Great Ideas on the long list. But where do you find recipes for these cakes and fillings that are tried and true?
Thanks alot everyone, great recipes and ideas.
GrandmaG -- I apologize. I didn't credit you for the name of my cake!! It's been bothering me all afternoon!! I couldn't wait to get back to my computer to say "I'm sorry"! The Mayan name was inspired -- hadn't gotten around to thinking about a name, but I liked the "Mayan" -- sounded exotic!! Mayan Bliss, Mayan Cream, Heavenly Mayan, Warm-hearted Mayan -- oh the possibilities! Thanks again![/quote]
Oh, and to add to Macsmom's post - the Lorann eggnog is AWESOME! I used it in white chocolate ganache to fill truffles for Christmas, and those things were gone before the holiday came
Do you mind sharing the recipe for those- they sound great.
It's as simple as adding lorann eggnog to white chocolate ganache made with a 1:1 ratio 
Does anyone have a good doctored recipe for yellow and vanilla cake. I'm also looking for the same recipes from scratch.
Thanks.
Serious_Cake's yellow cake recipe is awesome. I use it for just about every flavor, and its delicious even with just vanilla
Just wanted to say I received my samples from Amoretti today, and I am in HEAVEN. Amazing products!!! (I got samples of the extracts and the compounds). I almost cried, (seriously) when I read the side of the box stating that the products are packaged on equipment that also procesess peanuts/tree nuts....my son is allergic to peanuts, and so I have made my kitchen nut free.....all those beautiful samples, and I can't use them!!! 
all those beautiful samples, and I can't use them!!!
Mail them to me
Macsmom, I was wondering how you did your tiramisu cake. I think it was talked about previously but didn't see it on the google page. I was planning to use coffee flavored yogurt and I found tiramisu flavored creamer. Would that work??
Those flavors would be great! Yes, do that.
For the tiramisu cake...
Espresso Syrup
2/3 c of water
1½ c PS
5 t instant coffee granules
In a small heavy saucepan over high heat, combine water, PS & coffee. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let cool. Poke holes into cakes; brush with syrup.
Mascarpone Filling
1 c mascarpone cheese (from tub)
3 T Kahlua (or coffee extract)
1/4 c sweetened condensed milk
2 c whipped Frostin Pride
Just wanted to say I received my samples from Amoretti today, and I am in HEAVEN. Amazing products!!! (I got samples of the extracts and the compounds). I almost cried, (seriously) when I read the side of the box stating that the products are packaged on equipment that also procesess peanuts/tree nuts....my son is allergic to peanuts, and so I have made my kitchen nut free.....all those beautiful samples, and I can't use them!!!
How do I go about ordering the sample? This sound interesting?
Thanks to everyone giving tips here. I have been following this thread since I became a member.
I was going to call that Amoretti company, but I am not sure what I am supposed to say. Any hints? Do I say, "Please send me free samples?" I sure would love to play with some.
Thanks!
Thanks to everyone giving tips here. I have been following this thread since I became a member.
I was going to call that Amoretti company, but I am not sure what I am supposed to say. Any hints? Do I say, "Please send me free samples?" I sure would love to play with some.
Thanks!
I just e-mailed them from the form on their website saying that they come highly recommended and asked for a catalog. She called first thing in the morning and my samples arrived the very next day! (I only live a few hours away).
GrandmaG -- I apologize. I didn't credit you for the name of my cake!! It's been bothering me all afternoon!! I couldn't wait to get back to my computer to say "I'm sorry"! The Mayan name was inspired -- hadn't gotten around to thinking about a name, but I liked the "Mayan" -- sounded exotic!! Mayan Bliss, Mayan Cream, Heavenly Mayan, Warm-hearted Mayan -- oh the possibilities! Thanks again!
[/quote]
I'm glad you liked it! Your idea caught my interest because I'm always looking for a spicy and sweet. I bought some blackberry habernero jam at the farmer's market last summer and mixed it with buttercream. I really liked it. I found a lot of people don't care for the heat in cake though. Here's another recipe that you might like.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugar-bliss/394300121/
Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for me?!
Weds and Thurs I baked my cakes following the doctored wasc recipes Macsmom has shared, wrapped them and stuck in the freezer. I've made the regular wasc with no problems, but my cherry and banana cakes did NOT turn out. They ended up really heavy. Kind of gooey like in the middle. I baked these cakes for a good hour and 40 minutes and my toothpick was clean. And now that I'm cutting the cake to assemble I can look at the side view of the layers and it looks really dense and darker colored in the middle parts.
My husband is telling me to decorate it anyways but I don't want to serve this to ANYONE. He doesn't want me to waste the ingredients plus buy them a cake. It's for my nephew and sil gave me about 2 days notice, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.
BUT, I'd like to know what happened to my cakes. Should I have baked them longer? I'd love to figure this out so I don't make the same mistakes again. TIA!
Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for me?!
Weds and Thurs I baked my cakes following the doctored wasc recipes Macsmom has shared, wrapped them and stuck in the freezer. I've made the regular wasc with no problems, but my cherry and banana cakes did NOT turn out. They ended up really heavy. Kind of gooey like in the middle. I baked these cakes for a good hour and 40 minutes and my toothpick was clean. And now that I'm cutting the cake to assemble I can look at the side view of the layers and it looks really dense and darker colored in the middle parts.
My husband is telling me to decorate it anyways but I don't want to serve this to ANYONE. He doesn't want me to waste the ingredients plus buy them a cake. It's for my nephew and sil gave me about 2 days notice, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.
BUT, I'd like to know what happened to my cakes. Should I have baked them longer? I'd love to figure this out so I don't make the same mistakes again. TIA!
Did you combine 1 white mix with one flavored mix?
That overly-wet, heaviness, is the main reason I combine mixes. But you don't have to use a flavored mix when you have concentrated flavorings, creamers, and flavored yogurts to complement the cake.
Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for me?!
Weds and Thurs I baked my cakes following the doctored wasc recipes Macsmom has shared, wrapped them and stuck in the freezer. I've made the regular wasc with no problems, but my cherry and banana cakes did NOT turn out. They ended up really heavy. Kind of gooey like in the middle. I baked these cakes for a good hour and 40 minutes and my toothpick was clean. And now that I'm cutting the cake to assemble I can look at the side view of the layers and it looks really dense and darker colored in the middle parts.
My husband is telling me to decorate it anyways but I don't want to serve this to ANYONE. He doesn't want me to waste the ingredients plus buy them a cake. It's for my nephew and sil gave me about 2 days notice, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.
BUT, I'd like to know what happened to my cakes. Should I have baked them longer? I'd love to figure this out so I don't make the same mistakes again. TIA!
Did you combine 1 white mix with one flavored mix?
That overly-wet, heaviness, is the main reason I combine mixes. But you don't have to use a flavored mix when you have concentrated flavorings, creamers, and flavored yogurts to complement the cake.
I actually just used white mix. The cake tastes really good, the texture is just gross though. So I guess the first thing to try is putting less liquid into the cake?
I was looking at extracts today, and I found a "Princess" flavor, what does this taste like?
I thought I saw this mentioned on macsmom post, but I thought it was just a cute name for a girls cake( I know can you tell I'm a newbie
)
I have the Lorann Princess Cake & Cookie Emulsion, I haven't used it yet. It smells sweet and a little lemony. What the bottle says is " It adds a creamy, rich bouquet and light, nutty taste."
Tammy
Thanks GrandmaG -- going to have to try that recipe!! Looks good! I have one that I want to try also which has chopped chipotle chiles in it. I have some raspberry chipotle marinade that I thought might be good as a filling either mixed with bettercreme, buttercream, or even MacsMom's truffle filling. Not sure how it would work, but it got my very limited creative juices flowing!!
That's funny. I find myself looking in the grocery stores, farmers markets, health food stores, all the time for different items I can use for flavoring. I shop at all of them to see what different items they have. Also, always on the look out for different candies, etc. The problem is I have a huge stock of stuff that I haven't used yet! I always think some day I'm going to do something with that! 
Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for me?!
Weds and Thurs I baked my cakes following the doctored wasc recipes Macsmom has shared, wrapped them and stuck in the freezer. I've made the regular wasc with no problems, but my cherry and banana cakes did NOT turn out. They ended up really heavy. Kind of gooey like in the middle. I baked these cakes for a good hour and 40 minutes and my toothpick was clean. And now that I'm cutting the cake to assemble I can look at the side view of the layers and it looks really dense and darker colored in the middle parts.
My husband is telling me to decorate it anyways but I don't want to serve this to ANYONE. He doesn't want me to waste the ingredients plus buy them a cake. It's for my nephew and sil gave me about 2 days notice, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.
BUT, I'd like to know what happened to my cakes. Should I have baked them longer? I'd love to figure this out so I don't make the same mistakes again. TIA!
I had this happen to a cake a few weeks ago. How big was your pan? I have the problem if I overfill and don't use a flower nail. Get an oven thermometer and make sure you're baking at 325. You can also do the lightly press and it should spring back. Did it sink in the middle. If so it for sure wasn't done. I bake a 6" for almost 40 min. A 9" for almost 1 hour. If these don't factor in I would say cut back on sour cream/yogurt and/or the creamer/oil.
Let us know if you try again. And my dh has the same philosophy of not wasting money. Cut away the center goo and make cake balls!
Ok, does anyone have any suggestions for me?!
Weds and Thurs I baked my cakes following the doctored wasc recipes Macsmom has shared, wrapped them and stuck in the freezer. I've made the regular wasc with no problems, but my cherry and banana cakes did NOT turn out. They ended up really heavy. Kind of gooey like in the middle. I baked these cakes for a good hour and 40 minutes and my toothpick was clean. And now that I'm cutting the cake to assemble I can look at the side view of the layers and it looks really dense and darker colored in the middle parts.
My husband is telling me to decorate it anyways but I don't want to serve this to ANYONE. He doesn't want me to waste the ingredients plus buy them a cake. It's for my nephew and sil gave me about 2 days notice, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.
BUT, I'd like to know what happened to my cakes. Should I have baked them longer? I'd love to figure this out so I don't make the same mistakes again. TIA!
I had this happen to a cake a few weeks ago. How big was your pan? I have the problem if I overfill and don't use a flower nail. Get an oven thermometer and make sure you're baking at 325. You can also do the lightly press and it should spring back. Did it sink in the middle. If so it for sure wasn't done. I bake a 6" for almost 40 min. A 9" for almost 1 hour. If these don't factor in I would say cut back on sour cream/yogurt and/or the creamer/oil.
Let us know if you try again. And my dh has the same philosophy of not wasting money. Cut away the center goo and make cake balls!
Thank you thank you thank you for all the advice! I was baking a 10" square. My chocolate turned out fine, oddly enough. (I was going to try a banana split cake.) And both the cherry and banana cakes sank before I even took them out of the oven, but they were also pulling away from the sides. Maybe my oven temp is still off. I've never used a flower nail, just stick one upside down in the center of the pan? Is it supposed to work like the core thingy? Sorry, I forget what it's called. 
I'll be baking again in a few days, it's ds2's 2nd birthday. We can't not have a cake on his birthday. Looks like I'll be picking up a thermometer, plus I'll cut down on the liquid just to be sure. Thanks again.
I received my Amoretti samples yesterday. I was so excited. There were 46 samples. Where do I start. With all those samples and all the new recipes I've gotten from this thread my head is about to explode. I can't wait to get started trying the new recipes. I've already made the orange dreamsicle cake and it was wonderful, thanks Macsmom. Thanks to everyone here for all the great ideas and recipes. I've got to try the Mayan cake. I love chocolate and I love love love chilis and spicy food. This is the best thread ever.
MacsMom I made your new version of your WASC chocolate cake twice and both times the cake came out way too moist it was falling apart in my hands when I tried take it out of the pan. I don't know what I am doing wrong do you have any insight? (I used the 6 whole eggs, I don't know if this makes any difference)
I haven't had that happen! My best guess is that you should return to 1/4 c oil instead of 1/2 c butter, and use just 1 pkg of pudding mix.
Is the batter runny?
No its seems to be on the thicker side. Is that normal?
I have been reading this thread for about a week now and all I can say is WOW! You guys rock! I have never baked anything other than plain old box mixes. Just started to get into the whole cake baking obsession. I just wanted to say thanks for all the tips. I went to wally world today got all my supplies and going to bake my little heart out tomorrow. I am going to try the WASC, Orange dreamsicle and hot cocoa cakes. Wish me luck!
With the flower nail, turn it upside down and grease it. It works like a heating core! Wilton suggests a hc for 10" pan and up. I like using it on my 9" and sometimes 8" pans, especially 3" high pans.
Your cakes can be done on the outside (actually close to burnt) and raw in the center. I also suggest the bake even strips! Do this and I think you'll be ok!
Hi this is the website you need:
http://www.amoretti.com/
First of all thanks to MacsMom for letting me know where to find the "tried & true" recipes.
MacsMom - can you please help me with my questions? Or anyone else...
Regarding the Bettercreme & Forstin Pride. I live in a small town in Wisconsin and no one carries anything like this in town or in surrounding towns. Can I use DreamWhip? DOES DREAMWHIP HAVE TO BE MADE WITH MILK? I can get this product. I don't want to do the refrigeration thing. But I really want to try some of your great fillings and cake recipes.
I made Sharon's Butttercream Recipe from SugarShack tonight and what a mess & what a disaster!! Air bubbles up the kazoo! And I followed everything she said on her DVD. I will never make it again!! I used the Walmart brand shortening as this had the trans fat in it. Do you think my problem was because it was not Hi Ratio enough? I read on this site regarding other Hi Ratio recipes that I could use that brand with success. Has anyone else tried SugarShack's recipe?
I am going to frost the cake tomorrow - how do I get rid of the airbubbles? I doubt that I can use it for borders. This cake was to be a birthday gift to one of the executives that I work with - I just hope I can give it to her when I am done. Any suggestions for a buttercream that crusts nicely, tastes great and doesn't get a lot of air bubbles and can also be used to decorate with. Wow - that's wanting a lot - isn't it?
The recipe I found on this site "Cakepro's Buttercream with Trans Fat Free Crisco" is MUCH better. I tried that one last weekend and it was very successful. I just wanted to have one that had a better flavor. I have used Wilton's recipes for years and have had great success with them - but the flavor leaves a lot to be desired.
Thanks MacsMom for your dedication to this site and to all of us newbie people who need your help and advice. I have copied and pasted 40 plus pages of your advise and comments from this thread into Word for reference.
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