these old ones so they would hold more batter.

I'm glad you enjoyed the cake...

 

[letscook]

that could be i got them a couple years ago.
I will never buy a yellow box cake mix again.
Thank you again

 

[BettyR]

that could be i got them a couple years ago.
I will never buy a yellow box cake mix again.
Thank you again

You're very welcome...my goal in developing this recipe was to come up with a cake that used everyday ingredients that we all normally keep in the pantry.

I live in a rural area and the nearest grocery store is a 20 minute drive... so hopping out to the store for a cake mix is out of the question.

I also have a depression area recipe for a chocolate cake that is really good, extremely moist and is really cheap to make. If you would like to have it let me know and I will post it as well.

 

[letscook]

SOunds good please post. thanks

 

[BettyR]

SOunds good please post. thanks

I use this recipe to make an ice cream cake for my son…he always asks for one for his birthday.

Penny Wise Fudge Cake


Dry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet:
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 teaspoons vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl…add wet ingredients and stir with a wire whisk until well blended.

Batter will be very thin…

This cake can be used as a layer cake, cupcakes or a sheet cake.

Bake for 25 minutes for layer or sheet cake…testing for doneness with either touch or toothpick. For cupcakes start testing for doneness after 15 minutes.

Frost with your favorite frosting, cake is extremely moist so care must be taken that you don't tear up the top of the cake.

 

[letscook]

Oh my that looks dangerous !!!
Thanks for the recipe - I always wanted to live dangerous lol

 

[BettyR]

Oh my that looks dangerous !!!
Thanks for the recipe - I always wanted to live dangerous lol

The really dangerous part about this chocolate cake is that it's so easy to put together. You just throw everything in a bowl...stir and bake.

It makes (((really))) good cupcakes.

 

[Randy_]

The winner of the 1996 Pillsbury $1,000,000 Bake-Off was a chocolate cake that used pureed pears for some of the oil. Made the cake very moist and saved some calories!!

http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=10956