A while back I baked a wasc and we didn't care for it. To us it was dense, dry and was kind of sweet and floury tasting. I want to try it again using the recipe with the oil. I want to tweak it a little by cutting back on the flour and sugar. Do you taste the sour cream (don't want that)? Has anyone added pudding to this; is pudding needed? TIA

Wow .. That really surprises me I use Kakeladis original WASC recipe for all my orders and Everyone loves it!

I use the one with sour cream and can't taste it . I have also substituted flavored yogurt for the sour cream to compliment the flavor of the cake with great results.

THe only way this cake can turn out dry is if you over bake it. It is VERY moist.

I prefer the oil one ('cept I use 3 whole eggs opposed to 4 whites), but still think the other one is very moist as well.

You do not taste the sour cream.. it's to add fat.. aka moisture.

You can add pudding but you don't need to.

Do you weigh your ingredients? Possibly last time you added too much flour? You can reduce it of course..

So disappointed to hear that my favorite foolproof go-to recipe didn't work as well for you.

Usually, if the cake tastes "floury" it's because the flour wasn't measured accurately. (Or the cake recipe is unbalanced - but I've made many cakes using both versions [with/without oil] of the WASC in all flavors and they've all been moist, not too light/not too dense and very tasty.)

How are you measuring your flour and mixing your batter?

When measuring flour, do you use the "scoop and drag" method and then shake to level.... You should be aerating the flour prior to gently spooning it into the measuring cup and using a straight edge to level.

When I make any of the WASC cake recipes, I sift all the dry ingredients together into a large bowl, and mix all the wet ingredients in a second larger bowl.

Then I add the dry to the wet and beat for 2 mins. using an electric hand mixer at medium speed.

If using a stand mixer, I would mix at the lowest speed for 2 mins. or less.

When it comes to mixing, MORE (as in more speed or longer mixing time) is not BETTER. Overmixing will develop the gluten and result in a tough cake.

Handy cake troubleshooting charts:

http://tinyurl.com/2p5bdu

http://tinyurl.com/32goqe

http://tinyurl.com/6c745g

http://tinyurl.com/6lpjww

I always use Duncan Hines cake mix (doesn't have pudding already added in the mix) and don't find the resulting WASC overly sweet.

You can't taste the sour cream or it's slightly tangy "bite" after the batter is baked; it just makes the cake incredibly moist. Adding pudding (which is basically sugar and binders) will only make the cake even sweeter than it is. If you MUST add pudding, then reduce the amount of sugar by that amount.

I also find that using bleached AP flour works better than unbleached in most of my recipes. (ALL cake flour IS bleached, but AP flours vary.)

Good luck on your WASC adventure!

Thanks everyone.
I know that baking is a exact science and I do measure acurately. To be honest though, it was over 2 years ago, so I don't remember what I could have done wrong. When I mentioned adding pudding I meant sugar free. Will it work cutting back on the flour and sugar by half each; why can't cake flour be used instead of all purpose?

i tried wasc and i didnt care for it either. i did the original recipe with whole eggs and all purpose flour. It was VERY floury and dense and not tasty. What could I have done wrong???

I, personally, don't care for it either.

JanH, Girl you are always right on time. Thank you all.

I'm sorry, but how could you have made WASC without sour cream?? White Almond Sour Cream... kinda stands to reason. I don't disagree with "tweaking" recipes, seriously, but if you aren't making the recipe as written then you aren't making that recipe and I'm not sure why you expect certain results. Once you start making changes, the results will not be the same.

Now, that said, kakeladi's WASC original recipe is an AMAZING cake. I've made it with several different flavors of cake mix and it is ALWAYS good. I get rave reviews. It IS a bit dense if that's not what you're expecting, but the only reason it should be dry is if you overbake it.

Excuse me vstar_pilot, When I decided to try this recipe I knew what wasc stood for. I followed the recipe. I never said I didn't add the sour cream (where did you get that from) I made that cake 2 years ago and when Jan asked a certain question I couldn't remember. Another thing I couldn't remember was if the sour cream could be tasted. My friend found a cheesecake recipe with sour cream, made it a month ago and you could taste it. I didn't care for the taste and this is why I said "I don't want that"

No reason to get snippy, yummy. We're just here to help
Are you used to scratch or doctored mix cakes? I am a scratch girl all the way, but have tried WASC twice. Once the original (kakeladi's) as written and once MacsMom's orange dreamsicle version. Both were very moist, but I didn't care for either. To me, it tasted artificial. BUT, that is considering that I am used to scratch cakes, AND I'm a super sensitive taster. Most people aren't.
I'm curious as to why you tried a recipe two YEARS ago and are trying to troubleshoot now. It's not fresh in your mind. If you don't remember liking it, don't try again. There are a ton of awesome recipes on this site, I'm sure you'll have luck

I was not being snippy; I understand that everyone is here to help. I just didn't appriciate how she responed to my post, especially since I never said I didn't add the sour cream. The reason why I'm willing to try again after 2 YEARS is because it gets such rave reviews, and just about everybody here that makes it says that it is very moist. I might have done something wrong and that is what resulted in my displeasure. I never said that I didn't remember if I liked it or not. Jan asked "how I measured my flour" and that and the sour cream taste coming through is what I don't remember. As far as troubleshooting, I'm curious about how I could tweak this recipe if I try wasc recipe again and I get the same feedback I got 2 YEARS ago.

Don't feel bad, I tried it and it was a miserable failure for me, I had to dump it out. The cake was so dry and the batter was so tough for my KA to even mix. I kept adding milk just to get it to some sort of softer cake batter consistency. It was so sticky. I didn't even bother to post about it because I was too embarrassed to confess I blew something that everyone seems to find so easy and rave over. LOL. It was a long time ago for me as well, so I am going by memory here.

I did measure everything and consider myself a pretty good baker. I know not to use a liquid pyrex to measure flour, lol. I did sub 1 cup cake flour instead of all purpose, maybe that caused it, I don't know. I've seen some lovely looking moist insides and they look nothing like mine did. It was dry like bread and I did not overbake it. Believe me JanH, I was scratching my head the whole time, scouring over the recipe repeatedly as I was mixing, and could not figure out why the batter was not right.

I haven't tried it again because I am going to stick with my old faithful recipes, but if I ever do, I will follow your suggestions JanH. You always give excellent and quick advice. You are a gracious lady and I always appreciate your posts.

I've made the recipe previously and it turned out very dry as well, but I wanted to try it again because it seems like such a quick and easy recipe. I added a small box of instant pudding to a betty crocker mix and followed all the other directions exactly and it turned out great! I made a cake and cupcakes for a birthday party this weekend and got terrific reviews for both. Hopefully you can get it to turn out in the future!

I had a topic on here recently about the same problem. I think maybe it just boils down to personal taste.

Ive tried both recipes. The original version IS drier, there is no doubt about that. It is drier than a box mix (made with the directions on the box). I did not over bake it, that is 100% certain, that is just how the recipe is. And that is OK. Some people prefer the taste of it and that is fine. It baked just beautifully, but I just didnt prefer the taste myself.

The version I used recently was exactly the same as the original except using 4 whole eggs and 1/4 cup oil. It was extremly moist, no floury taste, and you couldnt taste any sour cream. It was just a nice, dense, moist, and beautifully baked cake.


Just give it a shot and see if you like it. I thought it was wonderful and Im glad I gave it a (3rd) chance.

I made it and really enjoyed it. It was more dense than we are used to, but it was still moist and good. However, I hate almond extract, so I replaced it with vanilla. I am sure you can replace the extract with any flavor you would prefer and you might enjoy it a little better. Oh, and we were not able to taste the sour cream either.

I don't know how Yummy feels about sour cream in cake, but I do love it in my chocolate cakes and have recently tried cream cheese and was super impressed.

I may just have to give a different version a try, maybe when it's just a family cake and not for a special occasion. What say you Yummy? Shall we give it another go?

I made the original one and loved it. My DH who hates sour cream is all about this cake lol. I have found that different cake mixes will effect the texture and make it too dense, now I will only use BC for this cake. Hope this helps.

A couple of things come to mind when reading this:

JanH mentions that she mixes with a hand mixer as it can become over beaten in a KA. EXACTLY! This particular recipe really calls for a hand mixer. Often a KA will mix a cake batter too hard causing the glutens to go into overdrive.

I have used both the Original and Rebecca's and find them both to be wonderful. As well, Cake Mix Doctor has a similar recipe but does not call for the almond extract. I often use "The Original" because I do not have to separate the eggs to derive egg whites. I happen to be a Pillsbury girl, so I always use that mix which has pudding in it --but have used DH as well just to see if there was much difference in how it turns out. There was not a discernible difference IMHO.

I try to find recipes that incorporate sour cream whenever possible. It adds incredible moisture and, no, cannot be tasted in a batter. However, if it is used in frosting (and one does not like the tang) then, BEWARE, as it can be tasted for sure!

JamieAnn said: ........ have also substituted flavored yogurt for the sour cream to compliment the flavor of the cake with great results..........
vstar-pilot said: .......how could you have made WASC without sour cream?? White Almond Sour Cream... kinda stands to reason. I don't disagree with "tweaking" recipes, seriously, but if you aren't making the recipe as written then you aren't making that recipe and I'm not sure why you expect certain results. Once you start making changes, the results will not be the same. ........
To which 'yummy' answered: ......Excuse me vstar_pilot, When I decided to try this recipe I knew what wasc stood for.............

I bet JamieAnn's comment is what was was vstar was referring to......not 'yummy's' ?s about this recipe.
Sorry if one misinterpreted the comments. Let's not get riled up.

I'm very interested in trying to understand how/why some of you are getting a dry cake. What temp are you baking it at? How long?
Yes, it can be a bit sticky when baked up properly.......that has never bothered me. My original recipe was meant to be a short cut & cheaper way to a scratch pound cake. Maybe understanding that will help people decide if they like this recipe or not.
Do understand there is no reason to *HAVE TO* like it Everyone's taste buds are different. It's just like I don't understand people asking for a 'less sweet' icing recipe. To me all icings are *MEANT* to be SWEET! I also don't understand people wanting non-dairy whipped 'icings' (like Frostin' Pride or Bettercreme) instead of icing and saying it isn't as sweet. To me it is sweeter! LOL
So just remember - *each to their own tastes!*

Thanks everyone for all your experiences with wasc good or bad.

Yes SkisInOkinawa, it's so embarrassing to not be able to get what everybody is having success at. Doesn't it feel good just knowing that you're not alone in being wasc challenged. I am definetly willing to give it another try. Like I said on page one, it's been two years and Jan (isn't she great) pointed out that I could have got a floury taste by measuring inaccuretly by scooping up the flour then leveling it.(this would pack the flour in, like a measurement for brown sugar.) It makes perfect sense to spoon it in the measuring cup then level. WASC was the first cake I ever baked that required me to add flour and sugar. I never used them in cakes again and I haven't tried cookies yet; so it's possible that I scooped.

Hollie77, I'm so glad you found success. I went from Pillsbury to DH and now you and Macsmon are making me want to try BC and I will. Thanks.

JCE62108, you're so right about personal taste. I'm a cake mix girl, so I'm used to that texture. I knew the texture would be firmer than what I (we) were use to. I tried the recipe w/no oil. It did bake nicely. It wasn't really the flavors (van, almond) or the density of the cake that was a turn off it was the floury taste and the dryness. Next time I'll use oil. Thanks for your input.

Cheesecakes Galore, thanks for your input as well. You hate almond I love almond. The flovor combo in the recipe didn't bother me. I couldn't remember if you could taste the sour cream or not. Thanks. I love sour cream on my tacos. lol I wouldn't have a problem with it in any cakes as long as I can't taste it. I had a bad experience with a slice of a friends cheesecake who added sour cream and I could taste the sour. I know your asking yourself, why was it a bad experience if you like sour cream. Maybe it's because every since I was a little girl I disspised cheeesecake. I 'm 42 now and on the day she made it I said to myself, "SELF, you're a big girl now, try it, maybe you were too young to really appriciate cheesecake the way it's supposed to be appreciated." Well ladies and gentlemen I was wrong that day. lol I am willing to try cheesecake again if I doesn't have sour cream in it.

Hi Win. Your reply came in while I was replying. When I made the wasc, I know for a fact that I didn't know mixing it in my KA would over beat it. That's exactly what I used and probably beat it at a med speed for a little too long. I think I used Pillsbury, ( that's the mix I used back then) so I think my problem may have been a combo of inaccurate flour measuring and over beating. Thanks to you and Jan. Did you check out my response before this one. Win, you hit it right on the nail about the tangy taste.

Thanks Kakeladi. I know I baked at the right temp; I might have baked it a little longer than I should have ( I can't say for sure), but I think I figured out where I went wrong. You're right about the less sweet icing questions. Icing is supposed to be sweet. I can only speak for myself on this, but I had an icing recipe that I use to make that was definetely sweeter than the recipe I use now. The icing I make now has heavy whipping cream and the old one was either water or milk. (can't remember now) People use to love my bc but didn't eat much of it because they said it was too sweet. Now, they love it, eat it all because they tell me it's not too sweet. I agree with you on each to his/her own taste.

Yummy: I think you will like to know that I do not like sour cream in my desserts either. I was surprised I liked this recipe, I was very sceptical. Also, I know what you mean about sour cream in cheesecakes, I am the same way. You would probably like my cheesecakes, they are made with no sour cream! That is my secret to great cheesecakes!

Cheesecakes galore, although I don't like cheesecake, I like you. lol I believe that I could at least learn to like cheesecakes. (mostly the ones with different flavors, not plain) Eventually I want to branch out into making the bomb ass cheesecakes just in case I run across a customer who ask if I make them. I don't want to let any business opportunities pass me by because I wasn't prepared.

I use Kakeladis WASC for White Almond Sour Cream cake.

But I also use this same method for all flavors.

No Oil, 1c flour, 1c sugar, 3 eggs, & 2 tsp extract ....etc...

For lemon cake I sub 1 c lemon yogurt. For strawberry 1 c strawberry yogurt...

This original recipe can be used for all flavors not just White Almond Sour cream.

It all boils down to personal preference ...

I don't usually get involved in the bickering but I took vstar_pilot 's response the same way Yummy did.. It is probably just because it is hard to tell how things are mean't online but i found it a little condescending...

Oh well Yummy I guess we both took it wrong

Today I made a 12x18 lemon version, 3- 8" rounds in red velvet version, 3-8" rounds in strawberry , and 2- ovals in banana, using Kakeladi's method they all turned out very moist. a little denser than regular cake mix ( but these all have to be carved so it is better that way).

Give it another try and just use your handmixer, You may still not care for it but it could just be your personal taste preference.

Happy Caking

Thank you so much JamieAnn. I'm glad your cakes are working for you. I definetely want to try again and was planning on doing it on Wed. ( in preparation for a cake I have to do next month) but now, I have to wait til the weekend because I have to go buy a hand mixer. The one I have is so old real old and not attractive at all. If I was batter I wouldn't want it any where near.