Jul 31, 2012
OK. Confession. When I was younger and I'd make a cake, I'd always filch batter. By the spoonful. Couldn't help myself! As a result, my cakes were never very tall. Fast forward a few decades. I'm diabetic. No more tastes when baking for me! Even so, nothing prepared me for how much batter this recipe made. I got three very full 9" layers and 8 cupcakes. Couldn't believe how I just kept filling cupcake papers. How could anyone possibly fit this into "2- 9" pans"??? Anyway, I tasted one of the cupcakes, and was absolutely blown away by the texture - so moist with a fine, light crumb. It's everything you love about a mix cake, minus that obnoxious, artificial flavor. Those who say it was dense, there are a couple of possible causes. You could have beaten too much after the flour was added, encouraging formation of gluten, the protein in flour that gives structure in breads. Simply incorporate the flour gently and stop, which will obviate that problem. Or perhaps you opted for all purpose flour instead. Big mistake. If you don't have cake flour, measure out 3-1/2 cups all purpose and add 1/2 cup cornstarch. Sift 3 times. If you used cake flour, did you sift? Sifting aerates your flour. If your product was dry, that indicates either overbaking or a temp that was too high. Calibrate your oven using an oven thermometer every 2-3 months. If everything is done as directed, this is the best of the best. And as a former pastry chef, I'm pretty finicky! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
—Baricat
