I've been baking with the box mix for a while now,
and I feel like I should start making my cakes from scratch...
I've found a great chocolate cake recipe - but cannot seem to find a vanilla on the net with good reviews..
I did find this recipe:

http://recipes.kaboose.com/vanilla-cake.html

Could I have your thoughts on it - I want it to be moist and yummmy! Of course LOL

Or if you have a recipe to recommend - please do! TIA

I always post the same answer, but it works. Go to a site like food network and pick a five star cake with lots of reviews. The reviews on this site are the most thorough. There are tips and instructions by reviewers about how to and how not to execute the recipe. My other suggestion is to purchase books by authors who take the scientific approach. They give great explanations. Amazon is a great place to review the style of the author. You can also ask CC members which books they like the best. Just picking a recipe may discourage you if it isn't a good one. You may think it is you or just not worth the effort when the fault is the recipe. Scratch baking is a learning process, just like great cake decoration. But the personal reward is so satisfying.

I didn't share a recipe because the process is just as important as the recipe and I think FN is more informative.

Do you want one that is strictly scratch or would you mind one that is a cake mix with ingredients added?
I too have been looking for a cake like this but every one I've tried is either too dry or falls in the middle or something! I hope someone posts a scratch cake recipe for you to try. If not, the recipe here for White Chocolate cake on here is delish! It uses a cake mix but people love it when I make it.

I agree with SCP1127. But I will add this about this recipe. The flour is more than the sugar which means it will be denser, not as tender and not as sweet. Plus it is made with oil and in my experience it means a coarser crumb. I would not recommend this cake for a beginner. Instead I would find one that has butter for the fat.

Food Network is a good place to start, but personally I stay away from the Gartner recipes. She uses extra large eggs and I just feel that is too much egg. I have tried one of her recipes, nor have I analyzed them to see if the egg/fat ratio is correct. It's just that every other person on the planet who bakes uses large eggs, except for her. So I do not trust the recipe.

The process is just as important as well as researching scratch baking. It is not a matter of turning on the mixer and go. There is so much to learn first. Be prepared to keep trying again and again before you get great results. Once you do, you will never go back to a mix again.

Linda, I love Ina Garten's recipes because they are less sweet. She uses xl eggs because in a commercial setting, she explained that the xl's are more economical. When she sold her store and started publishing her recipes, she didn't convert the recipes for fear of throwing off the balance. I would not recommend her either for a person just starting, as I change her recipes to get what I want. Paula Deen gears her recipes for the novice cook, but they are too sweet for me. Alton Brown is great on method, but sometimes these tips are lost in the written recipe. Watching his shows and referencing his books are great for method. I still find going on the search works best because Emeril, Robert Irvine, Giada, Bobby Flay... may have the best recipe for any particular flavor.

I always recommend my favorite site www.wrenscottage.com .Click down at the bottom, "From Karen's Kitchen" Lots of great recipes and information. Also allrecipes.com is a good site too.

I've seen the wren's cottage recommended all over the web. It must be a good one.

Thanks everyone!
I went to the store to get a cake recipe book - oddly the five cook books I looked at - none of them had a vanilla, white or yellow cake recipe! Werid eh? lol

I'll def. check out the sites recommended!