I have been having a difficult time finding just plain cake mix in my area. They all have pudding in the mix, so I understand not to add more pudding. However what about the other indgredients? When a recipe calls for sour cream, or buttemilk? Should those be added? I tried the Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes and had to use the cake mix with the pudding added since I could not find any plain cake mix. Although the batter recipe did not call for pudding, it did call for buttermilk. The cupcakes were way too moist and just about fell apart. I would greatly appreciate any help or advice, since I love the cookbooks, but not being able to find plain cake mix (I take that back, my husband did find one lonely box in some little store about 20 miles away) I need to find a way around this problem so I can have some success with the recipes.

Thanks so much
Julieanne

Hi Julieanne,

Welcome!!! The CMD community is one of avid home and a few professional bakers so hopefully others will chime in as you ask questions. I also advise strongly to search the board archives as their is a wealth of information stored in the many threads over the years.

Regarding your ingredient question, many on this board use mixes with pudding in the mix all the time and still add additional instant pudding mix and the other ingredients called for in a recipe. It would be very helpful to know your location in the country as higher altitudes and also humidity play a role in a cake's texture, moisture level, etc.,

Also, do you have an oven thermometer? You can pick up a reliable yet inexpensive one at a kitchen supply store or possibly a Michael's in the section with all the baking supplies. You would be surprised how "off" an oven's temperature can be from what is stated on the dial and if you're not baking at the proper temperature that will have an effect as well. Also, some here have found that their baking times are always longer than those stated in the book so the baking time is only just a guide.

Unfortunately I have not attempted the specific cake you tried so I cannot even hazard a guess as to the over moistness issue but likely somewhere here can offer suggestions. Finally, as far as your quest for cake mixes with no pudding in the mix I would try looking for the store brand / generic mixes in your local markets as those, like Duncan Hines, are the non-pudding mix varieties.

Welcome once again & Happy Baking!

_________________
~T. Martin

Hi hon! Thanks so much for answering my question, and I apologize for not responding sooner.

I live in California and it is about 3,000 ft above sea level (I live at the base of a mountain). However it is rather dry in this area since I am not all that far from Palm Springs.

Yes I do have an oven thermometer and I have had to adjust my oven temperature because it is a self-cleaning one and they tend to run hotter. So I am at a lost as to why the cupcakes came out so moist.

I have finally had some luck in finding the Duncan Hines Cake mix. Although it says "moist" on the box, the indgrediants show no pudding in the mix. So I am going to give that a try.

Thank you and much appreciation for any help you can give me.

Julieanne

I would suggest generic cake mixes, they work good with the CMD recipes because they have add ins that enhance flavors. I use generic quite often or a Duncan Hines mix which are very easy to find in my area.
Good Luck, don't give up because it is worth it to get a richer better cake.
Rita