From Scratch Cake recipes...desperate Please:)

If I were you I would go to Goodwill and other thrift stores and look through their books. You should be able to find lots of cookbooks with tons of good receipes.

One of my favorites is a Betty Crocker one from my dad's mom's older cookbook:

Bonnie Butter Cake (soooo not healthy, but who cares???)
2/3 C Butter, softened
1 3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 C Cake Flour or 2 3/4 C All-Purpose Flour (I've never even purchased cake flour!)
2 1/2 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
1 3/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 3 small layer pans, 2 regular-size layer pans, or one sheet pan.
Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Beat 5 min. on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. On low speed, mix in flour, baking powder, and salt, alternately with milk. Pour into pan(s).

Bake 30 to 35 or 40 to 45 minutes, depending on the pans, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

French Silk Frosting (I sometimes double this and make it REALLY yummy!)
2 2/3 C Powdered Sugar
2/3 C Soft Butter
2 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate (cool) [or melt 6 T cocoa powder and 2 T shortening or butter--this is what I always do]
3/4 t vanilla
2 T milk
Blend butter, sugar, chocolate, and vanilla on low speed. Gradually add milk; beat until smooth and fluffy.

Now I want to make this tonight!!! :)

Here's a great moist and not-too-sweet recipe I got from a friend who got it from friends in New Jersey. At first I felt a little awkward about the name "Jewish Apple Cake" since I'd never heard of such a name and wondered if it was one of those instances where an ethnic identity is applied to something that doesn't really have an ethnic connection, but one day I brought it to work and a Jewish coworker who was originally from the east coast saw it and happily exclaimed "Jewish Apple Cake - I can't find that anywhere out here!" so maybe it's more of an East Coast thing? Anyway, it's simple and very tasty IMO, and perfect with apples in season:

Jewish Apple Cake
Ingredients
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 5 teaspoons white sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan (or one 9 x 13 rectangular pan). Combine the ground cinnamon and 5 teaspoons of the sugar together.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and 2 cups of the sugar. Stir in the vegetable oil, beaten eggs, orange juice and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with 1/2 of the sliced apples and sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the remaining batter over the top and layer the remaining sliced apples and cinnamon sugar (or, toss the apple slices with the cinnamon-sugar mix before layering with the batter.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 60-75 minutes.

The next cake I am making from scratch is Tomato Soup Cake. You can spice it anyway your family likes.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,166,129179-251197,00.html

I usually google around for recipes, read several and choose my fav.

Go to www.myrecipes.com and search "Decadent Banana Cake." It's my go-to cake for reunions, parties, cake-walks, etc. EVERYONE loves it -even little kids! Both the cake and the frosting are surprisingly easy and it's great this time of year.

My GoTo Cake
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
beat together untill all the sugar is dissolved
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbs cinnemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
add and mix well
4 cups of cut up fruit ( apples are great but so are pears and plumbs and nectarines)
fold into the mix
2 cups of flour ( you can go half and half whole wheat it is totally fine)
fold in and then bake in buttered baking pan at 350 for 45 min, this will not raise much but it is a real good cake. Makes great little cup cakes as well. Is better the next day and it can take a creamcheese frosting. Good luck !!

My husband LOVES this cake. He's made it our "go-to" cake... If someone wants us to bring a baked good, he says "Make that apple cake!" It's a little long. Sorry!

"Moist Apple Cake"
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped pecans (can substitute other, preferred nut)
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting pans)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil (plus a little extra for greasing pans)
4 oz (8 Tbsp, 1 stick) unsalted butter (OR additional 1/2 cup veg. oil)
2 "large" eggs
1/4 cup sour cream, plain or vanilla yogurt or milk (I use the milk)
3 medium apples (about 1 1/2 pounds; recipe recommends McIntosh apples) - I always buy more than that because of how I make it. I probably use closer to 6-8 apples.

Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Unwrap butter and place in small bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes to melt almost completely. Cut apples in quarters down through stem end. Cut out the core. Peel quarters, then chop into small pieces - no bigger than 1/2 inch. YOU NEED TO HAVE A GENEROUS 3 1/2 CUPS. (I use my food processor to chop my apples. Takes less time and creates more juice, which gives the cake more apple flavor. That's why I make sure I buy PLENTY of apples, since the finer it's chopped, the more it will take to make that 3 1/2 cups.) Choose one 10-inch Bundt or tube pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or two 12-portion muffin pans. (I do the Bundt.) Smear bottom and sides carefully with a little oil. Only 18 muffin cups are needed. Sprinkle in a little flour. Tilt around to coat bottom completely. Don't need to coat sides; shake out excess. (I've never done this, just used Pam for Baking, and always works great.)

Spread nuts on a baking sheet and lide into preheated oven. Bake until toasty smelling - 7 or 8 min for small nuts or pieces, 10 to 12 for larger ones. Remove nuts and set aside, but leave oven on at same temp for cake.

Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl. In another large bowl, combine sugar, oil, melted butter, eggs, and sour cream, yogurt, or milk. Beat with a large spoon to mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir to mix thoroughly. Add apple pieces and nuts. Stir to combine thoroughly. Scoop (or divide evenly) into prepared pan(s).

Slide pan(s) into oven and bake about 1 hour for Bundt or tube pan, 35 or 40 minutes for layers or muffins, until the cake pulls away slightly from the mold and feels springy in the center. Remove and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Serve as is, or dust with powdered sugar.

I also have a rich chocolate cake recipe if you want it!

I love the Hershey Deep Dark Chocolate cake recipe in their cookbook. It's just about the only cake I do from scratch. I would love someone to email me an angel food from scratch recipe though. I hated when they all went to a 1 step method for mixing them up out of a box. They have never tasted the same since.

Red VELVET!!!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/southern-red-velvet-cake/det...

I don't have one off the top of my head but check out www.allrecipes.com it is an awesome site for recipes!!!