How easy is it to bake a cake from scratch?

[Sparky]

Or how hard would probably be a more appropriate way of phrasing it for a person like me.

All right the situation - I need to bake a cake for someone, and I'm considering baking it from scratch rather than going out and buying cake mix (since it's not particularly convenient, and supposedly baking a cake from scratch doesn't take that much longer). However, I am a bear of very little brain as it is, and as impossible as it might seem, my intellectual abilities diminish significantly in the kitchen, so I don't want this to be a recipe for disaster since this cake is for someone pretty special. I think I'm very good with the cake mix, but who isn't lol?

So questions:
1) How hard is it to bake a cake for scratch? Keep in mind you're talking to someone whose kitchen abilities do not go beyond scrambled eggs and cookies.
2) Any good recipes for baking cakes from scratch? Last time I looked up random info on the net, the site told me to boil dumplings in a pot filled 4/5 of the way with water, and when I started putting the dumplings in I realized the effects of displacement...

Please respond ASAP because if no one gives me a serious warning I'm embarking on this endeavour tomorrow!

[oGaKirA]

I wouldn't recommend doing it from scratch.

First of all...you would need a cow for milk and a chicken for eggs.

[GuGu]

go for it sparky! i'm cheering you on babe!
take tons of pics and send it to me too!
baking it from scratch? sounds pretty dangerous.

[oGaKirA]

go for it sparky! i'm cheering you on babe!
take tons of pics and send it to me too!
baking it from scratch? sounds pretty dangerous.

omg!!! this tooo funny!!!!!!!!! GuGu encouraging Sparky to cook! bwahahahahah

"Iron Shef"
Tonite the main ingredient wil be Cake.
In this corner we have Sparky. And in the other corner we have GuGu.

....sounds vewwy vewwwy vewwwy dangerous!!!

[Sparky]

First of all...you would need a cow for milk and a chicken for eggs.

Honey, you forgot that I've got both those things.

Are you drinking one percent? Is that because you think you're fat? You could be drinking whole if you wanted.

[GuGu]

omg!!! this tooo funny!!!!!!!!! GuGu encouraging Sparky to cook! bwahahahahah

"Iron Shef"
Tonite the main ingredient wil be Cake.
In this corner we have Sparky. And in the other corner we have GuGu.

....sounds vewwy vewwwy vewwwy dangerous!!!

Our ratings wouldn't be good enough to stay on air after the first episode.
I mean afterall the only person that'll watch us is you.
Hoping to see some b!tch slapping in the kitchen?
Flour flying everywhere?
Throwing water at each other?

Sorry, I just order my cake from the store.
I don't love anyone enough to bake for them yet.

[Ren Ying Ying]

1) How hard is it to bake a cake for scratch? Keep in mind you're talking to someone whose kitchen abilities do not go beyond scrambled eggs and cookies.

if you can bake cookies...you should be able to bake a cake. the question only lies within how GOOD the cake is.

[Ken Cheng]

For me, what would be harder than baking the cake would be resisting the urge to do what comes next: no, not eating it...or serving it to others to eat, but to jam it into the face of the first person who shows up.

Yes, I'm immature that way...

[HuangYushi]

2) Any good recipes for baking cakes from scratch?

Sparky:

I'm giving you my mom's basic butter cake recipe.
5 eggs, 0.5lb butter, 0.5lb sugar and 0.5lb self-raising flour (sifted).
(please convert to metric measurements, if necessary, but this set of measurements is the easiest to remember and use).

1. Beat eggs. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence, if desired. Set aside.

2. Cream (beat with a mixer) butter and sugar until butter is all white and light.

3. Add beaten eggs a tablespoon at a time, with the mixer still running, until all the eggs are used up.

Important: Do this slowly, or your mix will curdle. Patience pays off.

4. Stop the mixer.

5. Add flour (about 2-3 heaped tablespoons at a time) and FOLD into the mix.

Note: FOLD means using a metal (not wooden) spoon [a normal dinner spoon is great] to take a scoop of the mix and turn it over.

Important: FOLD only in ONE DIRECTION. If you're right-handed, a clockwise direction usually works.

Very Important: DO NOT STIR.

6. Once all the flour has been evenly folded in, pour the mix into a greased cake-pan. This particular mix fits into a 8-inch (thicker cake) or 10-inch (thinner cake) pan. The pan should not be more than 2/3 (two-thirds) full as the cake will rise.

7. Bake at 180 deg Celsius for about 45 mins.

Note: At about 40 mins, you can check if it's baking OK by sticking a thin skewer into the middle section and see if the skewer comes out dry/clean or wet/sticky. Wet/sticky means that the cake is not cooked yet.

Important: If the middle is not cooked yet by 40 mins, but the top is browning too much and the sides (near the rim of the pan) are cooked through (skewer is dry/clean), you might want to lower the temperature and let the middle bake through slowly.

---

Other things: I find 0.5lb of sugar too sweet, so it's up to you to adjust if you want to. But most people who have eaten it think that 0.5lb of sugar is fine.

---

Hope that helps.

HYS

---

PS: Photo:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...7&id=532663400
(baked by me using what I posted above, with a bit of cocoa to get the brown colour in the cake, and decorated with some oat/fruit crumble on top).

Yes, HYS can bake.

[Suet Seung]

Dang, HuangYuShi, what can't you do man? These are one of the reasons men like you, don't stay single. Haha...men need to cook or cook along side us women.

[HuangYushi]

Dang, HuangYuShi, what can't you do man? These are one of the reasons men like you, don't stay single. Haha...men need to cook or cook along side us women.

I cook because I NEED TO EAT!

And speaking of "can't do", well, there are a lot of things I can't do ... like fly a plane.

[Thor]

Haha...men need to cook or cook along side us women.

More to that, baking a cake can also be the secret to winning a damsel's heart.

Making a french Vanilla fruit cake
1 1/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 box of Betty Crocker super moist French Vanilla cake mix
1 can of Betty Crocker frosting
1 lb of fresh strawberry
1 can of cube pineapple
1 can of lychee

Preheat oven to 325 F
Beat cake mix, milk, oil and eggs in a large bowl in low speed for 30 seconds and medium speed for 2 minutes.
Spray baking pan(13"X 9"). Scrape and pour mix in pan.
Bake for about 30 mins or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Cool cake for 10 mins and remove from pan. Allow cake to cool completely.
Using a dinner knife spread frosting on top and side of cake evenly.
Cut strawberry and lychee into halfs.
Decorate top of cake with strawberry, pineapple and lychee
(I lined the outer rim of the cake with a row of strawberry, followed by second row of pineapple and lychee. Repeat rows until cake is covered?

I baked that for my girlfriend for her birthday. surprised her with it after we returned from dinner. She was so happy she was crying. No one ever baked a cake for her, least expected from me as she knows I do not cook.

p/s. I know I cheated, the thread said baking a cake from scratch.

[MrPhotastic]

More to that, baking a cake can also be the secret to winning a damsel's heart.

Although, this is a good idea, dunno if I wanna to venture into the kitchen just yet.

[Sparky]

Hello all,

Despite my apprehensions, I must say my cake came out rather sexy.

It's chocolate on the inside but I haven't sliced it open yet so I don't have pics of the interior...but some shots I took after I was done with my work of art.

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Bird's eye view (yeah I took a lot of pics).

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Close-up of the sexy baby.

lol sorry guys but I'm really in love with my cake right now. I suppose with me being a total cam ***** my cake has to be one too. Although those aren't the best shots...well, my cake isn't very photogenic so it looks better when you see it in person...but it's still the first thing I've made in a long time I'm proud of! In fact I don't even care how it tastes since I think it looks so sexy.

Thanks for all the help btw...I haven't tasted my cake yet so I don't really know how it turns out, but at least it looks nice.

[GuGu]

I want a piece!!!

It looks delicious!

[bellamia]

I was going to say...as long as you can read, then you can bake a cake. Just follow the recipe's directions.

Anyhow, nice cake! Where's mine?

[GuGu]

I was going to say...as long as you can read, then you can bake a cake. Just follow the recipe's directions.

Anyhow, nice cake! Where's mine?

all gone! i ate it all! :P

[oGaKirA]

Hello all,

Despite my apprehensions, I must say my cake came out rather sexy.

It's chocolate on the inside but I haven't sliced it open yet so I don't have pics of the interior...but some shots I took after I was done with my work of art.

mmm....can I lick your fingers?

Looks tasty. Great job babe.

[HuangYushi]

Hello all,
Despite my apprehensions, I must say my cake came out rather sexy.
It's chocolate on the inside but I haven't sliced it open yet so I don't have pics of the interior...but some shots I took after I was done with my work of art.
Thanks for all the help btw...I haven't tasted my cake yet so I don't really know how it turns out, but at least it looks nice.

Sparky, you underestimated yourself! Your cake looks very very good! Well done!

[Thor]

Hello all,

Despite my apprehensions, I must say my cake came out rather sexy.

It's chocolate on the inside but I haven't sliced it open yet so I don't have pics of the interior...but some shots I took after I was done with my work of art.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/ilikecaffeine/DSC02278.jpg')
Bird's eye view (yeah I took a lot of pics).

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/ilikecaffeine/DSC02284.jpg')
Close-up of the sexy baby.

lol sorry guys but I'm really in love with my cake right now. I suppose with me being a total cam ***** my cake has to be one too. Although those aren't the best shots...well, my cake isn't very photogenic so it looks better when you see it in person...but it's still the first thing I've made in a long time I'm proud of! In fact I don't even care how it tastes since I think it looks so sexy.

Thanks for all the help btw...I haven't tasted my cake yet so I don't really know how it turns out, but at least it looks nice.

The pie looks really delicious.
Looks like some country style cooked pie that you get in small town restaurant when driving across the country.

Good job Sparky.
Is it good?