A
Original message sent by yortma
I recently tested at least 20 different white cake recipes, including the wasc made with a mix. I did not have the luck with it that many others have had. My cakes always sunk in the middle and were somewhat dense, and I did adjust for the new box sizes. Also, it tasted like a mix to me. I tried both DH and BC. (The chocolate version was was even less succesful - not very "chocolatey" at all). Admittedly, i was biased and preferred to find a scratch recipe for several reasons. 1) If asked, I would prefer to say "of course it's from scratch, 2) I like to send along a list of ingredients with every cake (CYA regarding food allergies). Have you read the ingredients on a cake mix? Chemicals that I can't pronounce or tell you what they do, and I was a chemistry major in college. 3) I am mad at the cake companies for decreasing the size of the mixes, charging the same, and hoping no one would notice. 4) It is far more satisfying and gives me greater satisfaction to bake things from scratch. (I am a hobby baker and admittedly have less concern regarding time and cost than many folks might have.)
Having said all that, the BEST white cake IMHO is from Michelle Bratko and can be found at fromscratchsf.worldpress.com. Most white cakes I tried were dry and had a floury taste. The really good ones all had sour cream, cream or buttermilk added. That seems to be the key to a good white cake.
Since she has posted it and it is readily available, I hope she doesn't mind if I post it here. I may have altered a few things very slightly.
Jen Bratko has the recipe here. It's the best one, ever!
I LOVE this recipe. It is hand down the number one choice that my customers ask for. It is also the favorite with my husband and extended family. I had a bride come to taste test the difference between a true white cake, and this french vanilla sour cream cake recipe and she chose this one! YUM!
HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: I have to decrease the sugar so it's not sticky, and for whatever reason if I use half regular sour cream half Tofuti Sour Supreme (dairy free sour cream) it doesn't fall. When I was first doing it with the whole cup of regular sour cream it kept falling.
So I've read repeated suggestions for the fromscratchsf's white cake. But I can't find the recipe! I followed the link and it says it's on Etsy. Then I went to Etsy and it says the item is "sold"!!
I guess I understand if she wants to earn money from her cake recipe...although I have problems with something as a cake recipe being for purchase...but...
Regardless! Anyone have a good white cake? Or some sort of yellow cake? I'm doing an alternating chocolate and white cake...any white cake suggestions would be great!
Thanks!!
I followed the link and it says it's on Etsy. Then I went to Etsy and it says the item is "sold"!!
I guess I understand if she wants to earn money from her cake recipe...although I have problems with something as a cake recipe being for purchase...but...
There's a momentary problem with the link. I'm sure Jen will have it fixed soon. Purchasing a recipe is a nice way to support small business owners, many of whom are fellow CC members. They answer questions here and give freely of their time and expertise.
Hello! I just realized it sold out yesterday, it's re-posted! Thank you for your support!
Quote:
There's a momentary problem with the link. I'm sure Jen will have it fixed soon. Purchasing a recipe is a nice way to support small business owners, many of whom are fellow CC members. They answer questions here and give freely of their time and expertise.
I can appreciate that she wants to be compensated for her creation. However, until the link was fixed I had no idea it was $30. I'm new around here and don't want to offend anyone...but I don't think I'd offend anyone by stating that $30 for an amateur baker who wants to make a cake for my daughter's first birthday is a bit much!
I can appreciate the time and effort put into it but it is a white cake recipe and I would wonder how much different it is than the many free cake recipes out there.
Jen, have you thought about making a price for those will never commercially use it? To me, it's completely fair to expect someone that will be making money with a recipe to pay "royalties"...but what about us that aren't making money from it? I can't say that I'd pay more than a few dollars for a recipe. But to each his own!
Hi!
I appreciate you just wanting to find a recipe - but to answer your question, no, there is no scaled down version that I am offering at a discounted price.
This is why I charge for mine and my reasoning (and I'm not trying to 'sell' it to you, but you asked): There are a billion recipes out there - and everyone has success or failure with this or that recipe, but the reason people pay for mine is because there are a lot of bad recipes out there, a lot of really really bad recipes out there, and a billion free really really really bad recipes out there. You could easily blow $30 on ingredients trying 5 different free ones that fail or you don't like the outcome of, or you could compensate a seasoned professional that has done the experimentation and has already put in thousand of hours of time, effort, and lots of headache to get something I feel comfy sticking a $30 price tag on. Plus I'm on-call and offer any assistance to anyone that buys it to make sure you have 100% success. So to put the icing on the cake, I offer personal assistance :D
But again, there are many recipes out there! Best of luck!
Hi!
I appreciate you just wanting to find a recipe - but to answer your question, no, there is no scaled down version that I am offering at a discounted price.
This is why I charge for mine and my reasoning (and I'm not trying to 'sell' it to you, but you asked): There are a billion recipes out there - and everyone has success or failure with this or that recipe, but the reason people pay for mine is because there are a lot of bad recipes out there, a lot of really really bad recipes out there, and a billion free really really really bad recipes out there. You could easily blow $30 on ingredients trying 5 different free ones that fail or you don't like the outcome of, or you could compensate a seasoned professional that has done the experimentation and has already put in thousand of hours of time, effort, and lots of headache to get something I feel comfy sticking a $30 price tag on. Plus I'm on-call and offer any assistance to anyone that buys it to make sure you have 100% success. So to put the icing on the cake, I offer personal assistance :D
But again, there are many recipes out there! Best of luck!
Well said! $30 is blown in the blink of an eye experimenting, so true.
Quote:
I can appreciate that she wants to be compensated for her creation. However, until the link was fixed I had no idea it was $30. I'm new around here and don't want to offend anyone...but I don't think I'd offend anyone by stating that $30 for an amateur baker who wants to make a cake for my daughter's first birthday is a bit much!
I can appreciate the time and effort put into it but it is a white cake recipe and I would wonder how much different it is than the many free cake recipes out there.
Jen, have you thought about making a price for those will never commercially use it? To me, it's completely fair to expect someone that will be making money with a recipe to pay "royalties"...but what about us that aren't making money from it? I can't say that I'd pay more than a few dollars for a recipe. But to each his own!
There are millions of free white cake recipes out there online. go find one and experiment.
Do you know how to use google? 30,400,000 results come up for white cake recipes....easy peasy.
https://www.google.com.sg/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=7W3lU_bzN4qFvATR_4LIAg&gws_rd=ssl#q=white+cake+recipe
Quote:
I can appreciate that she wants to be compensated for her creation. However, until the link was fixed I had no idea it was $30. I'm new around here and don't want to offend anyone...but I don't think I'd offend anyone by stating that $30 for an amateur baker who wants to make a cake for my daughter's first birthday is a bit much!
I can appreciate the time and effort put into it but it is a white cake recipe and I would wonder how much different it is than the many free cake recipes out there.
Jen, have you thought about making a price for those will never commercially use it? To me, it's completely fair to expect someone that will be making money with a recipe to pay "royalties"...but what about us that aren't making money from it? I can't say that I'd pay more than a few dollars for a recipe. But to each his own!
The ebook is much more than one recipe. I can tell you it is worth every penny. It is 20 pages of detailed instructions, photos, variations and support.I don't think you have to be a commercial baker to appreciate the value here - just my opinion.
ATo add my 2 cents about the from scratch recipe: I am a hobby baker, just do it for family. I tried some bad white cake recipes. One tasted purely like eggs, and it didn't rise. I asked for this recipe for Mother's Day. My husband, who was raised on box mixes and canned frosting, said it's the best $30 he's ever spent. It rises beautifully, it's easy to move for stacking layers and tiers, the french vanilla version tastes good warm, all by itself. But the best part, for me, was all the hows, whys, and what's. Now I know what to look for in other recipes, I know why my previous attempts failed. And each time I make it, I become a better baker. Thank you, FromScratchSF for that. Now off to try the chocolate version
Aw shucks! Thanks!!!
Hey, about the chocolate version, in case you didn't know... I use a high cocoa butter fat cocoa so how much water I say in the e-book works for me, but I have gotten reports that it's not enough water. So, if you want to try the chocolate version make sure the water is HOT, as in almost boiling, and add enough to make a thick paste, remember the old fashioned glue from kindergarden? Yeah, that's the consistency you want. Every cocoa brand is different in how much water you will need, an extra teaspoon isn't going to kill the recipe, just make sure you use enough HOT water to make a smooth, thick paste.
Enjoy!
PS - I use Guittard cocoa rouge, which is 23% cocoa alcohol. Hershey's is only 13%, and they seem to be the biggest culprit because it doesn't have the fat to melt that I'm used to working with.
AThank you so much for the tips! I remembered seeing the comments on a few other threads, where it said 2 tbsp or something. Mine says 2 ounces. But now that I look at it, I see it says Dutch process. I have looked in all my local stores, no one seems to have it. I was going to use trade joes cocoa powder, but I'm guessing that won't work. That chocolate version may have to wait a bit
AIve heard nothing but GOOD about scratches recipe...yes it was great when she was giving it out for free but who can blame her for wanting to profit from all the hard work that she put into it and obviously still puts into it by being on call for people's questions about it. ..I say more power to her!! And I sure do know what im gonna ask for for my anniversary next month!!
Happy Baking! .....:grin: Kat
Before you throw in the towel about cocoa powders, do a search and take a look at the difference. There are non-Dutch process that has a higher cocoa alcohol content like Tcho and some of the more expensive ones. The process really has to do with taste - and I think how moist your cake is on the tongue. I was in a pinch a few weekends ago and couldn't get a hold of my regular cocoa rouge so I grabbed a 11k bag of Hershey's from the restaurant depot. I used up the guittard I had and made like 18 1/2 sheets, then used the hershey to make the other 1/2 of the 18 1/2 sheets. It was night and day. The Guittard was my regular moist, springy, light, buttery, and very chocolate-y - I think my cake tastes like a brownie with a cake consistency. The Hershey was dry, crumbly, lighter in color, and had no flavor. It was night and day between the two! I never really liked Hershey's before but now I really know why people have so many problems with it. It doesn't even come close to a higher cocoa alcohol content and Dutch process.
AI promise to keep looking for something better. I really like the Trader joes powder in my cupcake recipe, and it is a huge improvement in my chocolate abc. But I want to do this right. If I can't even find out the cocoa alcohol content, it's not worth it.
Which part? yeah finding the content is not easy, just keep in mind if you use the amount if water the recipe calls for and it's not enough, just use more water :D
AOh, I meant it's not worth it to use that particular cocoa powder. Is Dutch process is essential to the success of the recipe? From what I've read, it might not rise with regular stuff.
AI am also a hobby baker. I had FromScratches recipie saved. I went to look for it for my nieces bridal shower and it was gone! Panic set in. I then found out it was for sale on etsy. Needless to say, I purchased it! It was the best investment I ever made. It is the only recipie that never fails. It is now laminated and in a binder with the title, Million Dollar Cake Recipe! Love it!
You can't go wrong with From ScratchSF's recipe. I've had the recipe since she put it online free, but I also purchased it when it came up for sale because I wanted to support an American small business owner and I definitely feel the $30 was well worth spending for the variations she also supplies. My whole family loves her recipes!!
AI've been trying out some of her variations. Our favourite (and my husbands work) is the homemade custard one in place of the sour cream and 3 eggs and plenty of vbp. It's delicious!! The only thing is (and I beleive this is because in Australia our cake flour is unbleached) I have to make 1 1/2 times the batter to get close to 2 inch high cakes ( in 8 inch round pans). Still scrumptious though!!
Quote:
Has anyone else had success using unbleached cake or all purpose flour in her recipe?
I hesitate to post my alterations to this recipe because I know the way it is written is the best way, but I regularly use King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour with a few tweaks. I only do this because I have a personal mission to avoid bleached flour and I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of the crumb consistency for this.
I basically replace 15% (by weight) of the cake flour called for with potato starch, and for the remaining 85% I use the Unbleached AP Flour. In addition I reduce the Baking Powder by 1/4 tsp. I based my substitutions on advice from Warren Brown and it works fairly well.
To be clear, the tweaks don't make it identical to Jen's recipe, but it's close enough for me -- still better than any other recipe I've tried.
I hope I don't offend the author of the recipe -- I really appreciate her work and her willingness to share the recipe.
Quote:
I've been trying out some of her variations. Our favourite (and my husbands work) is the homemade custard one in place of the sour cream and 3 eggs and plenty of vbp. It's delicious!! The only thing is (and I beleive this is because in Australia our cake flour is unbleached) I have to make 1 1/2 times the batter to get close to 2 inch high cakes ( in 8 inch round pans). Still scrumptious though!!
HI Danilou
Was just wondering how relevent the recipe is for Aussie ingredients. I find so many on here that I can't do because our ingredients are different and others that just have not worked.
Before I purchase the recipe, just wanted to know how it relates to Aussie ingredients. (and are they supermarket products not specialist bakery items)
Thanks
AI converted the oz to grams using an online converter and I mentioned the flour I just use the anchor pastry and cake flour. U.S sour cream is lower in fat than the aus. Brands so use light sour cream, everything else is similar I've found so far.[IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3275612/width/200/height/400[/IMG] This is french vanilla with all yolks and a heap of vbp and Rose Levy Beranbaum passionfruit curd
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%