It’s moister with oil, although I’m old so I prefer the crumb and flavor you get with butter cakes. Also, oil gives you a higher margin for overbaking. Butter requires some practice. I’ve written down exactly when to take out cakes for the recipes I use. You have to account for carryover baking.
Do you like cocoa-based cakes like Devil’s Food that taste somewhat like Oreo, or cakes that taste closer to eating chocolate?
I recommend this link to get started. We’ve tried all those recipes except two. My family loves the Bravetart recipe. Of course, from that list, I’m a fan of the last place RLB recipe.
There was also a follow up bake off. This one wasn’t as “scientific”, but I wanted to highlight one observation from it. The specific ingredients do matter. Different recipes perform better with different brands. I wish authors wrote down the brands they actually use the most. It would help immensely. Is natural cocoa better than Dutch-processed? I used to say it depends on the individual. Now, I’d say that’s still true, but it depends more on the recipe.
