I read the (one of the 
) post over the scratch vs. mix thread and decided before I get much further in this little quest of mine I should at least TRY making a scratch cake to see what I think about them from my kitchen.
SO, I'm calling all scratchers. I need some tips/advice on making delish scratch cakes. I got some of the recipes from here like: A Better White Scratch Cake, Cake Mixes from Scratch and Variations, Cake Mixes from Scratch and Variations, Strawberry Cake from Scratch and Ultimate Carrot Cake. I have read about using syrups and liquer and stuff and I am really intimidated!
Well the first thing I can say is
"A good cook, is a good taster" -having said that, I believe it goes double for baking. It's always easier to add ingredients than it is to subtract.
Make sure your ingredients are fresh -especially your baking powder, sounds like a "no brainer" but my sis actually had baking powder that had expired 1 year ago, and she couldn't figure out the issue 
Instead of using a "tried and true" recipe, use one that you've personally tried and tasted. Just b/c someone else says it's great doesn't mean it's going to give you the same results -so try it and taste it before you choose to make it for a client, make your family your guinea pigs, not your clients 
Most of all, don't give up.
What's your favorite kind of cake ? I'll give you a recipe.
It's not hard at all. You can do it. It's not that much different than making cookies. Just don't over mix once you put your dry ingredients in.
I made the strawberry cake from scratch recipe last weekend. My daughter said, "THIS is my wedding cake recipe!"
SCRATCH BAKING TIPS-
1.Check your oven temp. - most home ovens are off a bit or alot.
2. measure accurately -use liquid measuring cups for liquids and dry for dry( level off for dry)
3. Don't mess around with a recipe the first time you try it. If it is a good recipe, you will just be messing it up; if it isn't then it is the recipes fault not yours. [This is something that just hacks me off big time. You give someone a recipe. Later they tell you, "I tried your recipe. It didn't turn out very well. I just put in little extra sour cream I had and it just didn't rise like yours did." Well, duh of course it didn't, you screwed up the chemistry. Ok, I never say that but I do think it.]
4. If you have never baked from scratch before, get a good Cookbook not recipe book, one with pictures showing the steps. Better Homes and Gardens Complete Step~By~Step Cookbook may not be in print any more but it is an excellent teach yourself how to, even for the experienced cook or baker.
I put the chocolate cake recipe up on this seperate post:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-40472.html
3. Don't mess around with a recipe the first time you try it.
4. If you have never baked from scratch before, get a good Cookbook not recipe book, one with pictures showing the steps. Better Homes and Gardens Complete Step~By~Step Cookbook may not be in print any more but it is an excellent teach yourself how to, even for the experienced cook or baker.
Yes yes yes.
Thanks for the tips guys!
txkat, I think I want to start with a white/yellow and a chocolate. I think if I can master those I will be good and then I can move on to other flavors.
Now, what about this simple syrup I've been hearing about? Do you put it on everysingle scratch cake? How do you know you need it?
Here's one very good white cake recipe, another I reccomend is the buttermilk cake in the book The Pastry Queen, which is a book EVERY baker should buy.
This cake is from "The Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I recommend it to every person interested in cake baking. This is the best white cake I have ever had, and can be made in any flavor. The butter makes it a little on the "off white" side, but after you taste it, you really don't care! When people want a really great wedding cake, but they want traditional white, this is the cake I make. I have used this cake with many fillings & many buttercreams.
4 large egg whites / 135 grams
1 cup milk / 242 grams
2 1/2 tsp vanilla (or any extract flavor: almond, lemon, orange, etc.) / 9 grams
1 - 2 tablespoons lemon or orange zest (peel) or 1/8 teaspoon pure citrus oil
3 cups sifted cake flour / 300 grams
4 tsp baking powder / 19.5 grams
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar / 300 grams
3/4 tsp salt / 5 grams
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and then sit out to soften / 170 grams
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2, 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with bakers grease or vegetable oil spray and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper.
In a 4 cup bowl, combine the egg whites, 1/4 cup milk, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat with a fork to combine. Set aside.
In your mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix with the paddle on low speed for 30 seconds to incorporate. Add the butter cubes to the dry ingredients and the remaining 3/4 cup of milk. Mix on low until the mixture is moistened. Scrape the bowl and increase the speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape and gradually add the egg white mixture in three batches, beat 20 seconds after each addition, then scrape the bowl each time.
Pour into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake 30+ minutes until the top is light brown and springs back when lightly touched. The sides should not shrink back from the pan until after you remove it from the oven.
Remove cake from oven and let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn the cake out onto cooling racks. Cool completely and finish with your favorite frosting. You can also wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months.
From The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Thanks! I'll give it a try!
What's the worst that could happen....I end up with waaaay too many cake balls!?!
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