This is my first time posting in the forum. I love reading all the questions and repliesand have learned so much!! I am so impressed of how many of you provide input.

I am pre-baking and freezing cakes for a wedding next weekend where the tiers will be alternated with the chocolate WASC and vanilla WASC recipe.

I baked the original version in a 14" x 2" pan and it baked beautifully (I used the entire batter mixed). On the 14" pan I did not use a flower nail or baking strip. When it came to the chocolate version it was a different story. I baked both a 12" and 8" cake with the batter and they both did not rise like the original. In the chocolate version I used coffee instead of water, 6 whole eggs, and replaced 2/3 cup of the flour with cocoa.

I thought maybe it was due to only having 6 eggs so I tried another recipe with 8 whole eggs and had a little better luck but it still didn't rise like the vanilla version and still seemed to sink a bit. When I tasted the first cakes baked it seemed very dense (more than normal).

Any thoughts?

Hi, when i do use a cake mix enhancer, i use cakepro's(c/c member) recipe on site. It is called amazing chocolate wasc(i believe that is what it is called and i make her amazing lemon wasc(very rich lemony flavor and so is her chocolate and they both rise very good. I truly think that maybe the chocolate always doesnt, rise as good as white or yellow cakes. Maybe others can help you more. good luck with your cakes.

Thank you Icer101! I think I will try this recipe and see how it goes. It makes me nervous thinking the cake will be too dense and seem more like a brownie than a cake. I have been getting more into baking cakes and this will be my first tiered cake and since it is for a wedding I don't want to disappoint.

That is pretty much the same recipe I had gotten from CC except someone had posted to use cold coffee instead of the water, use 2/3 cup cocoa powder and 1 1/3 cup flour, and 4 tbs oil.

I have made these before and don't remember the rising problem, but maybe it didn't help that I opened the oven door when I thought it was close to being done. Next time I will have to track the time it takes to bake and jot it down for future use.

It sounds like you are using my *original* WASC version.  Others have had the same problem w/chocolate cake.  In fact, even straight from the box, using the box directions many people have had the chocolate cake sink just a bit in the center.

You have to realize EACH and every flavor of cake mix bakes up just a bit different :(

If you have read ALL the replies on the original recipe post you will see what I'm talking about.

The fact that you made a 12 *and* 8" layer from one batch tells me you didn't use enough batter per pan.A 12

"x2" round pantakes one batch of the recipe.  One batch will make one 8"x2" round *and* a 6"er. 

I went and looked at your recipe and the one I was using is pretty similar.

2 boxes cake mix, 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 8 egg whites (used whole eggs for chocolate cake), 2 2/3 cup water, 4tbls veg oil, 2 cups sour cream.

I have generally used BC cake mixes (chocolate fudge) but this time I used the BC devils food so I may try to chocolate fudge and use your recipe.

On a side note, if you are baking an 8" should you bake only one layer at a time so it can be in the center of the oven? Years ago (when I was much younger) :) I would bake them at the same time and they didn't bake level but I guess since I level them anyway it wouldn't matter.

Kakeladi,

After reading numerous posts in the forum I see that I was using a tweaked version of your *original WASC* recipe and found in a comment the suggestion of using coffee instead of water and using 2/3 cup cocoa in place of the flour.

I went back and found your *original WASC* and it doesn't call for oil. I have been wondering what does the oil do and does using sour cream replace the fat you would get from the oil?

.....wondering what does the oil do and does using sour cream replace the fat you would get from the oil?.....

I eliminated the oil after reading several recipes on the internet suggesting one could by subbing fruit sauce.  Then one day I forgot the applesauce amd found the cake was just as good w/o so thereafter I never used either the oil nor the applesauce. 

The sour cream gives the cake density(sp?) and moisture.