Calling cake bakers…can I make as good or better than the basic cake mix from scratch? Just your basic yellow cake or chocolate cake. 0r does Duncan Crocker have it wired? First try in years at yellow cake was ok, but not as fluffy & good as a mix.
I’ve got your basic recipes with flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, milk, cocoa, eggs & salt. any missing secret ingredients?
Bonus question: do I need to coat with oil and flour a silicon baking pan? Or can I just pour in the batter?
does sifting the flour, salt & baking powder really make a difference? I did sift btw.
I used basic white flour instead of special cake flour (is there such a thing as cake flour?), and is that critical?
Cake flour absolutely makes a difference and will give you a lighter, softer cake. It has much less gluten than all-purpose flour, and what gluten it has is broken down a bit, so even if you overbeat your batter (mind out of the gutter!), it won’t get those chewy gluten strands that make bread good and cake bad. And yes, sifting does help if you’re starting from scratch.
That said, I think you’re best off with a mix. Not only do they have the formulas down, but they have additives that hold onto moisture in ways that eggs can only dream of. A mix-based cake will taste good three days after baking, a made-from-scratch just won’t.
Or, you could meet the mix halfway. I like to add some orange zest or mint essential oil to a white cake mix, or some almond extract in yellow cake, drizzled with melting chocolate and slivered almonds. Play with it a bit, but don’t waste your time with the basic flour, baking powder, sugar mix. (If you have a yellow cake recipe with cocoa, then you have the secret ingredient, not I!)
(Side note: best brownie mix ever? Aldi. Seriously. We got some Duncan Hines last week as a splurge and were sorely disappointed.)
Silicon baking pans should not need oil or flour for non-chocolate cakes, but for chocolate cakes they should be oiled and floured.
From scratch white and yellow cakes are, if not worse than box mixes, at least different. If you’re used to tasting cake that came out of a box, then it will take a lot of tinkering to get you close. Many professional bakers use mixes simply because that’s what their clientele expect.
I got a cake decorating lesson at a fancy shmancy cake decorating place as a birthday gift from a friend (it isn’t something they do, she talked/bribed them into it); I was very amused to find that the ultra gourmet cake recipe they used was Betty Crocker .
I second WhyNot’s “doctoring” suggestion. I like to put an extra tablespoon or so of high quality cocoa in a chocolate mix, and maybe even a bit of strong coffee. It makes it a LOT more chocolate-y and kills the “box” taste. I’m a fairly sophisticated baker and will “resort” to a mix more often than not. I’d rather save my time and talents for decorating and … cookies. Mmm…cookies (Anybody want my Eggnog Meltaways recipe? They were to die for)!
Ready-made frostings, however, are an anathema ::shudder::.
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ c. sifted powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 T. bourbon
1 t. rum extract
2 ¼ c. sifted cake flour
¼ t. salt
1 ¼ t. grated nutmeg
1 ½ c. powdered sugar
½ t. rum extract
1 T. bourbon
sprinkle nutmeg
cream, as needed
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment.
Cream butter and sugar with paddle attachment til light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add vanilla, bourbon, and rum and blend well. Stir flour, salt, and nutmeg in another bowl.
Gradually blend the dry into the butter, stirring until just incorporated. Add drop or 2 of yellow food color.
Drop dough by heaping t.’s 2 inches apart or roll into 1 inch balls. Bake 7 – 8 minutes til cookies are set but not brown. Cool 5 minutes on sheet. Remove to wire rack and cool completely
Mix 1 ½ c. powdered sugar, rum extract and bourbon in medium bowl. Add nutmeg and blend well. Add cream or eggnog until frosting is smooth and spreadable; spread on cookies and sprinkle with decors for an extra festive touch.
Allow frosting to set; store in tins with layers separated by wax paper.
Makes about 2 ½ dozen.
Unlike most eggnog cookie recipes, these taste a) like eggnog and b) good. Enjoy!
Well, I think without bourbon and rum, you’d get something that tastes a lot like…a Mexican Wedding Cake with no nuts . And nutmeg. It’s only rum extract, if that helps - not really rum at all! And 2 T. of bourbon over 24 cookies may as well be an extract…and it bakes out, right?
Just tell the nice man outside the liquor store that you need the fifth of bourbon for, uh, Eggnog Meltaways - that’s it! They’re your mom’s favorite cookie and she’s terribly depressed!
Ugh, I can’t believe that I, a mental health professional, am urging a minor (that’s it, isn’t it?) to scrounge for booze!
If you want to “spice up” boxed cakes, check out Sandra Lee who has a show on FoodTV called “Semi-Homemade.” That’s her shtick - making things taste completely homemade that really are only sorta homemade (except she prefers “semi” over “sorta”)
I am counting down the days until I am legally old enough to buy alcohol, just for this purpose. I hate having to send parents/roommates to the store (depending on whether I am at home or at school) to buy me cooking ingredients because I can’t legally buy them myself. So many good recipes use wine/rum/bourbon/etc!
It’s so funny, because it’s how I mostly do things myself, but I’m such a snob I can’t stand to see someone else do it on a television show! I’m sure it’s all sour grapes on my part, and I just wish I had thought of it first *and *had a face and body for television.
Oh, Amen. That’s one place it’s just not worth the convenience. Besides, how hard is the recipe on the side of the cocoa tin, anyway? Melt sugar, add cocoa, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat 'till fluffly. I can’t get the stupid plastic and foil safety liners off a packaged frosting much quicker than that! Okay, so great-grandma’s cooked frosting is harder and reserved for special occasions, but there’s a lot of easy, yummy frosting recipes out there.
Mix butter, sugar, eggs & vanilla together. Add flour, baking powder and milk. Mix well. Bake at 350 for 30 min.
(grease pan of course)
BTW “Siti” means Grandmother in Arabic, the cake is yummy!! We don’t put icing on top either it. We eat it for breakfast, lunch, snack & dinner! This cake Rocks!
. And nutmeg. It’s only rum extract, if that helps - not really rum at all! And 2 T. of bourbon over 24 cookies may as well be an extract…and it bakes out, right?