Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink > Recipes
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-04-2019, 07:47 AM
 
1,192 posts, read 1,564,703 times
Reputation: 929

Advertisements

I am not new to baking but I lack the technique. I cannot seem to get the moisture in the cakes right. If I want to get a basic cake which is moist like the store bought one's, what can I do? Can someone please help me?

Here is a typical recipe that i follow. Attaching a pic of the cake I baked for my 4 year old's birthday. It took me a LONG time to frost the cake and the end result, while on its own was good, paled in front of the moist store bought cake.

All Purpose Flour:1 1/4 cups
Sugar: 1 cup
Eggs: 1
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Baking Powder: 1 tbsp
Margarine: Softened 1/4 cup
Milk: 1/2 cup
Salt: 3/4 tsp

350 D for 30 mins.

For icing,
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2tea spoons vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Why are my cakes not moist?-img_6480.jpg
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-04-2019, 08:02 AM
 
11,409 posts, read 7,728,103 times
Reputation: 21907
Dry cake is typically a result of 2 things: improper measuring of the flour or over mixing the batter. Also, don’t bake with margarine. There’s a reason cake recipes call for butter.

There’s a great site for all things baking: Sally’s Baking Addiction. Check out her 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes.

Last edited by UNC4Me; 09-04-2019 at 08:33 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 08:59 AM
 
1,192 posts, read 1,564,703 times
Reputation: 929
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNC4Me View Post
Dry cake is typically a result of 2 things: improper measuring of the flour or over mixing the batter. Also, don’t bake with margarine. There’s a reason cake recipes call for butter.

There’s a great site for all things baking: Sally’s Baking Addiction. Check out her 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes.
Thank you. its the same result with butter too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:09 AM
 
4,985 posts, read 2,931,386 times
Reputation: 10794
Professional bakers weigh ingredients for a reason. Using volume measures for dry ingredients can lead to bad results because the moisture content of sugars and flours, the size of the grains, the packing density, etc. all change the bulk.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:17 AM
 
14,201 posts, read 11,461,314 times
Reputation: 38778
Maybe you're baking the cake for too long?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:17 AM
 
11,409 posts, read 7,728,103 times
Reputation: 21907
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimAZ View Post
Professional bakers weigh ingredients for a reason. Using volume measures for dry ingredients can lead to bad results because the moisture content of sugars and flours, the size of the grains, the packing density, etc. all change the bulk.
Yep and with a scale there’s a LOT less mess to clean up! My only beef is I wish all recipes had ounces or grams listed. It’s a pain to constantly figure out how many grams in a cup of an ingredient.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:19 AM
 
11,409 posts, read 7,728,103 times
Reputation: 21907
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maila View Post
Thank you. its the same result with butter too.
Is your butter at room temp? Room temp is when you leave a dent when pressing gently on the butter. Too cold or too warm means the butter and sugar won’t get light and fluffy when creamed together.

It’s also possible the recipe you’re using is meant to yield a dryer crumb. Maybe try one with sour cream or buttermilk in the batter. In my experience, those result in moister cake.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,585,620 times
Reputation: 98359
That doesn't seem like enough eggs for a cake recipe. Some people think adding a couple extra egg yolks makes a moist cake.

I agree about the butter. Are you creaming it with the sugar and then adding it to the dry ingredients?

What type of pan do you bake it in?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:37 AM
 
1,192 posts, read 1,564,703 times
Reputation: 929
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimAZ View Post
Professional bakers weigh ingredients for a reason. Using volume measures for dry ingredients can lead to bad results because the moisture content of sugars and flours, the size of the grains, the packing density, etc. all change the bulk.
I could try. its just such a pain to measure!
Could it be that I am not adding a layer, like a filling between the layers too?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2019, 09:38 AM
 
1,192 posts, read 1,564,703 times
Reputation: 929
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot View Post
Maybe you're baking the cake for too long?
No...because for under 30 mins, the toothpick is still wet with flour.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink > Recipes

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top