I have used the same Duncan Hines French vanilla batter for years. I have never had a dry cake.
I used a 12x12 cake pan for the first time and it was dry. I am not sure if it was the pan or the number 4 I cut out of it. I had a lot of little pieces of cake I assembled into number 4.
if you were careful with your bake time you should have been ok if your oven calibration is not off -- but for a two inch layer a 12" square pan needs about 14 cups of batter -- but again if you watched your bake it should have been ok --
http://www.wilton.com/wedding-cake-guide/cms-wedding-cake-data.html
I made sure to watch it. I used the toothpick method to determine it was done. My finished cake broke durning transport. I am expecting it was exposed to air for 2 1/2 hours. I am hoping this was the issue.
no, i don't think being exposed to air will cause cake to break or crumble -- if the board the cake was on flexed -- that will break it -- did you forget the eggs? that would cause problems
Hi. Some great suggestions here. I doubt the exposure to air would dry it out the way you describe here and on your other post. Especially a box mix, which has a tendency to consistently bake well.
jlb136 - It may be that DH has changed the formulation of the mix. I have used a doctored DH White mix recipe with sour cream for about 6 years with consistent, fabulous, dependable, tasty results every time with cupcakes and cake.
About 6-7 months ago, I made 48 cupcakes (DH White, doctored, with sour cream etc.) and had to throw them away. Hmmm, I thought, I must have messed up somewhere since this recipe NEVER EVER fails. Then I made a cake for a cake decorating class I teach in the evening, the cake was dry dry dry. The difference was so noticeable to me that I used it as a "teachable moment". I apologized to the 24 students in the class and told them about using simple syrup as a remedy for dry cake. I had a wedding cake 3 days after the class, so I used simple syrup (which I NEVER had to use before) and the cake tasted like it "used" to taste. It may not be you or your pan, it may be (I think probably is) the DH cake mix.
I immediately baked my other tried-and-true doctored DH mixes: lemon, sour cream chocolate, and red velvet; and all three of them came out ok. Thank goodness!
Here's the formerly reliable, now dry-as-dust recipe:
1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix (16.5 oz.) (use the powdered mix only―do not follow instructions on the box)
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/8 cup sugar
1/2
teaspoon baking powder
1
cup sour cream
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1
teaspoon pure almond extract or use vanilla, lemon, etc.
wow that's right i remember you mentioning this before -- you had such a hard time with that cake --
You're welcome. I rarely use simple syrup, but if you want to incorporate it into your cake-making, it is a wonderful way to add flavors/liqueurs/alcohol etc. I think the reason I rarely use it is because the first time I tried it, I put the simple syrup in a spray bottle and liberally sprayed my cake layers. THEN I learned that the overspray had also liberally sprayed my counters/floors/walls with sticky sugar water. not fun......
The moral of this story: Don't use a spray bottle without covering everything else in sight. When I used it for the wedding cake, I just used a silicone pastry brush that I dipped in the syrup, then brushed on the cake until it looked like "enough".
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