Several times now I've worked with others off site thru pm's exchanging recipes, in search of "the best of". I'd like to bring this topic up to everyone........would you participate and share you best recipes, test others recipes, compare and see if we can all benefit from this? I'd like to see other pro's get involved, will you too be interested and participate?

The main recipes I'm interested in networking on are basics: the best chocolate cake, the best white sratch cake, best yellow, best sponge, etc....These seem like simple cakes, well they are, but to a certain respect their very difficult because most don't compare in texture to a mix. Unforunately I live in a world that judges cakes to mixes and usually the mix wins in taste tests, especially white cake. Yellow cake which I get requests for, recipes doesn't really seem to exist (theres only a handful out there labeled yellow). You have butter cakes, sponge cakes, etc....but nothing really seems to come close to what consumers see in the box yellow mises.

I feel like I'm already using the best carrot and banana cake recipes. Cakes that get flavor from ingredients other then butter, flour and sugar are much easier to achieve good taste from. But the simple chocolate, white and yellow cakes are very ilusive. I also don't see the challenge in genoise or non-american cakes.........seeing that their rarely used on their own as is or in a wedding cake.

So what do you think? Unlike the other thread were they're working from one book, "Baking With Julia", you can bring the best recipe you've ever found from any source.......as long as we link to the recipe and excerpt or we put the recipe and directions in our own words we won't plagiarize and we'll respect fair use.

So who's in?

o.k. first heres the chocolate cake recipe I use the most. I've tried sooooo many other chocolate cake recipes and find this to be the most consistant and the best tasting, best crumb, best keeper. It's from Scott Clark Woolley, a well known cake decorator. I don't have his book in front of me at this moment but if you want the name I'd be happy to post it later.

Fudge Brownie Cake, yeild: 2, 9" rounds

sift together:
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
reserve.

Cream:
3/4 c. butter
with
2 c. sugar

Then add: until creamy
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. veg. oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Then mix in you dry ingredients from above.

To this you add:
1 1/2 c, boiling water or hot coffee.
Nuts are optional

Dirrections: Now heres the wierd part, baking. The author reccomends 275-300F oven and NOT hotter. They are allowed to cool in the pans for ONLY/exactly 5 minutes and then you turn them out and wrap them in plastic wrap, sealing them. This step can't be omited, it does steam the cake and that does make the cake better then if you air cooled it (I've done both, wrapped is better). I've also baked it at 350 and that does work but a cooler oven is better. Be forwarned this cake does not rise high in the pan, it will be pretty close to the level of batter when finished. I've mulitpled this recipe as high as x6 which fills a 20qt mixing bowl, with no problems. This cake can be baked in any size pan with-out changes.

Why this isn't totally perfect: the top domes and cracks. Perhaps it needs a slight adjustment in leavening-but I've never played with it.

I hope you all will try this recipe and then tell us what your think. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being horrible and 5 being perfect (as in the best you've ever made) rate it. Then if you have a chocolate cake recipe you think is better then this, please post it....and we will move on from there working as a group.