Easiest cake to attempt for a novice?

[Shimus]

I have to say the last cake I baked was a good half messed up. I'm still trying to make them come out even and after reading posts here I'm starting to grasp what I'm doing wrong. Aside from my woes and issues, what cakes would you suggest I take up to get a firm grasp on cake-baking world?

Lemme know.

 

[SweetToothOutlaws]

What cake or cakes have you attempted to make? The first cake I made was a simple vanilla cake with simple buttercream, I call it practice round. Then I moved on to chocolate.

 

[Trellum]

Maybe a simple pound cake would be fine for starters? I'd recommend you something between those lines, sometimes a simple vanilla cake is the best pick. Just be careful where you get the recipe from, when I had just started baking I tried some recipes who were a bit messed up (wrong quantities).

 

[Shimus]

I've tried out-of-the box ones and they taste so-so but they always come out nice. I then tried chocolate to start and something was just...off. I can't put my finger on it, but I knew I missed something somewhere.

I'll try your suggestions. Thanks.

 

[SweetToothOutlaws]

It's easy to find to recipes especially online when starting out that get the measurements way off, it has happened to me. Try looking through a cookbook, going to like the food network website, etc. Good luck!

 

[Trellum]

I've tried out-of-the box ones and they taste so-so but they always come out nice. I then tried chocolate to start and something was just...off. I can't put my finger on it, but I knew I missed something somewhere.

I'll try your suggestions. Thanks.

No luck with cakes out of the box? Take a look at this recipe and tell me what you think: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irish-Apple-Cake/Detail.aspx?prop24=hn_slide1_Irish-Apple-Cake&evt19=1

 

[Shimus]

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing - everyone in my place loves apples anyways, and this is a good excuse for me to fill the apartment with a good aroma for awhile.

As to making the cakes, I mean that the chocolate was from scratch. I'm generally okay at box mixes, but something with the presentation at the end is off.. I don't know how else to say it other than it was what I expected it to be, and not what I tasted when other people made the same recipe. So I dunno, maybe I just gotta get better. Who knows.

 

[SweetToothOutlaws]

When I first started baking before baking from scratch, I thought baking out of box mixes was the best thing ever. My first made from scratch recipe was so much better! I love how when you bake from scratch you can create more!

 

[confettine]

Cheesecake, definitely! I don't think it can go wrong, and I used to make these with my mom when I was a kid all the time. She also made some with one of our family friends who hates cooking and bake it because she's not good at it, but a nice cheesecake is impossible to miss! I like Oreo cheesecake in particular, but also lemon-cheesecake and chocolate and orange cheesecake. What's awesome about cheesecake is not having to worry about getting the batter right or to get it to be the right consistance -- it will just turn out the way it's supposed to and that's that. Hmmm I wish they sold Philly cheese here so I could make a nice cheeeeesecake. Also, they don't have pre-made pie crusts in my supermarkets, that's annoying.

 

[Winterybella]

Cheesecake, definitely! I don't think it can go wrong, and I used to make these with my mom when I was a kid all the time. She also made some with one of our family friends who hates cooking and bake it because she's not good at it, but a nice cheesecake is impossible to miss! I like Oreo cheesecake in particular, but also lemon-cheesecake and chocolate and orange cheesecake. What's awesome about cheesecake is not having to worry about getting the batter right or to get it to be the right consistance -- it will just turn out the way it's supposed to and that's that. Hmmm I wish they sold Philly cheese here so I could make a nice cheeeeesecake. Also, they don't have pre-made pie crusts in my supermarkets, that's annoying.

Well, is that a fact?!!?!? You taught me something there. I must say I am always in line for a piece of cheese cake when I am prepared to break the rules. Now I have started baking more from scratch I figured it would be something I'd have to try when I was a little more season. I really figured it was the more difficult things to bake. Now you are saying this I'll have to examine some recipes with a closer eye.

 

[confettine]

Well, is that a fact?!!?!?

Er, I'm not sure if it's "fact", but it is a fact that I loved baking this with my mom and it never looked like something that can be missed! Here is the recipe that looks the closest to what she used to make:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-philly-oreo-cheesecake/

But I also saw a lot of "no-bake" Oreo Cheesecakes recipes searching Google so I expect it might be even ways to make it even easier than this!

 

[Shimus]

Yeah, no-bake stuff (considered baking recipes) always got me. They could have came up with a better term for it!

I've made cheesecakes before with relatively no hassle (I actually just got some authentic philly cream cheese from their stores, friend came up from philly with a bad of goodies, and it was among them - made fresh)

Hmm, I'd say my second easiest one to cook was a simple white cake recipe with the filling the middle. Layered white cakes take almost no effort, and a monkey could probably do it.