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Fluid Flex Substitute?

Discussion in 'Pastries & Baking' started by squirrelman, Dec 22, 2009.

  1. Dec 22, 2009 #1
    squirrelman

    squirrelman

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    Hi. I used to be an apprentice baker and the bakery I worked at used fluid flex for their white cakes, I haven't had much experience with white cakes but I liked how the cake came out and want to make a white cake this Christmas, however I researched fluid flex and it doesn't sound like I'm going to be able to buy it anywhere. What can I substitute for fluid flex for the best results and that can be bought in most local stores (shoprite, foodtown, pathmark, ect)?

    Also if I do use a different shortening can I still use the same cake recipe or should I use an entirely different one? if so please post suggestions, preferably with serving size.

    My current recipe is below although I could have the wrong recipe since I forgot to label it and it needs to be adjusted for 1 cake, any suggestions on how much to reduce it would be appreciated, otherwise I plan to compare the amount of flour to my blackout cake recipe and adjust it to a similar size.
    -----------------------------------
    12 lb sugar
    10 lb cake flour
    10 oz baking powder
    4 oz salt
    3 qrt fluid flex
    5 lb milk (may be quarts or gallons even, not sure, this recipe was written down badly, any suggestions?)
    vanilla
    lemon? (can't read it)
    15 eggs
    -----------------------------------
    As you can see my recipe may be wrong because its hard to read my old recipe so maybe I should try another, what do you think?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Dec 22, 2009 #2
    chris.lawrence

    chris.lawrence

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  3. Dec 22, 2009 #3
    boar_d_laze

    boar_d_laze

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    Why make an oil or "shortening" based frosting for a single cake anyway. All of the good reasons for using shortening relate to things like "stability" and "shelf life" that have important large scale commercial meaning, but relatively no application for a home cook, or high-end, low-volume, commercial operation.

    What's the reason to do an ersatz buttercream?

    Internet advice to do something completely different than the OP wants usually makes me itch; but, at the risk of irrelevance, my best advice is to make an honest to goodness buttercream with (wait for it) butter.

    There ARE Crisco based frosting recipes available on the net, but "Homey don't play that!"

    BDL

    PS. By using the name "Homey," in reference to old [In Living Color] character created by Damon Wayans, and his signature line, "Homey don't play that!" I do not refer to any person other than myself. Furthermore, its use was intended to humorous, and any mockery was meant self-deprecatorily. Certain moderators (and if you are among them, you know whom you are), may take a breath and otherwise relax. [Emphasis and correction from SNL to In Living Color added on edit -- h/t Pete]
     
  4. Dec 22, 2009 #4
    squirrelman

    squirrelman

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    sorry I seem to have mislead you, the fluid flex is used in the cake, not for the frosting, this is the only white cake I have ever done and I liked how it came out so was wondering the next best substitute for fluid flex in the cake, anything that I can find at a local store.

    again the fluid flex in this recipe is mixed into the cake not a used in frosting, filling ect. Either another shortening replacement or entirely different recipe are welcome as suggestions. thanks again.
     
  5. Dec 22, 2009 #5
    dillonsmimi

    dillonsmimi

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    IMO your best course of action is to find another recipe. Yours is too darn big to get good results even if you could remember how many cakes that made. There are lots of really great cake recipes all over the net. Try to find one from a reliable source 'tried and true'. Recipezar seems to have a very loyal following ...there are lots of others. And I agree with BDL...a good NAME BRAND butter is always the way to go. If you use half shortening and half butter the cake will remain white.
     
  6. Dec 22, 2009 #6
    cape chef

    cape chef

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    I find this comment insulting to the moderators of cheftalk. and has nothing to do with the topic.
     
  7. Dec 22, 2009 #7
    boar_d_laze

    boar_d_laze

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    The cake and not the frosting. Duh. 10 pounds of flour... How could I miss that? Well, I did, and I apologize for my stupidity and the resulting waste of bandwidth.

    That said, through dumb luck, the basic truth of the message remains. You don't need fluid flex or anything like it to achieve good results for small volume cake baking.

    There are any number of good recipes for white sponges. Personally I prefer genoise because it's relatively easy to control. On the other hand it's not quite straight forward in that it does mean working over hot water a little bit, which is weird if you haven't done it before. However, since you've obviously had some experience with medium to large scale baking, you probably know everything there is to know about genoise -- so I'll just shut up about it.

    If you're looking for a tight, soft crumb with a lot of moisture you might try something along the lines of pudding/oil cake. They're really not my thing so I can't write a formula for you off the top off my head; or even point you to the world's best recipe for that matter. But even though "pudding/oil" sounds louche, I've certainly had some good ones baked by other people and don't imagine it would be too difficult to get a recipe if you know what to ask for.

    Good luck with the cake, and sorry about my misunderstanding.

    BDL
     
  8. Dec 23, 2009 #8
    squirrelman

    squirrelman

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    actually although I had graduated from an apprenticeship and made a lot of cakes I really have little experience with them since we only made 2 cakes, a blackout and a white fluid flex cake, in fact I don't consider myself very experienced at all since it was more of a low paying job than an education imo, and have no experience with genoise although I have heard about them. but thanks for the advice everyone I'm going to research some recipes from recipezar and I'll comment back here if I have trouble finding a good one.
     
  9. Dec 23, 2009 #9
    chris.lawrence

    chris.lawrence

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    Ouch poor BDL! Being bitten for a disclaimer...!
     
  10. Dec 23, 2009 #10
    cape chef

    cape chef

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    Disclaimer about "homey: fine. Statement about moderators, written to provoke response & not necessary.
     
  11. Dec 23, 2009 #11
    chris.lawrence

    chris.lawrence

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    Yikes! You guys are sensitive! I didn't get that impression at all.
     
  12. Dec 23, 2009 #12
    pete

    pete Moderator Staff Member

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    Damon Wayans might have used Homey during his stint on SNL, but he created Homey while on "In Living Color"
     
  13. Dec 23, 2009 #13
    boar_d_laze

    boar_d_laze

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    Nice catch. You are sooooooooooo right. I knew that too. But at least this one is explainable. There were a couple of Homey skits on SNL, and for a reason that needs no further explanation I had SNL on the brain.

    Thanks for the heads up,
    BDL
     
  14. Dec 23, 2009 #14
    dillonsmimi

    dillonsmimi

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    Try the WASC (white almond sour cream) recipe from cakecentral.com...you will find about 50 different variations, just use one with the most stars next to it. If you're not a big fan of almond flavor, just sub with a good vanilla extract. This is my go to for a blindingly white cake. ( I do recommend wrapping in plastic wrap and freezing for a bit, tightens the crumb and ensure moistness...loosen the plastic, but leave on while defrosting). Makes a cake that falls into the give me the cake and no one will get hurt category. lolololol!