CAKE RECIPES These recipes have worked well for me, I hope you enjoy them.

Basic Yellow Cake - Cook's Magazine

4 eggs 1/2 cup milk 2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups cake flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt 8 oz unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pans well and dust with flour. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla together.  Measure 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixer bowl and mix just to blend.  Add the butter (cut into pieces) and mix until the flour starts to clump together and look sandy (with pieces about the size of peas). Add the reserved egg mixture and mix at lowest speed until it is incorporated.  Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the remaining egg mixture in a slow steady stream.  Stop the mixer and thoroughly scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.  Beat on medium-high until thoroughly combined and batter looks slightly curdled. Divide into prepared pans and bake 20-25 min.  Cool 10 min before transfering onto a cooling rack. Makes 2 9"pans

Chocolate Cake - Cook's Magazine

1 cup cocoa 1 Tbl instant coffee 2 cup water boiling 4 tsp vanilla

12 oz unsalted butter,softened 2 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs, room temperture

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Makes Two 9"x2" pans.  Grease pans well and dust with flour. Mix cocoa and coffee together, add boiling water, mix until smooth.  Cool to room tempature and stir in vanilla Beat butter on medium-high until smooth and shiny (30 seconds), and gradually beat in sugar.  Whip until light and fluffy (your preference on where that is, no longer than 10 min).  Add eggs one at a time beating 1 full min between additions. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.  With mixer on lowest speed, add 1/3 of dry ingredients, then 1/3 of cocoa mixture, alternately.  When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape the sides of bowl.  Return to low speed and beat until batter looks satiny. (15 sec) Divide batter and bake until they feel firm (press middle of cake, if it bounces back it's done) Cool ten minutes, remove from pan, and transfer to a cooling rack. 1/2 cup cocoa = 8" cake, 1 cup cocoa = 9" cake For a simpler, but yet still delicious chocolate cake Hershey's Cocoa has a great recipe that's right on the back of the cocoa container.  However, I do not recommend the frosting.  It taste great but not very good to ice or decorate with.

White Cake - The Baker's Manual - Amendola buttery and rich, not to sweet

3 cups cake flour 1 Tbl baking powder 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar, softened 9 oz unsalted butter 6 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Makes Two 9"x2" pans.  Grease pans well and dust with flour. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs whites and vanilla slowly and continue beating. Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pans.  Bake 25-30 min. Cool ten minutes, remove from pan, and transfer to a cooling rack.

Ultimate Carrot Cake - New Basics

2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup oil 3 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cups carrots, puree 1 cup walnuts, chopped 1 cup coconut, shredded 3/4 cup pineapple, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Makes Two 9"x2" pans or 1 oblong pan.  Grease pans well and dust with flour. Sift dry ingredients together. Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Beat well. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, coconuts, and pineapple. Pour the batter into the pans/pan and bake until the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick comes out clean.  About 1 hour. Cool ten minutes, remove from pan, and transfer to a cooling rack.

(My Opinion) The Best Vanilla Cupcakes - Fergal Connolly

1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened 1 cup sugar

2 cups self-rising flour 1tsp baking powder

4 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract

You can change all-purpose flour into self-rising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.  I have used both flours and I've gotten the best vanilla cupcakes from buying self-rising flour.  The flavor of the cupcakes with all-purpose made self-rising flour is still good, the cupcakes have a slightly different texture.  They are not as spongy and slightly dense than the store bought self-rising flour.  Either way they are great.  If you are going make your own self-rising flour, make sure you sift the ingredients together with the flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans.  Lightly spray top of pan. Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, 2-3 minutes.  Spoon mixture into cups 3/4 high and bake 20 minutes. Cool 5 min. remove cupcakes onto cooling rack.