I was hesitant to try this recipe at first because of some of the bad reviews, but I am so glad that I did! This recipe was awesome! The cake was very moist and fluffy - not at all dense or dry as in the previous review, and it rose perfectly (perhaps the problem with previous reviews saying thiers had fallen in the middle was old baking powder?). I followed the recipe and instructions exactly (except I substituted butter for the shortening because I didn't have any), and didn't even use a water bath and it was still incredibly moist! It was perfect with Tianne's Chocolote Frosting I. Definitely a recipe that I will use over and over!
I found that if I used the amount of baking powder 3 1/2 tsp which it calls for, that is all you taste in the cake. I tossed the first one out (which was also to dry due to using the exact bake time and not less which you should) and found that the cake was good with just 2 teaspoons of baking powder and only 22 minutes in the oven using 2 9inch pans.
This recipe is perfect. It was light and moist. To all of you that this was a dense heavy cake ...sift the flower befor adding it and only bake it for about 25-30 mins. I have a family of 200 gathering and it was gone in 15 mins. Now I have request for it. Great cake! I also entered it into a bake contest and I won first place.
We were very pleased at how this cake turned out. This was my husband's first attempt at making cake from scratch (LOVES cake and has made box cakes until now).We substituted butter for shortening and about a 1/2 c or so of the flour was whole wheat (will increase to 1 c next time), baked in 2 round pans for 33 min(one to eat, one to freeze). We both went back for seconds (OK, I had thirds). Oh, and that was with no frosting! Thanks for the recipe! UPDATE: made it again and it turned out even better. We mixed it a lot more this time and it baked up very light. This makes me wonder if people who have gotten really dense cakes have not mixed long enough to incorporate some air into the batter before baking?? Bottom line - wonderful to have a recipe from scratch that tastes this good. Many thanks!
I use this recipe for birthday cakes or other special occasions and its always a hit. I have some recommendations though which might help some of the others who weren't as happy with it as me. 1) I bake this cake in a water bath - place tin on cookie sheet (or other tin with high sides); fill larger tin with boiling water while baking. This ensures an extremely moist cake. 2) Line tin with parchment paper and grease with shortening - this definitely allows it to come out clean from the tin. 3) I like to add almond extract with the vanilla for a really nice subtle flavour. I've also frosted this with a vanilla (store bought) frosting and added ground almonds with sugar between layers or on top. Thanks very much for this recipe - definitely a keeper for me:o)
This recipe is awesome! I doubled it and made an American Flag cake with it (with blueberry stars and strawberry stripes) for a birthday treat (my b-day is close to the 4th of July) - and there were 50 happy people at work! I did follow other's advice and cut the baking powder to 2 tsp and used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, plus I separated the eggs. I whisked the egg whites and added a bit at a time, then mixed the yolks with the milk and alternated it with the flour mixture, which I sifted. It turned out light and fluffy and moist! Will make again for sure! Thanks!
DRY. DRY. DRY. I should have been skeptical when I noticed the ingredients not listed in order of use. I followed the directions fine but the cake was not.
This is a very flavorful cake. I've made this recipe three times. I, like others, have found the cake to be too dry. What made the difference for me was to separate the egg yolk and white before creaming, then adding the yolk last (before the flour & milk) I cooked mine for only 35 minutes and it came out perfect. My oven is a piece of junk so it could just be my oven :)
i didn't get a bite, but everyone who took some said it was awesome I made this cake again one day in a 10" springform pan, cut it in half, spread the inside of one piece with half a package of instant vanilla pudding mix with whipped cream(real), topped the pudding mixture with slice bananas, laid the other half of the cake on top of the bananas, iced the cake with whipped cream, topped whipped cream with more sliced bananas and created my first iced cake: banana pudding cream cake. it was literally gone in 15 minutes.
