I found this recipe on CakeCentral.com— I really like it for carving cakes….especially cakes that are tapered at the bottom (Topsy turvy cakes, Pillow Cake, etc.).
****We use Duncan Hines cake mix
**** If using Betty Crocker or Pillsbury (pudding in the mix) cake mixes, I DO NOT add the box of instant pudding .
***I often double this recipe.
Durable Cake for 3D and Wedding Cakes
Ingredients
1 box Yellow or White cake mix — we prefer Duncan Hines or a brand without pudding in the mix
- 4 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 small pkg (3.4 oz) (96g) of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 Incorporate all ingredients together one by one on low speed.
- Make sure to mix thoroughly between each ingredient.
- Once all ingredients are mixed turn mixer to medium and mix for approximately 2 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes
Hi!
I was asked to make a strawberry champagne geode cake. This means I need to use a durable recipe for carving so I guess this would be the best. SO: 1. Can I use a strawberry cake mix and add champagne OR SPARKLING GRAPE JUICE for a non alcoholic version instead of white cake mix and water ?
And 2. Can I use whole eggs instead of 4 egg whites ? If so, how many ?
Thanks so much !!
Hi Bunny, Yes, you can use a strawberry cake mix with the Durable Recipe. I think using champagne will have more of the flavor you are looking for, if that works for your customer. Also, it is best to use the egg whites because the whites give more strength to the cake for carving. For our geode cake we did not use the durable recipe because the carved heart was not very deep ( I think only about 1 inch in) . It sounds as though you will be doing more carving than that. Hope all goes well.
Good evening, would you please tell me how many boxes of cake mix, A long with the additional ingredients, I would need to use for a quarter sheet cake? Thank you very much.
Tambra
Hi Tambra, For a 9×13 quarter sheet cake you will need to double the ingredients listed in the recipe. This should give you a two inch high sheet cake. Fill your cake pan only 2/3’s full. You may have a bit of cake batter leftover.
Hi. Is this version better to use for mini cakes?
Hi Theresa, we only use this recipe when we have a cake that needs a lot of carving, for example a topsy turvy cake. You would be fine to use the White Almond Sour Cream (doctored) recipe from the recipe section. You can leave out the almond extract for a vanilla cake.
Hi there, which version would be better if covering cake with fondant and making it quite high? The durable or regular doctored cake? TIA!
Hi Kristina, Of these two choice, I would use the durable recipe. We usually use that recipe for cakes with a lot of carving or topsy turvy cakes. I don’t know how tall your cake is, but our first choice for a doctored cake mix is the White Almond Sour Cream (doctored) recipe. Leave out the almond extract for a vanilla cake.
Do I have to use sour cream in this recipe?
Hi Jennie, You could substitute plain Greek yogurt or plain regular yogurt. For best results the yogurt should be full fat. You could use 1 cup milk but it would not be as durable if your cake requires a lot of carving.
Awesome! Thank you so much!
I am making a 2 tier cake. Will this be durable enough as the bottom tier?
I need to make a tiered yellow cake so is this cake durable enough to be the bottom tier and can I use the whole egg instead of just the egg whites? Thank you
Hi Crystal, We only use this recipe when we will be doing a lot of carving for a cake design. Your favorite yellow cake recipe could be used. We often use the White Almond Sour Cream doctored recipe ( leave out the almond flavoring for a vanilla cake) when we are using a doctored cake recipe. Here is a link:
link to mycakeschool.com
Whenever you are making a tiered cake, the bubble tea straws or wooden dowels hold the weight of the of the upper cake tier. The upper cake tier will be on a cardboard cake circle that is placed on the dowels. Melissa has a video on Tier Stacking under The Basics, here is a link if you would like to watch it:
link to mycakeschool.com
Let me know if you have other questions.
Hello. My butter recipe boxed tier will be in the middle…i would like to leave the butter in. Do I leave out the sour cream? Also, what do you do with all of the yolks😐 I hate wasting food, but just thinking about the leftover yolks causes my cholesterol to rise.
Ronnie
Hi Ronnie, we have never tried the butter cake mixes. I don’t know how much butter is in the mix, but if you go that route I would leave out the oil not the sour cream.
Would I need to make any adjustments to this recipe if I’m using chocolate cake mix?
Hi Sally, No adjustments needed for chocolate cake mix.
Thank you. I used this recipe this weekend and it worked great!
link to facebook.com
Adorable, Sally! Glad to hear that it worked well for you!
Made this recipe to make a dinosaur cake. It looked beautiful when I took the cake out of the over. As it cooled it sunk. What did I do wrong?
Hi Sandy, I am sorry you had this problem. Did you use a cake mix without pudding in the mix and disregard the instructions on the box? Cake mixes are very forgiving so it is unlikely that it was under mixed or over mixed. The most likely cause of a cake sinking in the center is under baking. You might want to buy an oven thermometer to see if your oven is heating to the temperature you have set . It is inexpensive and can be found at Target, grocery stores or Amazon. Before removing the cake from the oven, insert a toothpick into the center and it should come out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. I hope your cake sank just slightly so you were able to use it.
If I were to do a chocolate version, could I use DH chocolate cake mix and add chocolate chips to the batter?
Hi Anita, Yes you can do that. Here is a link to the chocolate version that has a tiny bit more oil. Both are recipes from Cake Central
link to mycakeschool.com
Awesome! I will give this recipe a try! Thanks for your quick response!!