Has anyone ever made the Ghirardelli "Grand Fudge Cake"?
Sort of a continuation of a thread I started several months ago about my fascination for recipes on packages. (Ritz Mock Apple Pie!)
It's my daughter's birthday tomorrow and she asked for a repeat of the cake I made for her birthday two years ago - the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate Cake" (recipe from the package) with the Seven Minute Icing from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
It's a great recipe, super easy, and you'd think I'd be smart enough to leave well enough alone. But no. I saw the Ghirardelli "Grand Fudge Cake" recipe on the package, and I got curious, principally because it's made with butter (the Hershey's cake is made with veg. oil) and baked things with butter just taste so good!
Has anyone ever made the Ghirardelli cake? Has anyone ever made both, and if so, which was one the winner, in your opinion?
I'm looking at the recipes side by side and they look very similar. The only substantial difference is the 1/2 cup of veg. oil vs. 1 cup of butter. So maybe the real question is -
DO CAKES TASTE BETTER WITH BUTTER OR VEG. OIL? YOUR OPINIONS, PLEASE!!
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7 Comments:
I believe that cakes baked with butter taste richer and, of course, more buttery! I have a nice carrot cake recipe which uses oil, and it's light and open-textured, but lacking in body. Good luck with your recipe
snowmoonelk at 3:29PM on 10/27/08
I actually prefer chocolate cakes with oil. The butter (and any dairy) seems to muddy the chocolate flavor.
Just my .02
Kiwords at 8:16PM on 10/27/08
Depends on the cake, but I don't fool with the basics in baking recipes. If it calls for oil, that's what I use, and vicey versey with butter. I'm assuming (yeah, I know what that makes me) they chose one or the other because that's what worked and tasted best in that particular recipe.
PerkyMac at 9:26PM on 10/27/08
I actually favor chocolate cakes made with veg oil....they are much more moist than cakes made with butter.
elderberry44 at 11:01PM on 10/27/08
I made the Ghirardelli Grand Fudge cake. I had some really good cultured butter at home which makes baked goods (cookies, anyway) taste wonderful. I'll see which one I like better. Honestly, I am not a huge cake and cookie fan, so on the one hand, it would make sense to use cheaper veg. oil, on the other hand, I eat those items so seldom, that maybe I should focus on taste/quality. Thanks for your input, everyone.
LadyMarmalade at 10:11AM on 10/28/08
I agree with elderberry, I think the oil makes for a moister cake. I haven't made the Ghirardelli Grand Fudge cake, but their brownie recipe is awesome, and I would expect a cake recipe to be the same. Maybe you could compromise and melt the butter first?
buffy at 11:33PM on 10/28/08
Well, the verdict is in on the cake: dry! I'm going to go back to the Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake for those rare occasions I need to make a chocolate cake. I rule in favor of oil!
Brownies are another matter, and there I must insist on butter. Buffy, I agree - the Ghirardelli brownie recipe is awesome. Now I'm kicking myself that I didn't save my delicious cultured butter for making some brownies this weekend!!!
I have some leftover cake from the birthday party and I'm thinking of cutting it into squares and dipping/soaking them lightly into some kind of liqueur, like Grand Marnier, maybe. It might be just the thing to enliven the afternoon here at work tomorrow.
LadyMarmalade at 11:52AM on 10/29/08