Making a Good Moist Cake at Home

Here is my Grandma's recipie. Very good and moist!

Grandma VDH Chocolate Cake
2 c flour
1 c sugar
6 tbsp heaping cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
Sift together
Add
1 c salad dressing
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
Mix together with a mixer. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 min

2 moms found this helpful

Elizabeth,

An easy way to make a box cake really moist is to put about 3 overripe mashed bananas into it, or any pureed fruit, or pumpkin puree (about 1 cup).

If you add it to Chocolate cake mix its great, but if you add it to a white or yellow cake it tastes like banana cake, add a little cinnamon and some walnuts and bake then frost with cream cheese icing and it tastes like spice cake. Super easy and good (also a good way to sneak in fruits or veggies).

For our 5 children we usually make a cake that makes its own hot fudge sauce, they love it with ice cream and its also super easy. Here is the recipe.

CHOCOLATE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBl butter
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix, and pour into an ungreased 8x8 pan

Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 TBL cocoa

Mix and sprinkle over cake batter. Pour 1 cup water over all. DO NOT STIR.

Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Good served over ice cream. Serve very warm for fudge sauce, if you let it cool completely it will turn into more of a pudding layer under the cake.

Recipe can be doubled using a 9x13 pan.

1 mom found this helpful

Just have to 'second' the Hershey Cocoa recipe (on the back of the container). It is incredibly moist the first day and just keeps getting moister! more importantly, there is nothing 'artificial' in it and it calls for oil instead of butter (much healthier). It will seem strange that you pour boiling water 'stirred in' to it, but it is the best cake I ever make (and I bake a lot)....and very intense chocolate flavor.
Also, a personal preference I though I'd share is that if you are to make homemade buttercream, try out 'organic' powdered sugar...it is not as overpoweringly (throat-burning) sweet as regular powder sugar. Just a personal preference.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi T.,
I will give you my trade-secret ingredient (which is the same thing that both Sam's Club and Costco use in their super-moist cakes), which is mayo (REAL mayo, not Miracle Whip.) Two of the main ingredients in mayo are eggs and oil, of which is exactly what makes a cake moist! I use a regular box cake (any brand) and follow the instructions on the box, and then just add about 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of mayo to the mix, then bake as directed. I am the "requested" cake baker for most parties I attend, and all of my co workers, friends and family always rant/rave about how moist my cakes are (they don't know the secret...they think its homemade!) Give it a try, and let me know what you think. I'm sure you'll LOVE the results and will never go without adding it to your cake mix again! Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Easiest thing to do....

Bake the cake and while it is warm put in the freezer! Then when you take it out the cake holds together better while frosting and while cutting.

My aunt has had a bakery for 20+ years and they freeze them all. They hold up better and stay moist. You can also decorate it then freeze, it doesn't matter, but if you freeze it warm it stays very moist.

Good luck
Michelle

Go to the store and buy either Duncan Hines Super moist or Philsbury cake mix. Follow the back directions. If you have a half a sheet pan you need 3 boxes for the pan and it will bake for one hr. If you need some info and more help you can email me and I will give you my number to call. I have been making my kids cakes for the last 3 years. They always come out awesome. My email is ____@____.com

In the book Thundercake by Patricia Polacco, there is a recipe for Thundercake (a super moist chocolate cake). The kids would enjoy hearing the story (it is a picture book). One of the reasons the cake is so moist is it calls for stewed tomatoes...you'd never know they were there!

Duncan Hines Moist Delux always works the best for me. I've had several comments that it's always more moist than any store bought anyone has ever gotten. Using some of the dry mix to 'flour' the pan also helps.

Good luck - S.

T., just substitute the same amount of pop for the water. It's the best and VERY moist! I use cream soda for white and yellow and some kind of cola for chocolate. Hope this helps, L.

Every time I have used a box cake mix, either Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker they have turned out very moist.

sometimes adding an extra egg or a package of dream whip

T.; the clue to a moist cake can be time, i use a box mix and it turns out fine and moist, but what i do is make iciing on one day , then i bake it the next day, then i let it cool, then that night, i put a very very very thin layer of icing around it called a crumb frosting, then on the 3rd day i put icing around it and decorate it, then if i have to travel it usully i transport and eat it on the fourth day, cake will hold, and the icing acts as an encasement and by the time you cut into it and eat it is moist as can be , the day sit allows it to suck some of the moisture from the icing, which makes the cake moister, i have done wedding cakes and this is a no fail way to get it done, i also use a buttercreme frosting, if you are gonna have layers, put icing between layers upon cooling, and then do the crumb frosting around it, so either way happy cake baking, D. s

Hello my girlfriend swears by adding a pudding (jello) mix to a box cake mix, just an idea.

a lot of professional bakers/grocery store bakeries put simple syrup over their cakes to make them moist/keep them moist.

Equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan, heat until sugar is dissolved and gets well, syrupy. Toss it into a squeezy bottle and refrigerate. when your cake is done, use a toothpick to poke some holes and drizzle the syrup on it.

It's not overly healthful, but in general, neither is eating a large amount of cake, so a bit shouldn't hurt anyone.

Hi T.,
My mom is a cake decorator and when she uses box cake mixes of any kind she always adds just a touch more oil than it says to. I usually eyeball it but maybe one or two tablespoons more than required and you will be amazed at the difference. Also, she always underbakes it just by a few minutes. The center will be a bit jiggly but will set up. Hope that helps.
DeeL.

I start with box cake mix and just doctor it up a bit - super quick and easy. I always add a spoonful or two of applesauce (cakes, muffins, pancakes, quickbreads, etc.). It adds mositure without adding fat or flavor.
Also, you might try adding a box of instant pudding mix to your cake mix. If you're doing a yellow or white cake use vanilla pudding, for chocolate you can add any variety of chocolate pudding. The cakes are extremely moist and have a great flavor, but are still light and fluffy, not super heavy or greasy like some store cakes can be. Store it in a cake carrier or large cake box so the air doesn't dry it out. Have fun with your project! I think it's a nice tradition.

When I make cakes at home, I substitute applesauce for the oil in the recipe. If the recipe calls for 1/4 cup oil then use 1/4 cup of applesauce. This has always worked for me.

It looks like you have gotten a ton of ideas, but if you want more, I have a book called "The Cake Mix Doctor"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761117199/...
that has the most amazing and easy recipes. You start with a box mix and then add pudding or other easy ingredients. If you are still looking for a recipe after all these responses, email me with what flavor you have in mind and I will send you one of the recipes.

Good luck!

____@____.com

The recipe for chocolate cake on the back of the Hershey's baking cocoa comes out so moist EVERY time. This cake is truly fantastic, not difficult to make. I get so many compliments and requests to make this cake. I am sure you can find it on www.hersheys.com It is a super easy cake to make.

I like the Betty Crocker cake mixes and I normally use milk instead of water in the recipe. They always turn out very moist.

For any box cake recipe (I always use Duncan Hines) you add an extra egg to the recipe. It will come out moist and fluffy. It works everytime. My grandma did , my m om did and I now I do. I guarantee it will work and you will be complimented on yor cake. Make sure your batter is blended well. And as soon as you done mixing it get it right in the oven. So you have to make sure your oven is preheated while your getting your cake mix ready.

Two things that will guarantee a moist home baked cake.

1. Always use Duncan Hines Butter Recipe cake mixes. They will come out MOIST every time.
2. Bake in a Stoneware Cake pan, not glass or metal. The stoneware will help retain the moisture in your cake because it creates a Clay Oven effect. Glass and Metal pans actually heat up hotter than your oven, which results in drying out or even burning of the cake. Pampered Chef makes great Stoneware Pans. I would contact my local Pampered Chef consultant, or go to my website at:

www.pamperedchef.biz/lindamosakowski

Have fun with your cake.
L. Mosakowski
Someone who LOVES to bake!!!

The secret to a good box mix is for chocolate to put in spoiled milk instead of water and/or a big glob of sour cream. Makes really moist cakes. Also if you make the cake ahead of time and freeze the cake (not decorated) and thaw before you decorate and it will be moist. Hint most cakes from grocery stores are frozen and thawed.

Hi T.,
The best trick I've learned through the years is to: a - use a Dunkin Hines Mix and b - add a 3 oz package of instant jell-o pudding (or no-name brand) of the same flavor to your cake mix.
Prepare the mix as stated on the box - just add the pudding too. Bake as instructed. The cake will rise higher and be denser than without the pudding....you can also up the oil content by 1 Tablespoon and decrease the water by the same.
Best of Luck to you with your family!!
Enjoy!!!
~K. T~
____@____.com

hi T.,
i start with a box mix and do not add oil or egg yolk. it comes out light and moist every time.

I have to be quick or I would type out a recipe for mayo cake.

do a search for mayonaise cake. Its chocolate and yes, the moistest cake EVER...

What my mom did and now I do with a box cake mis is to use milk versus water. It really makes the cake moist!

I know some people use apple sauce too.

Enjoy starting the tradition!

M.

I always make my own cakes for the kids' birthdays and everyone LOVES them. There are a couple of secrets I have. The first is that I use a box mix. You have to buy the name brand, preferably Duncan Hines Super Moist. Buy the white mix but use the "whole egg" version. The other secret is to Add 1 tsp. of amond extract to the batter. The cooking spray with the flour added is the best to get the cakes out clean. Also, don't automatically go by the time on the box. Start with a much lower time and use the toothpick test. Over baking is the biggest culprit for dry cakes. You didn't ask about frosting but I always make a homemade buttercream and add a tsp. vanilla. My husband doesn't even like cake but always eats mine. Good luck!

Hi there

I am not a baker myself, but I always stay with brand names. and undercook them by 5 mins. remember they still cook when you bring them out of the oven.A baker told me that trick.Good luck

I know it sounds weird but add a table spoon of mayo to the cake mix. works every time...

If your looking for something quick and easy.. using a can of diet soda instead of eggs and oil in a standard box cake mix really makes the cake moist!!

If your using a white cake mix use something like diet sprite, and if your doing a chocolate cake mix use a can of diet coke. I know it sounds strange but it really does taste great and it make cake a little bit better for you!

Good luck!

When making homemade chocolate cakes and brownies I add cold coffee in place of the water or half water and half coffee. It tastes fabulous and is super moist. I even do that with the boxed cake mixes. Good luck!

Hi T., if the recipe calls for oil then I replace it with apple sauce - moist and more healthy. This works on the box recipes as well.

I make a lot of cakes, the cakes that turn out the best for me is using either Betty Crocker cake mixes or the store brand, actually I get more compliments when I use the store brand (Meijer brand)and they tend to turn out better. And usually I put just a little less water and a little more oil and it makes the cake really moist.
Good luck. Also, if you have a Michael's craft store around you, you may want to look into cake decorating class, I took one years ago and since then I've made cakes for my family for all occasions and not two cakes have been the same and it's been fun making special unique cakes for each family member.

ML