So I decided to start using scratch cakes instead of mixes, I know I should have been using them all along but you know how it goes-the box ones are inexpensive! lol

Here is my delema, I made a marble cake using a butter cake recipe and a chocolate cake recipe. Put the butter cake in first then the chocolate on top. I was going to reverse it for the next layer until...
I got up this morning and checked on the cake I baked last night, rock solid! You can actually knock on it and hear the knock!!!
What did I do wrong?
Due to timing issues now, I am going out after work (my real job) and buying some cake mixes to finish this job!
It was a 16" round, I doubled each batch and had some chocolate left over and made cupcakes that spilled all over the place! Jeeze I could not win last night for losing!
Any ideas? Any favourite recipes for scratch cakes? I have gone on the recipe list and opted out for others-my mistake!
C

i just made marble cake last night using cake mix...its came out perfect!!

Just wondering why you feel that you should have been making scratch cakes all along? If mixes work well for you, and as you say they're inexpensive to use-why change? One of the most important things is consistency in your product-if your customers are used to cakes made from a mix, and then are given a different textured, more dense cake, they might not be as satisfied.

The old saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" comes to mind here.

Scratch cakes are different than mix cakes, in both consistency and taste. I tasted my first scratch cake and was a little disappointed. But I think that scratch cakes are far less sweet for one, and are more dense than mix cakes.

I have always baked cakes from scratch, I've never made a boxed cake with the intention of feeding it other people. I've found that a scratch cake will dry out way too much if you leave it on the counter overnight. For a scratch cake I always let it cool for only 15-20 minutes, then take it out of the pan and wrap it securely with several layers of saran wrap, and put it in the freezer. This locks in all of the moisture that evaporated out of your cake overnight. Even if you only freeze it for a few hours, it will help. Then allow to come back to room temp with the plastic wrap on, and proceed as usual. Quite simply, you can't leave a naked scratch cake out for too long or it will dry out. Hope that helps you a little

regardless of scratch or box, I've never heard of a cake going "rock solid" overnight. If the chemistry in that recipe caused the cake to do that, I wouldnt' want to eat it regardless of how you stored it or iced it! With the many talented scratch bakers on here, I've not heard any stories about how they have to hurry and store their cakes before they go rock solid. So I dont' believe its because its a scratch cake that it did this. Sounds like there was a problem in the recipe or the preparation.

i dont' mean this to be an insulting question but are you SURE you didn't accidentally use a wrong ingredient or a wrong measurement? Doubling a recipe for a 16" cake, there's a chance you made a math mistake on something that may have caused this.

Don't give up on scratch baking! It sounds like something went wrong with your measurements. Double check your recipe and try again. My scratch cakes cool completely and then I either frost them, or if they are for a later date, I wrap securely and freeze. I always have rave reviews and have never had a "rock solid" cake.

Well ladies, I cut into the cake when I got home from work...the chocolate fudge-tastes like chocolate fudge and was super delicious! The butter cake was fairly dry around the edge and bottom. I baked it at 325 until it was cooked. (scewer came out clean). Before I cut it you could literaly hold it with one hand without the cake board under it!
I ended up dicing the cake and I will take it to work tomorrow-our cook is going to make trifle with it so it isn't wasted. The pudding and whipped cream will help it along!
The only change I made to the recipes was that I ran out of milk and used half a cup of water and half a cup of 35% cream. Everything was measured out by weight or by liquid measure and I have a brand new oven so...who knows!
To those who use scratch cakes, would you care to share a white cake recipe that's fool (being me) proof?
Thanks for all your help!
C

If it ain't broke, don't fix applies here, i would say! I wouldn't take an order for a customer that was ordered on the assumption it would be a moist, fluffy cake, and then pull the old switch-a-roo and present them with a dry, dense cake. I think people need to know if you are baking from scratch or a box, BEFORE they order, and you need to stick with the plan.

Scratch baking is an artform. For you to go from a mix, and then expect to get a scratch to bake perfectly (like a mix does, every time) with the first recipe you try is a bit naive. Good scratch bakers spend months trying and perfecting recipes before they present them to the public.

For your sake and the customer's, I hope the rest of the cake was made from a more fool-proof recipe.

BTW, cake mix is acceptable to use, that's why they make it. Sheesh, people act like they would rather be caught with a porno than a cake mix!

*edited for a typo, my spell-checker is in my other browser, and it is not compatable with cc anymore!

LOL No one said I had to use a scratch recipe, I just wanted to try it. I made one years ago that turned out really good, can I figure out which one it was-nope!
I realize they are a heavier cake, I wanted a heavier cake for what I was making, that was one of the reasons I was making it from scratch! I wanted a cake that I could carve but had the heavier texture. I found the last one I made, the dinosaur, was too soft, once I carved it, it was a bugger to crumb coat. Thank goodness for fondant! lol
I usually do use cake mixes, it was suggested by my daughter (teenage know-it-all but I love her just the same) to try a scratch recipe and funk it up a little. Oh it funked up a lot-without even trying! lol

Thank for the help ladies (and gentlemen if there were any)! I think I will stick to mixes and taste test with scratch for my own family till they are perfected!
C