I am making a cake for a baby shower. However, I am new at this and this is only my 3rd cake ever. I would like to make a cake that is very moist and not tough. The last cake I made was too tough. I am wondering if it is because I used a hand mixer and mixed it too much? I want to know the trick to making a moist, dense cake. Anyone have any ideas or recipes? Do I even need a stand mixer to do this? They are very expensive. Thank you for your assistance.

I don't think you NEED a stand mixer. I used a hand mixer for a long time before I got my stand mixer. Unless you're doing a very large cake, you'll be fine. If it is a humongo cake, it'll just take longer with a hand mixer, but you can still do it.

I always add a box of instant pudding mix to my recipes, as a lot of other CCer's do, and that makes a nice moist cake. And be sure not to over-beat.

Good luck! Post pics when you're done!

ETA: Welcome to CakeCentral!

It doesn't matter if you have a hand or stand mixer - but a cake can get tough if it is overmixed, no matter what you are using to mix it. Only mix long enough to get all the dry ingredients wet, unless the recipe calls for a specific mixing time.

If it is still tough, then it may just not be a great recipe. As AJsGirls said, adding pudding mix helps a lot. I do it all the time.

I am so glad that someone responded to my post, as I was so anxious to know what to do. I bout a cake from Krogers for $5.00 and it was a lemon pudding cake and it was so moist and exactly the type of cake I wanted to know how to make. So the pudding mix makes sense to me. I came across some recipes regarding that, so I was so excited to see that you veterans use the pudding mix as well.

I am so ELATED that I found this Cake Forum. As I have so many questions.

Do you know where I can find recipes for cake fillings like rasberry, lemon, etc. on this forum? Also, how deep does a cake have to be in order for me to torte it to be able to add fillings in between, 2 inches or 3 inches, etc.? Thanks a bunch

One last question. What type of flavored pudding should I use lemon, vanilla and also should I prepare the pudding first and then use the prepared pudding to add to the cake mix?

1) There are a TON of recipes in the "Recipes" tab, they are submitted by CCer's, and there's lots of good stuff there!

2) You can torte a 2" layer, I have. 3" would be just fine, too.

3) For a lemon cake, lemon pudding would be good, it woud add more lemon flavor. Vanilla would produce a more mild flavor I would think. I add the dry pudding mix to my dry ingredients. Sometimes I have to add a little more "wet" once I mix it, like 1/4 cup of milk, so the batter is not so thick.

Oh, and I am no where NEAR a veteran. Everything I've learned, I've learned from CC.

HTH

That is a beautiful cake that you have pictured there! Thanks for all of your help it was well appreciated. I am sure I will have more questions soon.

If I make a cake on Thursday and ice it with buttercream icing how do I keep the cake fresh until Saturday? SHould I refrigerate it with the icing or should I leave it out with the icing, or should I just bake the cake and not ice it until the day of the party?

That is a beautiful cake that you have pictured there! Thanks for all of your help it was well appreciated. I am sure I will have more questions soon.

If I make a cake on Thursday and ice it with buttercream icing how do I keep the cake fresh until Saturday? SHould I refrigerate it with the icing or should I leave it out with the icing, or should I just bake the cake and not ice it until the day of the party?

Depends what kind of icing you are making if you can leave it out of the fridge or not...what recipe are you planning to use? Also depends on ingredients in your filling. Some need to be in the fridge, some can be left out.

A baked cake will dry out if it is not iced. But if you have time to decorate on the day of the party, you could bake now, wrap well in saran wrap, and pop in your freezer, Then just take the layers out and fill/decorate on the day of the party. That way you don't have to worry about what needs to be refridgerated or not. I freeze cake all the time because I usually don't have time to bake and decorate all the same day.

I will be using buttercream icing and a rasberry filling. However, I think I will have time to bake it and decorate on the same day, if I start early enough in the morning. The party will be at 2 p.m. and I have to be there by 12 to set up. Some type of Lemon pudding cake. I have a recipe for it.

This will be my last question for the day. I will be making a 14 inch round cake tiered with a 10 inch round cake for the baby shower. I will also be using fondant. (The picture of the cake is in Wilton Tiered Cakes page 99) not sure if you have that book or not. However, I will be using fondant to make the cut outs.

If I make the fondant the day of the party and decorate the cake, how do I keep the fondant from drying out and getting hard on the cake? No one will want to eat hard fondant on a cake?

If you use buttercreme under the fondant, it won't get hard. It will still be a dough consistency, but you won't have to worry about it hardening up so that no one would eat it.

Another note: if you plan on using store-bought fondant, you might want to stay away from Wilton. It taste just awful! Other CCer's will usually recommend Satin Ice.

I make my own fondant, and if you're adventurous, there are plenty of recipes for fondant on this site. You could practice with some of them. I use Marshmallow Fondant, myself, and flavor it with butter flavoring, and sometimes almond flavor.

Any stores like Krogers, etc.

I don't know where you are, but here in the metro Atlanta area, you have to go to a store specifically for cake decorating. I go to Cake Art, you can find them at www.cakeart77.com. Or you can try Global Sugar Art, who advertises on this site. I've never ordered from them, but I heard they're great.