Cake: 18% cream instead of whole milk?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

s_mack

Cook
Joined
Mar 27, 2002
Messages
51
Thought I'd ask before trying.

Cake recipe calls for 1 cup whole milk. A lot of the comments complain its too dry. Several suggest adding "extra milk" and 1/4 cup sour cream.

I know this sounds dumb... but I don't want to run to the store (again!). I have 1% skim milk and 18% cream. I also have 14% sour cream. What would you do?

Cheers :)

- Steven
 
As you know, baking is a science. If the recipe call for 100% then that is what you should be using. Are you saying the yogurt is only 14% fat? Are both the sour cream and yogurt low fat? Using low fat products is not going to solve your problem with too much satisfaction. Is this a yelllow or chocolate cake?

What would I do? I would find another recipe that called for all the ingredients I do have on hand or I would make that run to the store. :ermm:
 
Well... first off, 100% would be... well, lard I guess?

I think you misunderstand fat content.

"whole" milk is 3.25% milk fat by volume. What I have is 1% and 18%. The sour cream is actually a relatively high fat content at 14% ("light", by comparison, is typically around 5%). Yogurt wasn't mentioned.

So with the science of it, I could do the math and combine appropriate amounts of 18% and 1% to get pretty close to a 3.25% yield... but that wasn't really the question.

As I mentioned, comments were that the recipe was too dry. As I'm sure YOU know :)... baking is just as much an art as it is a science. The classic time-tested 1-2-3-4 cake recipe has endured for (hundreds of?) years... are we really to believe that it actually happens that this radio is scientifically derived? No, its more a matter of round numbers, convenience, and easy to remember. Every recipe can be tweaked. This one, according to others, is too dry so people add "more milk" (which is vague) and 1/4 cup fo sour cream (no mention of fat content). So my question, really, was for opinions and feelings on what I might try with the 18%/1% mixture as 1) a substitute for 3.25% and b) to accomodate the "dry" aspect.

I have to run to the store now anyway... not enough butter... but I'm still hesitant to buy whole milk for this unless there's a good reason :)
 
Last edited:
FYI - I did the math (just in case anyone else every needs a cup of whole milk and only had 18% an 1% lol)

2 tablespoons of 18% cream and 14 tablespoons of 1% milk is very close to 1c of 3.25% "whole" milk

If you have 2% milk... its 4 tablespoons of cream and 44 teaspoons of 2%

But that's being pretty exact :) I doubt anyone wants to count out 44 teaspoons! lol. So probably just take a cup of 2% and minus 1.5tbs, then add in 1.5tbs of cream and that's going to be close enough ;)
 
If the cake is too dry, you may want to try taking it out of the oven 2 minutes or so sooner.
 
If the cake is too dry, you may want to try taking it out of the oven 2 minutes or so sooner.

STOP trying to simplify what is clearly an exercise in mathematics and art!;) (I am kidding, good suggestion.)
If it was dry, I'd add 1/4 cup applesauce.:LOL:
 
Thought I'd ask before trying.

Cake recipe calls for 1 cup whole milk. A lot of the comments complain its too dry. Several suggest adding "extra milk" and 1/4 cup sour cream.

How about just trying a recipe without such negative comment? I'm sure there are plenty of cake recipes to choose from...
 
The severe stomach ache, for one :)

I think you should read "Ratio" not "Radio" and perhaps should not use 5W40 for cooking.

So let's get serious. Did you try the recipe or did you decide to change it?

I recall that more cooking oil is sometimes used to make breads and cakes more moist. But not 5w40.
 
FYI - I did the math (just in case anyone else every needs a cup of whole milk and only had 18% an 1% lol)

2 tablespoons of 18% cream and 14 tablespoons of 1% milk is very close to 1c of 3.25% "whole" milk

If you have 2% milk... its 4 tablespoons of cream and 44 teaspoons of 2%

But that's being pretty exact :) I doubt anyone wants to count out 44 teaspoons! lol. So probably just take a cup of 2% and minus 1.5tbs, then add in 1.5tbs of cream and that's going to be close enough ;)
The 2% and 18% is easy. Put 2 tablespoons of 18% cream in a cup measure and then fill it to 1 cup. Don't bother measuring out the 14 tablespoons. 1 cup = 16 tablespoons ( 2 tblsps + 14 tblsps = 16 tblsps, 1 cup).
 
How about just trying a recipe without such negative comment? I'm sure there are plenty of cake recipes to choose from...

Literally millions, I'm sure :) But I wanted to try that one. And it gets absolutely glowing reviews on flavor... just a lot of comments that its "too dry". Adding liquid is the answer, I was just looking for suggestions on what to do. I got some, thanks.

So let's get serious. Did you try the recipe or did you decide to change it?
I changed it. I haven't baked it yet though. I'm waiting for the "milk" to come down to room temp.

By "milk"... I ended up using:
  • 1/2c less 1 Tbsp of 1% milk
  • 1 Tbsp of 18% cream
  • 1/2c 14% sour cream (what the heck)
 
I was thinking a vegetable oil of some sort...:rolleyes:maybe coco-NUT!:LOL:

:) Probably a great way to go. And if making it creamier doesn't do the trick, I'll try oil next time. I try to avoid oils and shortening if I can - My wife generally don't like the taste. I admit I've never tried coconut oil in baking though. I'll pick some up next time I see some.

The 2% and 18% is easy. Put 2 tablespoons of 18% cream in a cup measure and then fill it to 1 cup. Don't bother measuring out the 14 tablespoons. 1 cup = 16 tablespoons ( 2 tblsps + 14 tblsps = 16 tblsps, 1 cup).

Brilliant! I tend to over-think things. You're spot on, of course. I just didn't see it that way!
 
Literally millions, I'm sure :) But I wanted to try that one. And it gets absolutely glowing reviews on flavor... just a lot of comments that its "too dry". Adding liquid is the answer, I was just looking for suggestions on what to do. I got some, thanks.


I changed it. I haven't baked it yet though. I'm waiting for the "milk" to come down to room temp.

By "milk"... I ended up using:
  • 1/2c less 1 Tbsp of 1% milk
  • 1 Tbsp of 18% cream
  • 1/2c 14% sour cream (what the heck)
I want you to have a good cooking experience or I wouldn't have posted in your topic. Please post your good results including your final formula you utilized, particularly if your recipe exceeded your expectations.

Nothing better than a good recipe! :)
 
I'll be sure to post the results... good or bad :)

I was going to make it tomorrow (the party is tomorrow night), but I'm going to make it in a few hours just in case it doesn't work out so I have time to try again. If its a disaster, I'll try it with some simple canola oil and if that doesn't work... attempt #3 will be exactly as per recipe, and we'll just see how dry is "dry" :)

Last ditch: head to Wal-mart to pick up some Duncan Heinz mix.
 
Well... first off, 100% would be... well, lard I guess?

I think you misunderstand fat content.

"whole" milk is 3.25% milk fat by volume. What I have is 1% and 18%. The sour cream is actually a relatively high fat content at 14% ("light", by comparison, is typically around 5%). Yogurt wasn't mentioned.

So with the science of it, I could do the math and combine appropriate amounts of 18% and 1% to get pretty close to a 3.25% yield... but that wasn't really the question.

As I mentioned, comments were that the recipe was too dry. As I'm sure YOU know :)... baking is just as much an art as it is a science. The classic time-tested 1-2-3-4 cake recipe has endured for (hundreds of?) years... are we really to believe that it actually happens that this radio is scientifically derived? No, its more a matter of round numbers, convenience, and easy to remember. Every recipe can be tweaked. This one, according to others, is too dry so people add "more milk" (which is vague) and 1/4 cup fo sour cream (no mention of fat content). So my question, really, was for opinions and feelings on what I might try with the 18%/1% mixture as 1) a substitute for 3.25% and b) to accomodate the "dry" aspect.

I have to run to the store now anyway... not enough butter... but I'm still hesitant to buy whole milk for this unless there's a good reason :)


Baking to me is not a science, but an art born of knowing how the ingredients work together to make whatever it is that I want to make. I regularly throw together batters for this or that, and sometimes make substitutions if I don't have the ingredients I want.

If the complaint is "dry cake", then adding more fat will definitely solve the problem. For instance, a boxed cake mix recipe that states the addition of 1/3 cup of cooking oil, is much more moist, and satisfying with the addition of 2 extra tbs. of cooking oil. So in your recipe, using cream to increase the fat content would work. And junlike cooking oil, I don't think you will ruin your cake if you add a bit more cream than you actually need.

I once obtained a carrot cake recipe that called for a lot of cooking oil. Looking at the recipe, I thought that the amount may have been a misprint. But after speaking with the person who gave it to me, I tried it. The cake tasted like it was supposed to, and the crumb was good, but it was so heavy with cooking oil that I could press down on my slice, and oil would ooze out, like from a sponge. I reduced the oil amount by half and the cake was then very good.

Fat is what gives a cake, or most quickbreads that moist texture we all love. So in response to your question, I would substitue 1/2 of the whole milk with your cream. So take your skim milk, and add enough cream to approximate whole milk, and add half the amount the recipe calls for of that mixture to the cake batter. Add the rest as straight cream.

Another way to increase the moisture of your cake is to poke holes into the baked cake with a fork. Then mix up either a complimentary gelatine flavor (cherry with chocolate, or butterscotch with a yellow cake, etc), or an instant pudding mix that compliments the cake. Then pour the gelatine, or pudding over the cake, then place in the fridge for two hours before serving. This is an excellent technique for making your cake extra moist and flavorfull.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the NOrth
 
Back
Top Bottom