ACan I get some recipe suggestions for moist scratch cakes? I really would like to bake from scratch but so far my cakes have been heavy and dry...

AScratch cakes are often tempramental, you have to practice as many as you can to find what works for you. Go to the recipe section and you will find tons to practice.

AHere's a great one, very easy and reliable! The link is in the first post. Read through the pages, you will find lots of variations and ways to make yellow cake from it, and others.

I baked most of my life from a box, at least for cakes. I know a lot of people here swear by doctored mixes, but now that I bake from scratch, I admit, I am a major cake snob! I can smell and taste the chemicals in a boxed mix from feet away. Spend the time to make sure you have the ingredients, and follow,the recipe, it's easy, not complicated, and you will be fine!

I will add that the book The Cake Bible makes recipes very difficult and temperamental and if looking for a book, I wouldn't get that one first. It's made harder than it is. Stick to simpler recipes like this one at first.

Enjoy! Nancy

Try a mud cake recipe.  Yes, they are heavy, but they are meant to be like that and they will stay moist for days (and some people say weeks).  They are also not particularly temperamental and are very easy to make.

AWhere do I find the link? What do i need to search? Thank you so much!

try this   http://cakecentral.com/t/726071/august-scratch-off-mud-cake

AAlso try searching CC threads for scratch off chocolate, scratch off white and scratch off yellow, along with the mud one previously mentioned. I like the cake bible myself, warts and all. Warren brown, Shirley Corrier, Dolores Cassella all have good cake books. Sorry if i misspelled any names.

AThis is my favorite chocolate cake recipe: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/04/08/triple-chocolate-layer-cake/. It has always come out nice and moist and not heavy. I know some scratch bakers say butter based cakes are superior to oil based cakes, but I still love this recipe. I substitute hot water for the coffee since I can't have coffee, but I'm sure you would get an even stronger chocolate flavor with the coffee.

AI'm a dolt! Here it is, forgot to add it.

http://cakecentral.com/a/a-better-white-scratch-cake

This is different than the thread I mentioned up above, but the same recipe.over at 350 for 50 minutes.

Nancy

AThank you all so much I am so excited!! :grin: