How Do I Get My Scratch Cakes As High As Box Mix?

Decorating By imartsy Updated 27 Jun 2007 , 6:04am by LaSombra

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imartsy Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 3:19pm
post #1 of 13

Okay that title sounds weird.... whenever I bake a cake from scratch, it always seems to not really get to be 2 inches in height. I really don't have that trouble when I use a cake mix. What's up with that? The baking powder and/or soda that I use seem to still be good..... I actually weigh my ingredients now, so that shouldn't be the problem.... yet I still end up with my cakes only being 1 inch in height despite the fact that they are in a 2 in high pan. What gives?

12 replies
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LaSombra Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 3:31pm
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hm. You might be over mixing the cake in the last steps, which strengthens the gluten and will keep the cake from rising as well.

Also, when you cream the butter and sugar in the beginning, do it for a really long time. This step is not only to mix the two together, but also to put little air pockets into your batter, which when heated, will grow to make your cake expand in the oven. This is a step that alot of people over-look and is probably the most important with a scratch cake! Do it at a fairly low speed and for a little while. I leave my mixer going while sifting the dry ingredients and whatnot. Don't do it at a high speed because that will put too big of air pockets into your cake and cause bigger holes. You'll want a finer texture to your cake.

Hope this helps you icon_smile.gif

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imartsy Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 5:05pm
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ooh good tips!! So I cream the butter & sugar together on a LOW speed? And you do it for awhile? Like how long? 5 min? 10 min? my butter always seems to stick to the stupid beater (I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and unless I turn it on really high, it doesn't seem to be mixing well...... I do soften my butter but it's probably only sitting out 45 min - 1 hr..... it's not really mushy, but you can certainly squeeze it.... does that make sense? Could that be a problem too? Heck how long are you supposed to leave the butter out to soften it??

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LaSombra Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 5:56pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imartsy

ooh good tips!! So I cream the butter & sugar together on a LOW speed? And you do it for awhile? Like how long? 5 min? 10 min? my butter always seems to stick to the stupid beater (I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and unless I turn it on really high, it doesn't seem to be mixing well...... I do soften my butter but it's probably only sitting out 45 min - 1 hr..... it's not really mushy, but you can certainly squeeze it.... does that make sense? Could that be a problem too? Heck how long are you supposed to leave the butter out to soften it??



yeah, I know what you mean about it sticking to the middle. I usually turn it up to 3 or 4 just to let it fly off and stick to the sides and then turn it back down, scrape it off and then turn it back on 2. If I'm doing a double recipe though, I've found it to be not as big a problem.

As far as for how long...I haven't ever timed myself...maybe 5 minutes or so. What I do is put the butter/sugar in to cream and then start measuring/sifting the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and leave it on. You can't over cream the butter/sugar, I don't think.

If the butter isn't that soft, you just cream it for longer really. That should be fine as long as it's not right out of the fridge.

Add the eggs one at a time also and make sure they're mixed in well before adding the next. Might have to scrape down the bowl after the first egg so it'll mix in well...

when you're done adding the eggs, it should be kinda like frosting, light like that icon_smile.gif

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lynndy-lou Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 8:56pm
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I beat the butter until it turns nearly white then add the sugar and beat for a bit longer. I also make sure that the cake mix fills 3 quarters of the tin.

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melysa Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 9:13pm
post #6 of 13

thanks for asking the question, and thanks to those who gave the answers! much appreciated.

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IHATEFONDANT Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 9:22pm
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Creaming the butter takes time...if you are creaming butter and sugar together you will see that they come together in the bowl. It is really a mass of butter and sugar and it will look incorporated.

The trick is to beat it longer....you will see it start to break down a bit and become fluffier. Be patient. Beat it a few minutes after it looks "mixed" and you will see what we mean.

Also..it is important that each egg be beaten in well before adding another. Incorporate each egg fully then add the next. In some cakes the mix will look curdled after adding the eggs. Don't panic. This is normal if you beat your butter and sugar and get that fluffy mixture. icon_biggrin.gif

When you add your dry ingredients it is critical that you only mix, at low speed, well enough to incorporate. Stop your mixer and scrape the bowl well, making sure that you get to the bottom of the bowl. Then, once all of your ingredients are added beat at medium speed for no longer than a minute. Beating longer will toughen your batter.

You also may need to add more batter to your pans. Different recipes yield a different amount of batter. Sometimes it takes trial and error to figure out just how much batter you need for a certain size pan. I can usually tell when I read the recipe.

Let's say the recipe calls for two 9" pans. I know that if I use one round 10" pan I might have enough for one cake. When I remove the cake from the pan I judge whether that layer is thick enough to be torted. If not then I know that if I want a 3 layer 10" round I will need to make three batches of that batter.

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snarkybaker Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 10:55pm
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The time for beating butter into a butter cake depends, but it should always be at least 5 minutes on a medium-ish setting ( it will depend on the strength of your mixer)

You will know it's done when you really can't see the sugar anymore, it should appear smooth, and only be the tiniest bit grainy when you rub it between your fingers.

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LaSombra Posted 25 Jun 2007 , 2:47am
post #9 of 13

I just posted a tutorial on scratch cakes, if anyone is interested:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-365153-0.html

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JanH Posted 25 Jun 2007 , 10:27am
post #10 of 13

How to Cream Butter & Sugar Tutorial:

http://tinyurl.com/2elkuj
(From Sarah Phillips of baking911.com)

Also has extensive scratch cake mixing directions, tips and hints.

HTH

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lilthorner Posted 27 Jun 2007 , 4:55am
post #11 of 13

i love "creamed" looking butter a/sugar, u can almost not see the sugar granules

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wendy1273 Posted 27 Jun 2007 , 5:33am
post #12 of 13

I'm a newbie and this is the reason why a love this webside so much, you are all so helpfull.

Thank you for all the information.

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LaSombra Posted 27 Jun 2007 , 6:04am
post #13 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilthorner

i love "creamed" looking butter a/sugar, u can almost not see the sugar granules




me too, it's basically frosting! icon_lol.gif

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