OK, had some sour milk I wanted to use up so I made the sour milk cake. Changes I made (you knew there would be some) I also had some blueberries I wanted to use up so I added these instead of raisins. To go with the blueberries I used 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, which I have found goes surprisingly if oddly well with blueberries. The cake took an hour and twenty minutes to bake. After an hour I covered it lightly with foil as I was concerned it might get too dark. We had some for dessert . It is quite moist and tasty, the colour is a sort of tan colour all the way through. I'll definitely make it again, maybe next time with craisins (can't resist tweaking :-) ). Thanks, Peter!

I'm curious as to why you're adding sugar/corn syrup/molasses to what is essentially a home made suet cake regardless of what product you use to take the place of real beef suet. I would assume that the only natural "sweet" wild birds might encounter would probably be in fruits and/or berries of one kind or another... therefore the question. On the other hand, if you're using the sweeteners as "glue" to hold a seed ball together, it possibly makes more sense... As to the "glue" that holds commercially available seed blocks together, its typically gelatin (think of old time school glue with the rubber top that you'd bend over to dispense the glue) although I've always assumed that a flour or corn starch paste would also work if you could figure out the correct consistency and have some way to dry out the block. I started making my own suet cakes last year since our back yard birds won't touch the commercial types. Note that I only use it during cold weather (in addition to two seed type feeders) and the birds scarf it right down. Recipe is simple and absolute amounts of this or that might vary up or down depending on what I have on hand... *I ea. small block of lard (one lb. size). Bacon fat might work I in a pinch but would contain salt and chemical residues from the curing process. *1 ea. small jar of chunky peanut butter *Sizable portion of cornmeal (the more coarse the better) *Heaping handful or so of rolled oats (acts as a binder) although steel cut oats work almost as well *Big handful or more of raw peanuts whizzed through the food processor just enough to break into smaller bits. You can also do this by smacking the peanuts between a hard surface (the anvil) and the bottom of a heavy pan (the hammer) but it's a lot messier since the broken bits tend to scatter everywhere.. *Handful of black oil sunflower seeds *Handful of plain birdseed *About a half handful of raisins And some amount of shelled sunflower kernels (salt free), safflower kernels, or other natural bird goodies as you see fit and might have on hand. Melt all together over medium to low heat and add more oats as necessary to obtain the desired consistency. I use a metal cake pan to pour the goop into until nearly cool, cut into the size required, wrap in tinfoil or plastic wrap and then store in the frig until needed. Steve

Coincidentally, I've been thinking about cake mixes...on another thread I wrote about making cupcakes for my grandson's birthday. I was just going to buy plain cupcakes and embellish them, because I want some vanilla, chocolate and need some # of gluten free. So I am really not up to making 3 batches of cupcakes (mostly because I hate the clean up in between batches). But then I realized I'd have to get unfrosted premade cupcakes from the bakery and I thought, sheesh, how lazy is that, buying cupcakes then frosting and decorating on my own. I can just whip out the plain cupcakes. A MIX, I'll use a MIX. Then I started searching on this forum for people's favorites and found this thread. And there are some references on the internet to TJ's having cake mixes, but I can't find out if they still do. Does anyone know? I love their pumpkin bread mix and buy a few boxes to last when they pull their seasonal stuff.

4charbs, is this the recipe? EASY CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CAKE 1/4 tablespoons butter (to grease) 1/4 cup flour (to dust) 1 box white cake mix 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread 2 cups hazelnuts (toasted, chopped, to garnish) CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT FROSTING : 1 stick unsalted butter 2 cups chocolate hazelnut spread 1/2 Cup heavy cream 2 Cups powdered sugar Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter, line with parchment, grease parchment with butter and coat pans with flour. Shake out any excess flour. Make white cake batter according to package instructions. Add chocolate hazelnut spread and stir to combine. Divide into cake pans and bake according to package instructions, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire baking rack. Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans to cool completely. For the Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting:In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, heavy cream and powdered sugar. Beat with a paddle attachment until fluffy. Trim the two layers of cake using a serrated knife. Ice the top of the bottom layer of the cake. Place the top layer on top of the bottom layer. Ice the outside and top of the cake. Coat the sides of the cake with chopped hazelnuts.