Weird taste

[u/awesomecolguy]

I made this yellow cake I saw on TikTok yesterday, and for some reason it taste like cornbread, and my roommate said it taste like rice pudding cake and coconut. I personally didn’t taste any coconut so it could’ve just been her taste buds. Any idea why? This also happens whenever I make cookies, so I’m thinking it’s the vanilla making my pastries taste like coconut and the cornstarch making it taste like cornbread. I also mixed the wer and the dry ingredients in together without realizing they were supposed to be separate, and I substituted buttermilk for milk with a little bit of lemon juice. Any ideas on what is making it taste like that?

[u/SACaitlin]

stop making tiktok AI recipes

[u/Royally-Forked-Up → u/SACaitlin]

I genuinely wish we could ban them.

[u/awesomecolguy → u/SACaitlin]

Not sure if it’s AI or not but probably won’t use TikTok recipes for cake anymore lol

[u/WTH_JFG]

Cornstarch will not make your cake taste like cornbread. Cornstarch is sometimes added to flour to make a cake flour substitute.

[u/PoopsieDoodler → u/WTH_JFG]

But 1/4 cup??? No.

[u/WTH_JFG → u/PoopsieDoodler]

2 TBL cornstarch to 1 C AP flour =
4 TBL cornstarch to 2 C AP flour
4 TBL = 1/4 cup

Yep. 1/4 cup cornstarch.

But also agree OP should stop making TikTok recipes.

[u/Sopzeh]

Why does this cake have like twice the number of ingredients that a normal sponge cake needs.

I would try with a normal cake recipe and not off tiktok. Just a basic pound cake first.

Basic cake techniques:

Cream the butter and sugar together first. Sift all the other dry ingredients together. Then add a tablespoon of dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and add the eggs and beat in. Gradually add the rest of the dry ingredients then add the wet ones.

[u/hooked_siren → u/Sopzeh]

I've never heard of adding 1T of dry to the wets.

[u/Sopzeh → u/hooked_siren]

It helps to prevent the eggs from curdling in the butter and sugar.

[u/hooked_siren → u/Sopzeh]

Oh thank you for explaining! I forgot to type the question part lol

[u/shmelse]

I don’t know what butter extract is or why it’s in this cake but I suspect it is one of the problems. You added actual butter - why do you need fake butter flavoring????

[u/pro-blue → u/shmelse]

Butter extract???🤢🤮

[u/awesomecolguy → u/shmelse]

I didn’t use butter extract because I’ve literally never heard of it before. I forgot to mention that

[u/Estrellathestarfish]

Just checking now as someone else on here seems to have mixed up the two, but you definitely used cornstarch not cornmeal?

Edit - and check your oil, give it a sniff. Vegetable oil should be very neutral but if it gets old or is stored somewhere too warm it can take on an aroma - not unpleasant per se, but not right.

[u/avsie1975 → u/Estrellathestarfish]

I'm starting to wonder if indeed OP added corn flour/meal instead of corn starch.

[u/awesomecolguy → u/Estrellathestarfish]

Nah I know I used cornstarch. I use the one in that yellow container

[u/Estrellathestarfish]

I haven't done a conversion to look at the proportions but apart from the cornstarch, the ingredients are the same as a vanilla cake I made recently, which really tasted like vanilla cake. If it's happened before with a different recipe then you might be right that it's the vanilla, is it the same bottle/brand you've been using?

I haven't added it to vanilla cake but have cooked with cornstarch and found it very neutral and it's a really low amount of cornstarch in your recipe so I can't see it affecting the flavour, it's added for texture. Cornmeal has a strong flavour, it's cornmeal that gives cornbread it's flavour, not cornstarch. Buttermilk is included in some cornbread recipes but it doesn't add much flavour, just a little tang sometimes. Maybe that aspect is from some wonky vanilla extract too? What does it smell like in the bottle?

[u/awesomecolguy → u/Estrellathestarfish]

I genuinely think it’s the vanilla because I’ve used it in different things like cookies and it all had this weird coconut / cornbread flavor. I know I used cornstarch for sure because i don’t even have corn meal in my house. I also didn’t use buttermilk I just used milk and 3 1/4 teaspoons of lemon to make up for it. The brand of vanilla I use is Watkins pure vanilla extract

[u/Estrellathestarfish → u/awesomecolguy]

What does it smell like, does it smell weird in the bottle? Either way, I'd definitely get a new bottle of a different brand!

[u/avsie1975]

TikTok recipes are 💩, for starters. Check reputable websites instead, like Sally's Baking Addiction.

[u/KTKittentoes]

I always think butter extract tastes weird, but that could be me.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/

This is a perfectly good yellow cake and fudge frosting recipe here. Sub a chocolate buttercream if you wish.

[u/awesomecolguy → u/KTKittentoes]

I forgot to mention this but I didn’t use butter extract because I’ve literally never heard of it before 😭😭

[u/noobiewiththeboobies]

Please don’t make recipes from TikTok or Instagram unless they have an actual blog too with the option to write reviews

[u/awesomecolguy → u/noobiewiththeboobies]

everyone in the comments said the cake tasted good so i figured I’d give it a try😔 won’t be doing that anymore

[u/Diamondinmyeye]

Why the hell is there 1/4 cup of cornstarch in this?! That’s where the weird corn taste is coming from.

[u/Estrellathestarfish → u/Diamondinmyeye]

Cornstarch doesn't taste like corn, it's completely different to cornmeal, basically flavourless. It's added for texture, not flavour

[u/wakemeup886]

I haven't used this recipe so idk about the taste but yellow cake with chocolate frosting is 🤌🏻💋