Here's our version, and its definitely a family favorite! Confession Cake 1 DevilÂs Food Cake mix 1 3 oz. pkg. Instant chocolate pudding mix 2 cups sour cream 1 cup melted butter (2 sticks) 5 eggs 1 tsp. almond extract 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Oven 350 degrees Mix together: the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and almond extract. Beat on low to medium speed until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Add chocolate chips, and stir well. Pour into well-greased bundt pan. Bake 50-55 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then invert onto serving plate. Cool cake completely before cutting. No icing needed, just sprinkle with powdered sugar, or leave plain. Try different cake mix, pudding, and chip combinations. We like raspberry flavored chocolate chips in the chocolate. Jan

Why it worked. And when it won't: Question: What Is the Difference Between Baking Soda & Baking Powder? Answer: Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions. Baking Soda Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat! Baking Powder Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powdersreact in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven. How Are Recipes Determined? Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You'll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits. Here is a link that might be useful: From About.com

Well, I made some corn bread last night. 24 gem muffins and one mini-loaf. Kept mixing to an absolute minimum, there were plenty of lumps (like Mom always told me to leave alone) and the results were very tasty. Like I said before, good flavor and crumb, no tunnels. But still, I got the Sombrero look. Not as much as I have gotten with straight muffin recipes but there. The loaf had more of it than the gem muffins. The flour info is interesting. I knew different flours had different gluten levels (never could make a decent wheat loaf until I heard about adding a wee bit of gluten flour) but as I use the same flour from batch to batch, that in and of itself doesn't explain why this only happens sometimes! A couple of weeks ago, I made a pan of cornbread that looked beautiful...modestly and evenly domed. Sigh. Okay, promised Lemon Bread Recipe: Lemon Bread 1 c oil 2 c sugar 4 eggs 3 c flour 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 c buttermilk 1 c chopped walnuts (see my notes) 2 T grated lemon peel Topping: 1 c sugar 1/2 c lemon juice Cream oil and sugar together; add eggs, slightly beaten. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Beat into mixture, alternately with buttermilk, until smooth. Stir in chopped nuts and lemon peel. Spoon into greased 9"x5" pans. Bake for 1 hour in a 350 F preheated oven. Cool Slightly. Remove from pans. Heat topping ingredients until sugar is melted. Place loaves on pieces of foil. Pour topping over bread. Cool, wrap and store in refrigerator or freezer. Makes 2 loaves. The above is the recipe as it appears in, "The Tastes Of California Wine Country Napa/Sonoma, written and compiled by Sonnie Imes. It is a cookbook I've had for years, featuring recipes from various Bed & Breakfasts in that area. The Lemon Bread recipe comes from a place called, "Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza" which, to my knowledge still exists, though whether they still serve this bread is anyone's guess. My Notes: This bread is fine made with your basic lemon. But I far prefer Meyer Lemons for their rich flavor. I do not add walnuts for two reasons,for one thing, I've never cared for nuts in quick breads. They lose any crispness, becoming mere chewy lumps as far as I'm concerned. For the second thing, walnuts give me mini blisters on my tongue. I sometimes do add dried cranberries, plumped slightly in some sort of fruit liqueur. Most often, I just let the lemon flavor stand alone. One can always serve the bread with a fruit puree on the side or a good, home made jam. The recipe calls for you to "pour topping over bread." I have found that direction to be inadequate. Place the loaf in a large baking dish or serving dish, something that has sides to catch the liquid topping and large enough for room to spoon it up as it pools so you can drizzle it back onto the loaf. The loaves should absorb every bit of the topping. Turn the loaves on their sides to soak up pooled topping as well. The top and sides of the loaf should be well inundated. Just before serving, I sprinkle the loaves with lemon flavored powdered sugar. I make this by whirring sugar, more lemon peel (I grate extra when I make the loaves and leave it out to dry a bit while they bake) and a few drops of lemon extract in a spice grinder. Plain powdered sugar would do, of course. This must be done just before serving because the sticky topping will soak into the sugar if given time to do so, leaving it icky looking. This is wonderful served as a "strawberry shortcake" in lieu of the shortcake.

I don't think you can change the proportions too much and still get a great sponge cake. Every memory of sponge cake I can conjure has a sugary taste. If you feel like experimenting, you can reduce it and see what you get. The alterations in texture might be an acceptable tradeoff for you. I would start by only taking it down 20 g, though. Whether it would work or not for sponge cake, I don't know, but I've read that demerara sugar tastes less sweet. I've never used it and don't know how it bakes. It obviously has a molasses component. You do have to smash it up in the food processor, and/or let it soak in the liquid (egg) to dissolve thoroughly, but it might also be worth a try if you're in the mood to play around.