Is Is My Recipe, Or Me?

Decorating By trhender Updated 1 May 2008 , 10:11pm by CuteCakeName

trhender Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
trhender Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 7:57am
post #1 of 14

OK, I am making a wedding cake in August, and I am testing different flavors out before the real thing. I love orange! So I found a recipe for an orange cake. I made it double checking everything twice. It cooked around the edges, but never raised in the middle. I even left it in a few minutes more thinking I would see it start to bake. Now I have a cake that is very hard (because of the over cooking), and it looks like a fallen cake. I cooked them in 9" hexagon pans. I used bake even strips. I have never had an issue before. I then tried it again, but this time in the 6" pans. Same thing happened. Here is the recipe. Tell me if this is written right, or what kind of changes I could make. The cake tastes very good, but I wouldn't serve it to guests looking the way it is.

Baked @ 350 degrees

1 box White cake mix
2 tbls oil
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tbls vanilla
1 tbls orange flavoring
1 cup Orange coffee syrup
1/2 cup of water
1 8 ounce container of sour cream

Also, if someone has a good tasting Orange cake recipe that they would like to share, please do. This is driving me so crazy, that I actually went out and bought a new stove thinking that my old stove is the issue (It is over 15 yrs old). It won't be here for a couple days, so I have a little time to stew over my failure. TIA.

Trina

13 replies
chutzpah Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
chutzpah Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 11:47am
post #2 of 14

I don't know about your recipe (I bake from scratch), but I thought it sounded as if your oven isn't calibrated properly.

I don't know anything about mixes, but that looks like an awful lot of extra crap for that one mix to carry. Maybe you need more leavening.

plbennett_8 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
plbennett_8 Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 2:56pm
post #3 of 14

Hmmm...

That looks like a varation on the WASC recipe... Except for the substitution of Orange coffee syrup. What is that? I can only think that somewhere in that syrup is your problem...

Look up the White Almond Sour Cream Recipe, and see what you think... The recipe on recipezaar has the variations, but I know that you can change the flavorings... Maybe adding some orange juice for part of the water rather than the orange syrup?

HTH,
Pat

foxymomma521 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
foxymomma521 Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 3:09pm
post #4 of 14

I think you have waaay too much liquid for one mix. Definitely sub some of the syrup for the water next time, and not just an extra cup.

Tona Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Tona Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 3:10pm
post #5 of 14

I agree it is to much lliquid for the mix to handle. go to this site and type in orange cake they some some great ones . Good luck

kden3980 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kden3980 Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 3:25pm
post #6 of 14

Here is a recipe I found on "all recipes" it sounds so delicious and it got 5 stars and over 400 reviews, I have not made this yet, but I am going to in the near future, I love orange too!

Kara
New York



ORANGE CAKE

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup orange juice
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter



DIRECTIONS
Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 3/4 cup orange juice, oil, eggs and lemon extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
In a saucepan over medium heat, cook 1/3 cup orange juice, sugar and butter for two minutes. Drizzle over cake.

likitiki Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
likitiki Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 4:14pm
post #7 of 14

I too think that the problem is with the syrup. The syrup contains a lot of sugar. Too much sugar will cause a cake to not bake properly. That is what stands out to me. HTH
Melissa

HerBoudoir Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
HerBoudoir Posted 27 Apr 2008 , 7:03pm
post #8 of 14

It also looks like it's way too much sugar. The orange syrup has a ton of sugar, plus you are adding another cup of sugar.

I make a Gran Marnier cake by taking my scratch vanilla cake recipe and substituting half of the milk with Gran Marnier (or Gran Gala, a cheaper but very good orange liquor) and add 1 teaspoon (or 2) of orange extract. I reduce the vanilla extract by half.

I also add a teaspoon of cinnamon because I really think that gives the orange flavor a lot of pop and makes it more complex.

These substitutes should work just fine with a box mix.

eatdessert1st Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
eatdessert1st Posted 28 Apr 2008 , 2:11pm
post #9 of 14

I love this recipe! You could omit the nuts and coconut, also. I usually use 1.5x the recipe to get 2 tall 9" layers. Like to fill it w/ SMBC or IMBC w/ orange curd (add about 3/4 c curd to 1 batch of bc... or to taste; it's also wonderful w/ cream cheese filling and icing!)

Orange Marmalade Cake

3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 c. chopped pecans
½ C coconut
1 c. orange marmalade
3 c. sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. orange juice

Cream together butter, sugar, orange rind and vanilla.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in marmalade and nuts. Sift together flour, baking
powder, baking soda and salt; add to mixture, alternately with
combined orange juice and milk. Beat well. Turn into 9-inch,
greased tube pan or regular cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1
hour.


Orange curd
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup orange juice
9 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons grated orange peel
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks ) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
For orange curd:
Place lemon juice in small bowl or custard cup. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 15 minutes.
Whisk sugar, orange juice, yolks, orange peel, and lemon peel in heavy large saucepan to blend. Add butter. Whisk over medium heat until curd thickens and bubbles begin to appear at edges, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture. Whisk until gelatin dissolves. Transfer curd to small bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd. Chill overnight.

chutzpah Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
chutzpah Posted 28 Apr 2008 , 3:44pm
post #10 of 14

Wow.... I've never seen a real curd recipe that contains meat before!

Here's a really great lacto-ovo recipe:

Orange Curd

3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

In a small heavy saucepan, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Whisk in the
sugar, then whisk in the citrus juices and zests. Add the butter and whisk
constantly over moderately low heat until the mixture thickens, about 8 minutes;
do not let it boil. Immediately strain the curd into a bowl. Press plastic wrap
directly on the surface of the curd and cut 6 small steam vents in the plastic.
Refrigerate the curd overnight; it can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Makes about 1 2/3 cups

costumeczar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
costumeczar Posted 1 May 2008 , 7:49pm
post #11 of 14

Chutzpah-- you mean the gelatin when you say "meat," right? I don't use gelatin in my curd either, but the meat reference threw me...I had to go back and make sure the recipe didn't have spam in it (is that considered meat, though?) Anyway, I use orange juice concentrate, egg yolks and butter in my orange curd, that's all.

And for the original orange cake problem... if you have a recipe that works well for yellow cake you can substitute orange oil (not extract, oil) for the vanilla and add some orange peel to the batter and it will give you a nice orange flavor. With all that extra mess you were adding to the recipe, you might as well just bake from scratch and avoid the chemicals! I think that my orange cake recipe has about 8 ingredients total...

chutzpah Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
chutzpah Posted 1 May 2008 , 7:59pm
post #12 of 14

Aw hunny... 'course SPAM is meat.... it is derived from the SPAM animal... doncha know!

jennifer7777 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jennifer7777 Posted 1 May 2008 , 8:33pm
post #13 of 14

Duncan Hines has an orange cake mix, if you want to check that out.
Other than that, I too think that your problem was with the orange syrup.

CuteCakeName Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
CuteCakeName Posted 1 May 2008 , 10:11pm
post #14 of 14

I tried this recipe from my "Cupcakes! from the Cake Mix Doctor" book, and it was a HUGE hit with my co-workers. It makes 2 dozen cupcakes, so that translates into about two 6" round cakes (I think).

Orange Marmalade Ricotta Cupcakes

CUPCAKES:
1 package plain yellow cake mix
1 cup orange juice, fresh or purchased
2/3 cup ricotta cheese or unflavored yogurt
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

MARAMALADE BUTTERCREAM:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 heaping tablespoon orange marmalade
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice, fresh or purchased
(This makes a very soft, almost runny buttercream)

Preheat oven to 350
Place the mix, orange juice, ricotta, 1/3 cup of the orange marmalade oil, and the eggs in a large bowl. Blend for 30 seconds with an electric mixer, scrape down sides, beat for 2 minutes more. Spoon into liners and bake until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, about 15-20 minutes. Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of marmalade in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until it thins out, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush over the tops of warm cupcakes. Cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Frosting: Place the butter and marmalade in a large bowl and beat until creamy, 30 seconds. Add 2 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice and beat on low until the mixture is combined, 30 seconds. Add the remaining sugar and orange juice and beat until the frosting is spreadable, 30 seconds. Then increase the mixer speed to high and beat until fluffy, 1 minute longer.[/i]
LL

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%