Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. (Yes, I am that cheesy. You might as well know that about me now.)
So let’s jump into it. Square one. You can’t decorate a cake without baking a cake. (Unless you’re lucky like me and have an awesome mom/business partner who does most of the baking.) I know for a lot of people baking a cake from scratch is stressful and daunting. Especially when you need the cake to be dense enough to hold up for decorating and still be moist and delicious. So I’m going to share my version of a recipe that I ran across years ago. I’ve had this recipe so long, I don’t have a clue where I found it. Whoever came up with the original version is my hero!
This recipe starts with a cake mix, and then we add some extra ingredients to give it that made from scratch taste. One of the greatest things about this recipe is easy flavor variation. Just grab a different flavor cake mix. I’ve tried it with devil’s food, classic white, strawberry, lemon, orange, dark chocolate fudge, red velvet, etc. You won’t have to have a completely different recipe for every flavor you want to make. Helps streamline your baking process as well.
When it comes to cake mix, I use Duncan Hines. You will consistently get great results. There’s a reason Duncan Hines has the little Wilton logo on the box now.
So let’s start our cake. Always sift your dry ingredients! You will be amazed at the number of little chunks that you will be breaking up. But don’t worry! You don’t have to use one of those little hand-held crank units that would take FOREVER to get stuff through. We use a mesh strainer and a whisk. Quick and easy! So sift your cake mix, flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Another great thing about this recipe is the fact that you have four wet ingredients and four dry ingredients. Makes it easier to remember and make sure you get everything in.
Now get out your handy, dandy mixer. I do love my Kitchen Aid!!!!! (This beauty can hold a double batch of this recipe. Woohoo!!!) But any stand or handheld mixer will work. In your mixer bowl, add your sour cream, water, and eggs. (I love to weigh my sour cream with a digital kitchen scale. One cup is eight ounces. This doesn’t work for everything, but it is accurate for sour cream, butter, shortening, and peanut butter. And weighing is a LOT easier than measuring. Ever tried to scoop something like these out of a measuring cup? Yuck!)
Mix these well. I know, I know! I said FOUR wet ingredients. We’ll get there!
Once these are mixed, gradually add in your dry ingredients. Now comes the good part. BUTTER! Makes everything better, right!? Melt a stick of butter and gradually add into your cake batter. You should have a bowl full of silky delicious looking cake batter. No spoon licking yet!
Pour your batter into prepared pans. (Go here to see how to prepare your pans to make sure they come out of the pan perfectly!) Bake at 350. Times are going to vary depending on cake pan size as well as how much batter you put in your pans. Our 6 and 8 inch round pans take an hour to bake.
Once your yummy cakes are done, put the pans on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After that, flip those beauties out onto the cooling rack and let them cool. Congratulations! You just baked some delicious cake that will be perfect for stacking and decorating!!!! Go you!
| Prep Time | 20 min |
| Cook Time | 60 min |
| Servings |
cupcakes
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- 1 box cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sour cream (Measure by weight 8 oz)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick butter, melted
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
- Combine eggs, sour cream, and water in mixer.
- Gradually add in dry ingredients.
- While mixer is running, slowly pour in melted butter.
- Once combined, pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 60 min or until done. (A 6" round cake takes 60 min in my oven.)
See you soon!
How many pans does this fill
This recipe makes about 3.5 pounds of batter. I typically use 2lb 2oz for an 8 inch round pan, and 1lb 2oz for a 6 inch round pan.
I tried this recipe with Duncan Hines red velvet and while the cake texture was beautiful, the taste was pretty bland and disappointing. I’m wondering if I did something wrong.
That’s strange! We’ve never had that problem before. You could always try adding some flavoring. Some good quality vanilla extract would be a nice touch.
does this cake freeze well. I want to make a large cake for a wedding, but need to make it ahead of time and wonder if it will freeze ok.
It freezes beautifully!!! In fact, I always try to freeze it overnight because it makes it more moist somehow. Double wrap your tiers in plastic wrap, and let them thaw still in the wrap.
we are doing a rustic wedding theme. I am frosting (I believe it is called a naked look) where you frost and then scrape parts away showing the cake below and it kind of looks like tree bark. Can I frost before freezing? if so do I still use plastic wrap
I haven’t had good luck icing before freezing. But I know some people swear by it.
Can I frost it before freezing? if so how do suggest wrapping it if it is frosted
Apparently my reply didn’t post. Sorry about that! I have not had good luck with frosting before freezing. So I choose to thaw and then frost.
What is the best way to wrap it for freezing if it has been frosted first?
sorry disregard last request. I didn’t see that you had responded. Thank you.
Would this cake hold up well to sculpting and fondant?
Sure will! I have used it with both.
Will this recipe hold up well to a little carving and fondant? Thanks
Is this Easy Delicious Cake Recipe ok for some light carving?
You bet! This creates a moist, dense cake that I have been able to carve several times.
hi, where i live we don’t have the cake mix brand you suggested, will betty crocker work?
This recipe should work with most cake mixes. Duncan Hines is just by far my favorite.
How many cups of cake batter does this recipe make? How many pounds/ounces of this cake batter would I need for a 9×13 cake pan?
Thank you!