Well, I've been trying different scratch recipes all week... first I tried Toba Garrett's and I found it a bit dry, then I tried Sylvia Weinstock's (with the sour cream and the egg whites folded in at the end), it was so moist, but I found that I didn't really like the flavour - kind of 'eggy' and too sweet. Has anyone found that with her recipe?

So.... I'm going to try Toba's recipe again this week and add a cup of prepared pudding to the mix to see if it makes it any moister. I did this today (added a cup of pudding) to Weinstock's recipe (hoping it would mask the taste a little). It turned out very nice and moist but still had that flavour that I don't like. (Please don't tell me that it's not from scratch if I add pudding because I don't want to hear it!)

I've been reading Buddy's Cake Boss book and he actually found their cake recipe a bit dry too, so after his father passed, he had the idea of putting pudding into the cake (he used their custard though because that's all they had on hand). I tried his custard recipe and really screwed it up (maybe I added too much milk by accident, I was watching my two-year old at the same time) so I'll stick to instant pudding mixes for now.

I hear people on here say that if you find the right scratch recipe, it shouldn't be dry and it's a chemical reaction blah, blah. I've done a lot of research on it as well, so I know all about the reactions and I have been baking for years. I do think that adding a pudding or custard to the scratch mix would make it taste wonderful.. I just have to find the right scratch recipe to start with.

Has anyone else noticed this flavour with Weinstock's recipe as well, and do you know what ingredient is causing it? Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated (but please don't be rude and nasty). Thanks!

I'm assuming you're looking for a good *white* cake recipe?

I wish you the best of luck, because I just gave up. I couldn't find one that was up to my standards.
I have not yet had anyone ask for a white cake that I couldn't talk into yellow just by telling them it's the same flavor, but much better cake.

Works for me!

I don't have any tips unfortunately but I just wanted to say that I do semi-homemade cakes (basically doctored cake mixes) and have always had great results in taste and texture and have never had a complaint! It works for me. I say if you find something that you and your customers like, even if it's not from scratch, then I say stick with it! Good luck to you!

Have you tried using a simple syrup to moisten your cakes. IMO, this is an essential step for all scratch cakes.

I have heard of people using a scratch instant pudding mix to their cakes. I googled scratch rum cake and came across a blogger that did it that way. I never tried it but planned to some day I also found a recipe (via google search) for scratch instant pudding using instant clear jel (I think it is a form of corn starch that doesn't need to be cooked like traditional puddings). I purchased the clear jel from king arthur flour . com but haven't tried that recipe either. HTH

No secret tricks to this one. Just a simple white cake recipe. I like this one very much. I do think all cakes are nicer if wrapped and frozen as soon as they cool. Then I pull them out of the freezer and defrost entirely before frosting.

Classic White Cake

Serving Size : 1
Ingredients

Ingredients + Preparation Method
12 tablespoons Unsalted butter - (1 1/2 sticks) - softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 cups All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
6 large Egg whites - (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup Milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract


Set rack at the middle level in the oven
and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of two 9-inch round
or one 13- by 9- by 2-inch pan. Line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. In
a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until
light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture ,then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scape the bowl and beater often. Pour the batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely.

Comments: For a classic yellow cake - Substitute 3 large eggs and 1 yolk for the egg whites. Recipe Source: COOKING LIVE with Sara Moulton Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine From the TV FOOD NETWORK[/b]

here is my recipe... i would bet pretty much my life on it... its fantastic perfect flavor and super moist. best part is it can be abused, its hard to mess up & can be altered for different flavors....

My recipe

1 cup milk
6 egg whites
1/2 TBLS Vanilla
1/2 TBLS Almond
1/3 cup mayo
Mix above all in 1 bowl, should sit to get alittle warmer, but doesnt have to

2 1/4 flour
1 3/4 sugar
1 Tbls + 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Mix together (i do it in my kitchenaid with the wisk attachment)
add 1 stick softened unsalted butter (i do room temp) whisk and scrap til it looks like sand
Pour in wet.

This is seriously the best recipe I have ever tried. and i did the white scratch off and a hanful of other recipes too. And i use and abuse it too! it becomes lemon poppyseed, strawberry, cherry, whatever i need to make just like they use the WASC
Let me know if you have anymore questions!!

I recently tried Ron Ben Isreal's white cake. The flavor is amazing! I made it as cupcakes and it was not as moist as I would have liked (possibly just over baked, but I tried 2 different occasions), so I'm going to try adding some sour cream or pudding. But the basic recipe is really, really good!

http://nyccakegirl.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/today-ron-has-allowed-me-to-share-a-few-recipes%E2%80%A6/

Thanks guys for the recipes! I'll have to try them. Do you guys have yellow cake recipes as well. I think I'd like to find a yellow cake recipe to try first and once I'm happy with that, then I'll try white cake recipes.

I tried Sylvia's yellow cake recipe last week. I did not have butter, just the "Bestlife buttery baking sticks" and 1/2 cup of sour cream, so I added 1/2 cup of French Vanilla yogurt. It was a delicious soft and tender cake. My boyfriend and I ate all without any buttercream!

I actually adore the flavor of Weinstock's cake. It's my favorite cake, hands down. And it won the white cake scratch off done on this site. So maybe your customers will like it even if you don't. Sometimes a flavor just hits us wrong and we can't get past it.

In any event, since you sense an eggy taste I can tell you how to get rid of that. Use better or more vanilla. Vanilla balances and cuts the egg taste. It's one of the main purposes of vanilla in baking. That's why you see it in just about every baking recipe there is that includes eggs, even if vanilla is not the flavor of the end product. Think about it...even almond flavored baked goods use BOTH almond extract and vanilla extract...never just almond. Chocolate cakes use vanilla. Why? it has that separate purpose of cutting the eggy taste of things.

I agree with artscallion. Weinstock's cake is my fav.. By far and absolutely. Never had a problem with it.. The texture is pure perfection and the taste from the sourcream is great.. Not sure why your getting an eggy taste. I would say definitely try the recipe again.. It's wonderful

I've actually tried Weinstock's cake three times now... you know, I was just reading somewhere that cakes that have egg whites folded in can taste really eggy the first few hours after baking, they need to sit for a bit and then the taste evaporates. And I always tend to try it almost right out of the oven. Well, I bet you I will go back to her recipe because it is really nice, so moist. Maybe I'll also try the trick of more vanilla or using yogurt instead. Of all the recipes I've tried, hers is the best so far, just that damn eggy taste. I'll keep working in it! Thanks again for all the advice!

Thank you!

Very true, Linda, in the same way that raw cake batter always has a much more intense flavor than it ends up with after baking. When I'm experimenting with new flavorings, I always make the batter much more intense than I think it needs to be in order for the flavor to show up well in the finished product.

Another note along the same lines...the flavor of salt is intensified when things are cold. So if you're making something hot that will be served cold, make sure to under salt it when hot. You can always add more later if needed once it's cooled.

Ok, CakeandDazzle, I'm super intrigued here. I had it on my to-do to test some lemon recipes this week so I have the lemon version of your recipe in the oven now!

Hi,
Can someone please let me know where I can find Sylvia Weinstock's white cake recipe. I have doing a search on Cakecentral and I am having difficulty locating it. I have been making WASC cakes for a long time hoping to find the perfect scratch recipe.
thanks
amamamiq

I combine SW's old and new recipe. I add 1/3 c milk and ginger to taste. The ginger adds another level of taste but you can't recognize the flavor. I also use vanilla bean paste and homemade Grey Goose Vodka vanilla extract. This is a good cake.

Yes, you can't identify a ginger flavor in the cake. But it does make a difference. Sylvia's recipe only calls for 1/2 tsp.

The recipe is here http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2009/cakes/yellow-cake.html

This is the new, supposedly improved recipe. It adds a whole cup of milk that wasn't in the original recipe, and the ginger. Though MANY people found this recipe to be a failure in the scratch off...it turned into a shrunken, fallen wad for most people. We found that by decreasing the milk the recipe was perfect. As scp1127 says, she reduces the milk to 1/3 cup. i reduce it to 1/4 cup. So somewhere around there works.

Cakeanddazzle,
Does your recipe double and triple well? I want to try it out, too. Could you make a mango cake with your recipe by using mango puree instead of the milk? Or half puree and half milk and then fold in finely chopped peices of mango?

I have a white cake recipe I love but it involves whipping egg whites-I am always open to new recipes I am excited to try yours!

You'd probably be better off substituting all of the milk for mango puree, tigachu. It takes a lot of mango for the flavor to come through. I make a scratch WASC using frozen mango concentrate (it's like frozen OJ concentrate but with no added sugar), and I have to use a lot to get it to taste mango-y enough. You could certainly add mango bits - it's like adding fresh strawberries to the strawberry version, and it would probably help boost the flavor.