Good Morning Early Birds!

I have had a lot of issues with yellow & White cake, and seeing as how I haven't perfected it, I plan to doctor a mix for a cake order I just received... the last thing I need is a $300 order coming out like cornbread again!

I bought the yellow cake mix that the grocery store had the most of, which was Duncan Hines. 

When I make it from scratch, I use a classic yellow batter and sub 1/3 of the buttermilk with coconut milk and split the vanilla extract with coconut emulsion and fold in grated coconut at the very end. (this always has AMAZING flavor, but the texture isn't consistent... sometimes it's fabulous, and sometimes it has that cornbread-y thing going on, as I posted in a previous thread)

How would you guys make this mix into a coconut cake? I am a little unsure of the fat ratios in coconut milk / cream so don't know if I should sub the milk AND oil, or just the milk...

Help please! You guys never let me down!

Which doctored mix are you using?  I would use a white mix and use coconut milk in place of the water, and use the coconut extract.  If you wanted to add coconut, I would run it through the food processor so the shreds are smaller and then toast it for the best flavor.  Keep the oil as-is.  I know for most WASC recipes you can substitute heavy cream for the liquid, so coconut milk shouldn't be a problem.  You can always try it out and see.  It's my preference to start with a white mix when I'm doing fruit flavors or coconut. I think the yellow mix has the most artificial taste.  The fruit mixes have that fake neon color.

ASo I did a test run before your reply and replaced the water with coconut cream and left the oil the same... While it came out pretty good... I agree... the yellow was kind of... well... fake tasting. So I am going to grab some white mix and do the same thing... I have frozen grated coconut and just thawed it out squeezed it a bit and folded it in... I think to get it closer to a scratch yellow flavor I will make the white mix with whole eggs as well... Wish I Saw your response first lol... thanks for the reply :)

AUPDATE... Tried this with white mix and it keeps sinking! What's going on here???

I baked on 325 and did use a flower nail but forgot the bake even strips... could that be the issue???

did another batch with cake strips and it's still sinking... I don't know what's going on. 

ADid you use whole eggs or just the whites? I would use just whites if you're using coconut milk because of the fat content. I use the baking strips but not a nail. I also bake at 325 and use 1/2 cup sugar instead of the full cup. I always reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup because I do find more sugar causes sinking. Sorry I didn't mention that before.

I did a version of the Italian Cream WASC recipe once her on CC. It came out really good. I would try that recipe excluding the pecans and see how it turns out. I used a white mix with coconut flavoring since I could not find a coconut cake mix in my area, hope this helps! http://cakecentral.com/a/amazing-italian-cream-cake

white or yellow base + coconut + coconut flavoring = coconut cake.  No secrets about it.

I used whole eggs and uses the bake even strips with the nail on the next go around... it still sank a bit, but was definitely MUCH better and usable...  I've never made a yellow cake this large (It's a wedding cake so I've got a 6, 10, and 14) so it's been taking some trial and error) Good thing I have until Friday! lol

AI'm on a friggin' roll here... I picked up some more white mix since I wasted so much and I added the three eggs and the coconut cream for the water and 1/3 cup of oil... got it in the oven and while tossing the box in the trash noticed that this box calls for 1/4 c oil... NOT 1/3... here's hoping the coconut cream and the extra oil don't ruin this 14" round... time is becoming tight...:-(

If it keeps sinking and is super "moist", I would use less liquid. I did a coconut cake similarly and had it sink, so I used less oil, and it was a bit dry. Since it was for a free tasting and not an order,(and I had already wasted so much)  I wetted it down with more coconut milk and a paint brush. It was super good, and I don't like coconut :-)

Don't pay attention to the box directions when doing a doctored recipe.  You might also try adding an additional 1/3 cup mix to the box.  The sizes were reduced some time ago so I just add 1/3 cup extra. 

Thanks for all your help annie!

I got the two 14" layers through the oven last night and they are freezing as we speak... I think I will have enough (even with the sinking) to make all the layers... I may have to take a layer of 10" and cut it down to 6" but that's a very small issue to deal with at this point! lol

This is a very unique flavor cake request... coconut cake with ganache and bavarian cream... I am actually going to sub the ganache with Hershey's perfectly chocolate frosting... it is equally rich and has more stability with changing temps... and I have learned when making bavarian cream to pour it into a saran wrap lined cake pan (BOTTOM AND SIDES) and let it sit that way... that way I am not breaking up the gelatin to fill it and just pop the cake on top and flip... works like a charm! lol 

THIS IS MY FIRST WEDDING SO I AM SUPER NERVOUS!!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!

Sounds good!  Sometimes if mine sink slightly, I will take a leveled piece off another cake and use it to fill in the gap LOL.  Or it just serves as a "bowl" for more yummy filling.

Good luck and if you need anymore help let me know!

A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3022954/width/200/height/400[/IMG] it came out pretty good!

Great job!  I'm sure they will love it!