I've been making cakes a while now and in the past have found no problem just using box cake mix - whatever's on sale. The Wilton cake decorating classes got me started in that direction. After my foray into giant stacked cakes and comparing all three brands I decided that Betty Crocker and Pillsbury seem to make a moister cake than Duncan Hines so I've been sticking to those.
Well, I've got a large cake project and decided that c'mon, I really should make a scratch cake that's worthy of a special occasion. Pink Cake Box referred to Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible. Her scientific approach to cake baking is right up my alley. So I bought the book and went about comparing different recipes. I've been using a scale for my measurements. It's way scientific.
First I made the vanilla cake that the book Confetti Cakes recommends for sculpted cakes. It calls for half cake flour and half all-purpose flour. I used all egg whites. The cake was dry and, because of the all purpose flour, had a bit more of a coarse crumb than I wanted. Oddly enough I found it moistened up after a day under wrap with syrup.
Well, I've got a large cake project and decided that c'mon, I really should make a scratch cake that's worthy of a special occasion. Pink Cake Box referred to Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible. Her scientific approach to cake baking is right up my alley. So I bought the book and went about comparing different recipes. I've been using a scale for my measurements. It's way scientific.
First I made the vanilla cake that the book Confetti Cakes recommends for sculpted cakes. It calls for half cake flour and half all-purpose flour. I used all egg whites. The cake was dry and, because of the all purpose flour, had a bit more of a coarse crumb than I wanted. Oddly enough I found it moistened up after a day under wrap with syrup.
Then I made a white cake from a Betty Crocker French Vanilla mix. It came out dry too. Cake mixes never fail for me! After looking into the reasons I determined that it was because I substituted equal weight of egg whites for the whole eggs it called for. The box directions did call for whole eggs after all.
After that I turned to ... The Cake Bible. No failure was conceivable - it's a standard in the baking world, and I used a scale - not my housewifely measuring cups. I followed the recipe for white velvet butter cake to the letter. All my ingredients were room temperature, butter softened to perfection. I believe there was Mozart playing in the background. I kept an eye on the time and pulled it out of the oven at the exact moment when the toothpick was crumbless. The result -DRY!!! Huh? At this point I thought it had to be my oven and ran out and got an oven thermometer. The temp was perfect.
My scientific mind leapt into action. I Googled "why is my cake dry". The answers I found included information about egg yolks vs. whites and included the fact that yolks help keep a cake moist because of their fat and the fact that they help emulsify. There was also a tip that said to add a tablespoon of vinegar. One person answered a dry cake inquiry with a suggestion to add 1/4 mayonnaise to any cake recipe. She noted that it was necessary keep this practice a deep dark secret from her family. There apparently was some 'splainin' to do when she was caught by her husband adding the mayo to her cake batter. Mayonnaise has vinegar, oil, and egg yolks - everything that could really add moisture to a cake. It sounded perfect.
Cake #4 was a Betty Crocker White cake mix with 1/4 cup mayonnaise added to it. It came out perfectly moist and delicious. Yay! I'm about to be scientific again and resist the urge to make a completely different cake recipe. I'll try Rose's white velvet butter cake and see if 1/4 cup mayonnaise is actually a miracle.
