I just got back a customer eval form from the lady I made the martini glass cake for. She said the cake was dry.
I'm so bummed. I make all scratch butter cakes. Everyone at work has always raved about my cakes, so that was the reason for taking the whole business plunge. But it seems now that I get a bunch of evals back that rate me highly on decoration and service, but the taste is always one step down from the other ratings. I moisten them with simple syrup. I even altered my recipes to include half of the fat as oil to moisten them up. I tested it on my DH and he says that none of my cakes are dry. (He eats all the leveling scraps)
My word of mouth is going to tank here if this keeps up. I've tasted these cakes and would never call them dry. I've got considerable time and money invested in this, so I honestly don't know what the heck I'm going to do. I really do Hate boxed mixes. I can't see that as an option.
I use the Cake Bible and Dede Wilson's recipes. I know you can't taste my cakes online and make me feel better. I guess I just wanted to cry on someone's shoulder.. 
Do you torte the layers? sometimes the increased ratio of icing to cake helps. But, if you truly believe your cake isn't dry, chalk it up to the customer.
I haven't read any other posts you may have made on this topic, so I apologize if these are repeat suggestions:
Are you baking too early?
Are you freezing? this can increase the moistness of the cake.
Have you gotten a complaint on a recipe more than once...try another. The recipes you are using a good, but individual bakers can get slightly difference results. What is perfect for me, may not be for you.
It is my understanding that 'butter cakes' can taste dry if they are cold. It must warm up to room temp to soften the butter and improve the texture. Try a recipe that uses buttermilk and or sour cream.
Good luck.
Cake testing is very hard when you use friends and family. Being impartial may not always happen. Use your own judgment. What do you think of your cakes?
With that said, how many evals have you recieved? I wouldn't panic just yet. A few evals are not always indicative of your cake.
And, I know personally, that I make a great chocolate and white cake that tastes amazing and stays moist, but I have trouble finding a yellow butter cake recipe from scratch that works, so I just keep on looking.
Maybe you just need to fine tune your recipe.
Don't feel depressed. You can get through this!
angie
Sorry, not much help here. Most people compare cakes to what they are used to. Most people are used to a cake mix cake.
I have had scratch cakes from bakeries before, and I'm sorry, but they were dry as powder. maybe try the homemade cake mix recipe that someone in here added.( I think maybe melvira, but I'm not sure) It would still be scratch. I haven't tried it yet. Still have too much cake mix stored that I bought on sale.
Maybe you can try the boxed cakes like others have suggested (not sure if you have tried the WASC cake, but it is awsome--I didn't realize a cake could be so moist!). If you like the results then maybe you can offer a sample cake to the customers who have said that the cake is dry and let them know that you appreciated their input and that you are trying a new recipe. This will let them know that you are being proactive and they would appreciate your effort and the sample. I think that would be reason enough for them to come back to you for their next cake.
I've seen that a lot lately and didn't know either - maybe someone will tell us 
You do NOT have to use mixes. My personal opinion, either they are just used to a mix which is different from a scratch cake or, as someone else said, they did not serve the cake at room temp. Both can make a difference and neither has ANYtHING to do with your cake.
I NEVER use mixes, I don't even like to smell. And, no offense to anyone here, but it irks me to no end that people criticize scratch cakes and say that they are dry or not as good as a mix. I think it is the generalization that bothers me. Don't lump every scratch cake into the same category. That being said if a box works for you, great! But scratch bakers or wanna-be scratch bakers need not be discouraged!!
As for your husband and family, if they are anything like mine, you will get the honest, uncensored truth. Even with the decorating that they know nothing about. LOL!! So trust your instincts and your taste buds. Continue to experiment, you may find recipes or techniques that turn out even better cakes and do not feel that you have to use a box if you don't want to.
Best to you and don't let them get you down!
Maybe you can add a card to your box when you send and order out explaining about serving at room temp, etc. Just a thought.
I remember reading a similar thread, and the gist of it was that some folks are not used to scratch cakes...mistaking dense for "dry" and moist for "not fully baked". In other words, some people have limited exposure to different ways of baking, and think that if it does not taste like a boxed mix would, it MUST BE wrong.
Kudos to you for following up with customers through eval. forms. But, they are constructive criticisms, and you learn from them. Don't change what you are doing, but improve upon it.
I took the plunge into all scratch baking about 6 months ago, after doing some doctored box mixes, and some from scratch. It took me about 15 different white cake recipes to get one I liked, that was dense and moist and easy to carve, and use as a base for other flavors.
My husband is my worst critic; and is totally honest with me. Yours sounds the same. Trust him. And trust yourself.
WASC = White Almond Sour Cream cake
This is a link to one of the forums (so far it's about 12 pages of rave):
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-61611.html
I'm with Lenette. The complaints about dry scratch cakes always seem to come from people who are used to box mixes. You have 3 choices here. Stick to scratch and ignore the dry comments, change to box and turn out blah cakes to the scratch cake fans or a third possibility ask the person ordering the cake if they want a scratch or box cake. Give them what they ask for. It is just one of those things on which people have differing opinions.
Duncan Hines with instant pudding. Then freeze it, a hit EVERY TIME!!!! I give this out to my students at Michaels (I teach cake decorating) Believe it or not FREEZING the cake is my secret to a super moist cake!!!
Ginger's Cake Recipe
1 Box Cake Mix (any flavor)
1 small Box INSTANT Pudding (do not use the cook and serve)
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
Oven at 350 degrees.
Mix all ingred. Together at medium speed for 3 minutes (2 minutes with the stand-up mixer).
Bake for about 30-60minutes. Done when toothpick inserted comes out "JUST" clean. Remove from pan onto tin foil and IMMEDIATELY wrap and put into freezer. Can be frozen for a few months.
Pull from the freezer. Remove tin foil and IMMEDIATELY ice the cake. This will lock in the moisture. Some condensation on the top of the iced cake is normal, just leave it, the water will absorb. DO NOT try and wipe it off!!!
Eat and enjoy!!
Filling
3 containers snack pack puddings (comes in 4 pack)
½ box dry instant pudding
Mix well, will be very thick!!! Can add more pudding if you want it thinner. Add to middle of cake once you make your icing dam. If you buy vanilla snack pack pudding you should use vanilla instant pudding mix.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
Just one more thing, I tried the recipe on CC for the White Almond Sour Cream cake, OMG I literally ate half the cake today without any frosting. It calls for a white cake mix but also has the flour and sugar in it and so it tastes a lot like a homemade cake but so incredibly moist!!!!! Talk about YUM!!!!!
Good Luck!!!!!!
Ginger Soave
VA Beach, VA
I am feeling your pain. I have always baked from scratch and have tested many recipes. To me, box cakes...even doctored ones...always have a "chemical" taste to them. It's worse when they are still warm.
I did find that the baking time plus outdoor humidity, etc...make a HUGE difference in the way the cakes come out. If I bake it 3 minutes longer one time than the next it can come out a bit dry.
I have finally decided that most people don't know the difference and really don't care. They just want something that is sweet and "tastes good". I have started using the WASC recipe and everyone loves it. It is a bit quicker and what I've noticed is that it always comes out the same way everytime.
Have your tried any recipes from the cake mix doctor book? Her cakes don't taste like a mix with the additions she uses. I love the one for the basic white cake. I have had many compliments on that one. As for a chocolate cake recipe I bake one from scratch. Very moist. I use one of the Texas sheet cake recipes from allrecipes.com but put them in round and square pans. Hope this helps! 
whoa...
"From Scratch!"
"No, Betty Crocker!!"
"NO, Duncan Hines Da**it!!!"
Anyway, karateka, looks like you've got some good recipes that you could try or give a twist to your existing ones. As you can see, everyone here has their own opinion about moist cakes--just like the customers! You can't please all of the people all of the time, after all they are just comments that you can build on. Good luck!
Honestly, I bake from scratch and from mixes. I prefer scratch over a mix, but most people only know mixes and don't know that there are differences between the two. My advice would be to not change what you are doing unless it is seriously going to kill your business. If you think it will then offer cakes that are doctored and then scratch cakes can be your specialty cakes (which I and I'm sure many others would pay more for) This might shed some light on this subject for you: For my son's 1st birthday I made 2 cakes. One was a chocolate cake from scratch and the other was a doctored butter cake. Everyone knew I baked only from scratch and were suprised when I told them I made one from a mix. It then became a big game of "Guess the cake". Well, only my mom and DH guessed right. The other 20 people guessed that the butter cake was the one from scratch. I was dumbfounded! I asked why before telling them the correct answer and everyone said because the texture was lighter and more moist. Now my choc. scratch cake is super moist but dense. However, like I said most people are use to box mixes wheather they know it or not. Scratch cakes just don't have the texture or the same type of moistness that boxed offers. I now bake from both scratch and mixes now for this reason, however I still prefer scratch myself. 
I remember reading a similar thread, and the gist of it was that some folks are not used to scratch cakes...mistaking dense for "dry" and moist for "not fully baked". In other words, some people have limited exposure to different ways of baking, and think that if it does not taste like a boxed mix would, it MUST BE wrong.
Karen is absolutely right-- people have issues with texture and often mistake this for "dry". Yellow cakes are particularly tricky because there's nothing to distract you from the texture. I've tried Dede Wilson's yellow cake and it came out good, but not GREAT. Toba Garrett's moist yellow cake and chocolate fudge cake are AWESOME. (Do a search for Toba Garrett on Epicurious.com) However, her cakes can be quite crumbly. Cool them in the pans COMPLETELY and then wrap them in plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge for an hour BEFORE you remove them from the pans. This will hopefully cut down on the potential for unmolding disasters.
I also highly recommend weighing your ingredients. When you use measuring cups, flour amounts can vary by as much as 1/4 cup, which is a lot when baking, and thus change the cake.
Lastly, when checking the cakes for doneness, take the cakes out of the oven when there are moist crumbs left on the toothpick, not when clean. Clean=overdone.
Don't worry, you'll be FINE.
Sorry this is long...hope it helps! 
I just got back a customer eval form from the lady I made the martini glass cake for. She said the cake was dry.
I'm so bummed. I make all scratch butter cakes. Everyone at work has always raved about my cakes, so that was the reason for taking the whole business plunge. But it seems now that I get a bunch of evals back that rate me highly on decoration and service, but the taste is always one step down from the other ratings. I moisten them with simple syrup. I even altered my recipes to include half of the fat as oil to moisten them up. I tested it on my DH and he says that none of my cakes are dry. (He eats all the leveling scraps)
My word of mouth is going to tank here if this keeps up. I've tasted these cakes and would never call them dry. I've got considerable time and money invested in this, so I honestly don't know what the heck I'm going to do. I really do Hate boxed mixes. I can't see that as an option.
I use the Cake Bible and Dede Wilson's recipes. I know you can't taste my cakes online and make me feel better. I guess I just wanted to cry on someone's shoulder..
That's weird. If you use simple syrup, I don't see how the cake could've been dry. Unless for some reason the cake didn't absorb the liquid evenly and you had some dry spots.
I use simple syrups on mine too and are never dry. If you want to compare recipes, send me a PM.
I remember reading a similar thread, and the gist of it was that some folks are not used to scratch cakes...mistaking dense for "dry" and moist for "not fully baked". In other words, some people have limited exposure to different ways of baking, and think that if it does not taste like a boxed mix would, it MUST BE wrong.
Karen is absolutely right-- people have issues with texture and often mistake this for "dry". Yellow cakes are particularly tricky because there's nothing to distract you from the texture. I've tried Dede Wilson's yellow cake and it came out good, but not GREAT. 's moist yellow cake and chocolate fudge cake are AWESOME. (Do a search for on Epicurious.com) However, her cakes can be quite crumbly. Cool them in the pans COMPLETELY and then wrap them in plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge for an hour BEFORE you remove them from the pans. This will hopefully cut down on the potential for unmolding disasters.
I also highly recommend weighing your ingredients. When you use measuring cups, flour amounts can vary by as much as 1/4 cup, which is a lot when baking, and thus change the cake.
Lastly, when checking the cakes for doneness, take the cakes out of the oven when there are moist crumbs left on the toothpick, not when clean. Clean=overdone.
Don't worry, you'll be FINE.
Sorry this is long...hope it helps!
I do toba garretts cake often and have never had trouble unmolding them 5 minutes after I take them out of the oven. I use parchment though - that could be why.
I do toba garretts cake often and have never had trouble unmolding them 5 minutes after I take them out of the oven. I use parchment though - that could be why.
Actually I use parchment too. I have really only had trouble with her chocolate fudge cake. I think it was because I didn't let it cool enough, before attempting to get it out of the pan. What size pans do you use? I've used a 8x3 inch pan for the yellow cake with good results, but an 8x2 pan with the chocolate cake and had to trim it a lot.
well one time i was out of supplies....my food distributer sent me the wrong stuff....
so i was forced to sneak to wal mart and get 20 boxes of duncan hines devils food to make it thru the week to the next delivery...
i felt so guilty selling it to the customers....and i felt sorry i had to give it to em.
later that week i brought a 1/2 and 1/2 cake home that someone didn't pick up....(i usually don't really eat much cake anymore).
the white was mine...the choc. was duncan.
i'm prolly gonna have to put on my flame retardent under wear....but the choc tasted better!
so i switched.
they say my cakes melt in your mouth....i was doin ok before, but ole' duncan has increased my sales by 50%....
now i've told you my secret...i'm gonna have to kill ya....ha ha
oh yeah...my icing is from scratch....it seems to make a nice combo.
I love your story, littlecake!
And I do love my DH cakes. I "doctor" them using room temp butter for the oil, milk for the water, and adding one extra egg. And icing is always scratch, and I torte into 3-4 layers.
I focused on perfecting the icing flavor & texture first- then I was thinking of switching to scratch, but I keep getting such rave reviews, why mess with it? 
I think the average person is used to a cake such as a box cake. I found myself educating my family and friends about all different types of cakes and the textures of each! The butter cake is actually more dry than lets say...a boxed cake. Most people think that a cake is automatically going to taste like the boxed cake they grew up with. It's time to educate! LOL! So, don't worry...they just don't know a good cake when they taste it!
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