I wish I had the thought to take a picture of my chocolate in the pan... It was so smooth on the top... soft and beautiful... I have only made the butter version of the recipe... I will get back to everyone on the taste later tonight after we have it for dessert...
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I tried the chocolate once (I didn't think it was very chocolate-y) and the yellow three times now. Twice I used the butter and today I used the shortening. I followed the directions exactly, and my ingredients were all room temperature. It flopped AGAIN for the second time!!! The taste is good but 2 out of 3 have flopped. My oven temp is good, so I don't know what's up.
I think I'm sticking with my free recipe I found on this site; I don't like fussy recipes. I just hate wasting so many good ingredients. I would definitely try this recipe below, it tastes greats, also, before paying $29.99 for this one. The variations aren't on this link, but I found them somewhere, so look around. There's yellow and a few more.
http://cakecentral.com/a/a-better-white-scratch-cakelik
Nancy - I like the egg white only version of this cake. Maybe you could try that version. I don't love or make the yellow version, so I'm not sure why it flopped for you. I love the Black Magic cake recipe from Hershey's for chocolate cake - comes out perfect every time, you can make the batter in advance and keep it in the cooler, freezes well, etc.
Liz
ANancy-
I have made this cake at least 30 times and the only time it looked like yours is when my butter was too cold. Don't give up on the recipe. It really is great. Also, I use 3 whole eggs and shortening. I can never get the butter temp correct. Happy baking!
*edited to add...
Try buying new baking soda and baking powder. It really makes a difference.
AI didn't use butter today, so it wasn't the temp,of the butter. And I used 3 whole eggs instead of yolks. I don't give up on recipes until I try a few times - it took me three times to figure out the SMBC, but I have a very good non- fussy yellow cake, so I think I am going to stick to that one. I have been reading of other issues people have had with these recipes - runny middles, and other issues on the prior page. I like the reverse creaming method, but, just like the recipes in The Cake Bible, this yellow one is temperamental. And I just didn't like the taste of the chocolate recipe.
I will try the white cake though. Maybe that's less fussy.
And thank you for your encouragement! Nancy
Okay...
Ate the cake...
Even my dad, who isn't as fond of cake as the rest of us liked it...
It was rich and dark and soft... the crumb was fine... the cake was all that the white, coconut, and peanut butter versions was...
I used whole eggs... butter... and part black cocoa powder and dark double dutch process cocoa powder (king arthur flour)...
I think it would go great with my german chocolate icing (that caramel coconut pecan combo) or even a pretty basic vanilla...
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I didn't use butter today, so it wasn't the temp,of the butter. And I used 3 whole eggs instead of yolks. I don't give up on recipes until I try a few times - it took me three times to figure out the SMBC, but I have a very good non- fussy yellow cake, so I think I am going to stick to that one. I have been reading of other issues people have had with these recipes - runny middles, and other issues on the prior page. I like the reverse creaming method, but, just like the recipes in The Cake Bible, this yellow one is temperamental. And I just didn't like the taste of the chocolate recipe.
I will try the white cake though. Maybe that's less fussy.
And thank you for your encouragement!
Nancy
Yes, I think the reverse creaming method is what is important here - I use that method with other cake recipes with a lot of success. As in everything, take what works, and leave the rest! :) Have a great night.
Liz
I think I'm sticking with my free recipe I found on this site; I don't like fussy recipes. I just hate wasting so many good ingredients. I would definitely try this recipe below, it tastes greats, also, before paying $29.99 for this one. The variations aren't on this link, but I found them somewhere, so look around. There's yellow and a few more.
Ah, so you're the one who left that negative review on Etsy. Nancy, scratch baking is an art. Some people try hard but lack the basic skills necessary to succeed. I agree that you would be happier by avoiding fussy recipes. And I agree that $30 is too much for someone of your skill level.
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Yesterday I did the french vanilla in cupcakes. Yummo!!! I'm about to look on ebay to buy vanilla paste cheaper because $5 worth on one batch is very pricey. Also I can't access bleached cake flour in Australia, so I have to use the unbleached.
Can you get vanilla beans? I guess I assumed VBP is a universal ingredient available all over! See how much I know? LOL. Straight vanilla beans are great, some can get vanilla bean compounds which are basically a tub of vanilla bean innards (I really don't know how else to describe it). Anything that can really give a true vanilla bean flavor besides using vanilla extract.
So does your OZ version of unbleached flour work for the recipe? I have several OZ questions about what flour to use down there and I have no idea. Can you share the brand you use?
Thanks!
<here's the love>
Hi Jen, we have the queen vanilla bean paste here, $10 for 65g. Quite expensive! I used half the jar and I still think it needed more in the batter. I put passionfruit curd in the cupcakes and they were delicious!
Our flour at Woolworths is "Anchor, Lighthouse" brand. It has a protein content of 8.7%. I wish I could try bleached flour so I would know what I'm supposed to be aiming for with this cake recipe (and all the other recipes in America). I think the flour is okay, but I worry if I'm over whipping the batter, because it's get a gummy sort of almost greyish, gluey texture (it's hard to describe) after I've been beating it (before adding the egg). So it might be the different flour.
I would love to make a caramel cake with this cake base. Not sure if substituting brown sugar would cut it? Also is your coconut milk in the U.S the same as our coconut cream, because I noticed in the changes that you are only substituting half the sour cream for coconut milk? Our coconut milk is between 12-17% fat.
You are very clever Jen and I fill privileged that you are taking the time to help us and answer our questions!!!
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Hi Jen, we have the queen vanilla bean paste here, $10 for 65g. Quite expensive! I used half the jar and I still think it needed more in the batter. I put passionfruit curd in the cupcakes and they were delicious!
Our flour at Woolworths is "Anchor, Lighthouse" brand. It has a protein content of 8.7%. I wish I could try bleached flour so I would know what I'm supposed to be aiming for with this cake recipe (and all the other recipes in America). I think the flour is okay, but I worry if I'm over whipping the batter, because it's get a gummy sort of almost greyish, gluey texture (it's hard to describe) after I've been beating it (before adding the egg). So it might be the different flour.
I would love to make a caramel cake with this cake base. Not sure if substituting brown sugar would cut it? Also is your coconut milk in the U.S the same as our coconut cream, because I noticed in the changes that you are only substituting half the sour cream for coconut milk? Our coconut milk is between 12-17% fat.
You are very clever Jen and I fill privileged that you are taking the time to help us and answer our questions!!!
Aw, shucks. Thanks! Of course I want to help all - I hope some see the value in the small investment, I'm spending a lot of my time making sure people that ask questons have success and get better :D
As for subbing out brown sugar - I've tried it - I think the molasses in brown sugar has too much moisture so it doesn't come out. If you want a caramel flavor you'd be better off making a caramel soaking syrup, doing a light brush on the warm cake, then making a brown sugar SMBC. Sub regular sugar 1=1 for dark brown sugar. If you want to really go overboard make a caramel sauce and add that to the brown sugar SMBC and you've got one nom nom cake.
AJeez, how do you know my skill level? I have been making scratch recipes for, hmmmm, 40 years. Do you think this is a nice post ,your response? I tried the chocolate and yellow cakes. The chocolate cake is blah, and the yellow flops. There are no times in the recipe. for $30 you get one recipe and some variations. I said it to scratcSF and I will say it here: it is not up to par with a professionally made $30 recipe book. For $10, yes, it would have been ok. just OK. I have bought lots of cookbooks for $30 and they were worth every penny.
ScratchSF responded in a unprofessional and nasty way on etsy when I emailed her, just giving my view, not asking for money back. And now her sycophants here will pile on. Pile away. The recipes are not great, in my view. The yellow on this site from Eden cakes is better and I have a better chocolate. So I'm unskilled? Whatever. I reviewed as I felt, and maybe kept others on a budget from making the same mistake I did. And if you put yourself out there as an expert, you need a thicker skin than scratchSF displayed and an openness to criticism. I am only repeating it here because there seems to be a concerted effort to shut me up, and that is BS. If you can't stand a critique, get out of the kitchen.
I left my negative review on etsy only, and didnt bring it here because I know scratchSF is a moderator here and I knew this nastiness would occur. So, be nasty. I stand by my review.
Peace, Nancy
AMister Cake Peo said:
"Ah, so you're the one who left that negative review on Etsy. Nancy, scratch baking is an art. Some people try hard but lack the basic skills necessary to succeed. I agree that you would be happier by avoiding fussy recipes. And I agree that $30 is too much for someone of your skill level."
Really? I try hard, but lack the necessary skills to succeed? LOL! Count the number of people on this thread alone who have had trouble with this recipe flopping, or other issues. There are 3 on page 6 alone. I guess there are a lot of hard working, unskilled bakers here! You do scratchSF no favors with a response like that, insulting people who have trouble with the recipe.
I'm guessing this will be deleted or I will be banned because the author is a moderator and was already nasty to me on etsy. Regardless, I'm done with this topic. Sad that differences of opinion are excoriated here. Nancy
ALoving spirit and good energy don't mean you are naive and must approve of everything. It's actually sad, many women confuse being loving and kind with being silent in the face of bad behavior. I tried to approach the shop owner in that kind fashion, explaining that I didnt want a refund, but I felt that the "book" was vague and overpriced, but ScratchSF's response was rude..Perhaps I should post her condescending response here so you can evauate the response I received from her BEFORE I put my review up? Perhaps I should have just accepted that I wasted $30 and not said anything to her. Perhaps I should just be silent or lie on this thread and say the recipes were great? Perhaps I should understand that because the shop owner is popular here, she isnt allowed to,receive critiques on etsy, according to her fans?
Would that help me have a loving spirit and good energy in your book? Maybe you can help me and tell me how someone with a loving spirit and good energy would react, since you seem to have expertise in the matter?
Looking forward to learning from you! And I'm flattered that you spent so much time on my etsy site, Northern Woods Studio. Thank you!
Nancy
AOpinions are great. No opinion is wrong. The recipes are not your cup o tea, great. You have ones you like. Great. But the [I]relative volume[/I] of posts on this subject that you have contributed with solely your dissatisfaction, both before and after your purchase, and your polling if we think you will like it and if it will be worth it to you, are what I noticed. Good day.
AI've just got to say, I love the recipe! She turned this cake mix baker onto a fully scratch baker and my family, church, and customers love it. I have been using it for over a year now and the more I make it, the better I get at it. I did my sons wedding cake Sunday, banana, yellow, and marble. I was cutting the cake and people were coming for seconds before everyone even had a piece. Two people came up to me with orders for their anniversary and a birthday. For me this recipe was worth every penny!
What? What polling?? I said I didn't like it. I was given some advice, which I appreciated. What the heck are you talking about? To some of us, $30 is a lot of money, so I was uncertain as to whether to purchase it. And, yes, I did say I didn't like it. So did MANY others. Maybe you should stop cyber-stalking me, even over to etsy, so you can snidely copy things I said on my own personal etsy shop. You didn't like my review on etsy, you looked up my personal shop, you copied my own words, you posted them here and when I ignored you, you posted them AGAIN. That is stalking. There is something seriously wrong with that. You are WAY too invested in this and my comments and even my other business.
So perhaps you need to step away from the computer before you do something stupid.
Nancy
Nancy, I have not addressed you here but since you PM'ed me to try and instigate a fight with me direct just a little while ago and demanded I "call my fans off", I ask that everyone to move on and don't bother defending me or the recipe to Nancy. It's falling on deaf ears and it's making her go to crazy town. Which is fun to read, but unproductive and trashing an otherwise great, informative and helpful thread.
These are general comments directed at anyone.
I am not a moderator for Cake Central. I write for the mag, I regularly have cakes featured, and I'm an instructor. I have a successful cake business, make money doing what I do, and decided to share what I do for a price. Hey, people are buying videos to learn how to do stuff from people that have ZERO experience doing what it is they are "teaching", so why not sell a thing I actually created and is unique to me?
I can say based on experience here that the complete trashing and personal attacks of a member here, regardless of the member, might get either the thread deleted, locked, comments deleted, or yourself in trouble with the mods. Although it is adorable that a few members here are still conspiracy nuts. It keeps the boards interesting and keeps people like me off of them and filled with members like them.
I described exactly what is being bought in the description of the item. It's a recipe and directions on how to make the recipe. It's not a pastry/cake/overnight success-baking-business book. I don't really know where anyone would get that impression. But hey, PSA people: it's a recipe, directions on how to make MY recipe, and it's 20 pages long for $29, just as described on Etsy. It is NOT a baking book, pastry book, and it does not contain every recipe in the Beyond Buttercream archives.
It makes no sense that one would be so negative towards what I am selling on Etsy prior to even buying it, but bought it anyway. That just seems silly. If you don't have the money to start a business, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you - your business will fail.
I can honestly say - I am humbled and honored that so many people have made the purchase and supported me and this project - and I'm overjoyed to read the countless success stories I'm getting. I am even more happy to help the few (and it's been only a few) that have emailed me direct for help, especially those that are newer to baking and even though they thought they were "following the recipe exactly" after many questions from me and many answers from them, I've been able to help trouble shoot outside factors that no, I don't address in the recipe, but is unique to everyone's kitchen and I've help them. I am giving personal service that you won't get from any professional baking book for your $10. My TIME writing these emails and helping individuals is worth WAY more then the $30 investment in the recipe.
I also want to say for those balking at the price, it's priced based on economy of scale. It's a basic microeconomic concept that those chasing dreams of having a successful business that have no business experience fail to understand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale. Apply this principal to ANYTHING you want to sell and you may actually make money too. If you researched me here or even online you will quickly realize that I don't undervalue myself and actually price my business based on worth and profit. Translation - I ain't cheap and don't ever work for cheap.
People, please feel free to ask me about your issues and I will answer and help because that's what I'm here for. But crazytown, negative comments will be ignored and you've burned any bridge for my direct assistance.
Thank you, and happy baking.
jennifer, you need to learn to take criticism better--it will happen again and you need to find a new path to take for your own good and the good of your business--
best to you--take care
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jennifer, you need to learn to take criticism better--it will happen again and you need to find a new path to take for your own good and the good of your business--
best to you--take care
I take criticism just fine. My post is addressing concerns that have been brought up and is, I hope, worded in an effort to diffuse and re-direct. I am here to help and have been helping. My business is doing great, thank you! Looks like another successful year and we are only 5 months into it.
Your genuine concern of anything me is, as always, so from the heart with no ulterior motives or falseness that I always enjoy reading everywhere you post.
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jennifer, you need to learn to take criticism better--it will happen again and you need to find a new path to take for your own good and the good of your business--
best to you--take care
Geez - that almost sounds like a threat. People who are on the receiving end of criticism have just as much right to their opinions as the person doing the criticizing. Very often the criticism is a result of a misunderstanding or information not completely understood. Your comment only serves to stir the pot rather than help with solving any problems.
now this is a threat:
Original message sent by fromscratchsf on 2/1/14 at 12:09pm
K8, I read what you exactly how you feel about me on other sources. If you continue to follow me around these boards harassing me we will have a problem. I have so far not taken the bait you want to leave all over the place but you need to knock it off. Hate all you want on me elsewhere but stop it here. I've seen your work and you not only suck as a cake maker you need meds and have mental issues. Knock it off.
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now this is a threat:
Original message sent by fromscratchsf on 2/1/14 at 12:09pm
Knock it off, K8! Many people already know you have problems with Jen and there is much more to it than one post from TWO months ago. Stop trying to derail another thread because of your personal dislikes. THIS THREAD IS ABOUT THE RECIPES - Bring it back around and let it go.
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