I will relate my experience with my DW bought in 1996 and this current one purchased in 2006. For the previous one Electrasol tabs with jet dry cleaned just fine, but they created a lot of suds. If I opened the door there was at least 1/2 inch of suds on top of the water. I stopped using them and switched to Electrasol powder with chlorine bleach. The manual for my previous DW said not to use Gels or liquids so I never tried those in that machine. I don't care for the scent of Cascade powders so I've tried them but usually won't buy them due to the scents. Anyway the new machines allow you to use tabs or liquids because there are settings for different types of detergents. The machine will adapt its behavior to the settings. If you use a tablet with rinseAid built in it will not dispense rinse aid and it will also adjust the cycle for hard tablets. I have say that on the box of tabs containing Jet Dry it says that you may still need to use a separate rinse aid if your water is hard. I used the the tabs with jet dry which were purchased in 2007 and there were no suds, and use the new red ball tab also without suds. That said I don't think there are any more detergents sold in the USA that contain rinse Aid. The new formulation of Electrasol tabs does not contain jet dry rinse aid, at least not by reading the description on the box. I still have boxes of the old formula and have compared the composition of the tablet as described on the box. The old formula: white layer contains detergent blue layer contains presoakers the little white ball contains Jet Dry rinse agent. The new Red Ball formula: white layer contains detergent the blue layer contains Jet Dry rinse agent action the little red ball contains presoakers. the tab contains etch protector From this I don't think containing Jet dry and having Jet Dry rinse agent action is the same thing. Maybe I am being to critical but the box says "3n1 100% clean plus Jet-Dry shine" I also use Electrasol gel pacs and get very good results. These also have Jet Dry rinse agent action and enzymes in the gel. The only thing about pacs and most tablets is that you cannot control the dosage. I did a dissolve test using a water temp of 104F which is the temp of the short wash. I shook the solution in a bottle which may not be as vigorous as the action inside the DW. I found that: ElectraSol tabs would not dissolve in 104F. Cascade powder would not dissolve in 104F Miele tabs completely dissolved at 104F ElectraSol powder almost completely dissolved at 104F. The manual says not to use tabs with the short wash. So at least with this current model it has sittings for tabs so I guess Miele is saying you can use them. If anyone knows of a detergent that still contains rinse agent I would like to know. It seems that all detergents now contain some form of etch protector and not rinse aid..I wonder if there is something in these new formulations that increases the chances for etching, thus the protection has been included to help mitigate? One last thing. I have used Electrasol powder with chlorine bleach in this machine. I used it in the previous one. It works for normal soil, but it does not always clean stuck on baked on items as well as an enzyme detergent. A few weeks ago I tried Electrasol Gel - also with chlorine bleach. It left a white film covering everything in the DW - don't know why but I am not using it again. So for Gels Cascade Gel and, Electra Sol Gel pacs(no CB) work good in my water conditions. Electra Sol tabs the old and new formulations work well, Miele tabs work well, Cascade action Paks work well. Ecover left grit all over everything including the insides of the machine...NEVER AGAIN. Cascade powder works very well too I just don't like the scent I smell when I dispense it.

I agree with Christine. A quarter sheet cake pan will hold 12 to 14 cups of batter. So a recipe that yields 5 to 6 cups of batter, would still be good, but would be pretty flat baked in a 9"x13" sheet pan. Btw, you don't really need to invest in a Bundt pan. If you have an 8" round cake pan, you can create your own "Bundt" pan. Use either an aluminum drinking cup (like the retro aluminum tumblers) greased the same as the pan, and centered into the prepared pan. Or, you can buy a cake Heating Core to transform any pan into an Angel Food or Bundt pan. Another option, is to make your own Heating Core. Sounds a little pioneering, but it's actually commonly done by bakers, and here is how: Stack several layers (about 4-5 pieces) of heavy aluminum foil. Tightly wrap around a form, such as a smooth-sided drinking glass, remove and grease before placing it in the center of your baking pan. Hold it in place as you pour the batter into the pan. If you'd rather not bother with any of the above, just take an empty, clean soup can, grease and place it in the center of your cake pan, and bake. After 5-10 minutes, remove the can, by gently twisting it out of the baked cake. Sol

I have made jam cake, though it's been a while. AFAIK, it's an old Southern recipe, almost a pioneer recipe. It's one of my "go-to's" for excess jams or jam's that have been on the shelf a little longer than I like. My Southern Heritage Cakes cookbook has a Heritage Jam Cake, which uses grape jam and a fruit filling between the layers; a Blackberry Jam Cake with a powdered sugar glaze over a 10" bundt; and a Church Jam Cake with strawberry jam and an Eggnog Icing with 1/4 cup of bourbon (rather funny for a "church" cake - someone had a sense of humor). There are tons of jam cake recipes out there. You don't have to use the one I've linked to. You might want to do a search and see what else is out there. Some are akin to fruitcakes. In fact, my mother's old dark fruitcake calls for plum butter as one of the ingredients (along with a good amount of whiskey). Honestly, I've never had a problem with boiling over as the previous poster described. But we may have used different recipes or it may be a difference of ovens or pans. I see it as basically a moist spice cake which falls into the carrot cake or applesauce cake class. It only has 1 tsp. soda as the leavening, so I'm not seeing where the boiling up would come from as long as the pan has sufficient capacity to allow for a reasonable rise. A 10" springform is 12 cups, so again, that's the same as two 9-inch pans. But you could certainly use less batter to be more conservative and then bake the excess as cupcakes. Or do one 9" pan to frost for company and the remainder as cupcakes. I have to admit you have me on the pectin. I don't normally use it except for pepper jelly. If I were to guess, I'd speculate that pectin, like lecithin, will inhibit aging and staleness (which is not a bad thing). It may change the texture slightly, but since this is a heavier moister type of cake anyway, I doubt it will be an issue. I do think, though, that unless your plum jam is quite tart, you could cut back the sugar by 1/2 cup or so. (If you like the recipe you might try cutting more on a future baking try, but for now that could be a good start.) I wouldn't thin with more brandy. I'd just use water to get the plum jam to a "normal" texture. It's cheaper, it will do the job and have no additional effect on the flavor. In fact, you might be able to salvage that jam for other uses by stirring in a warm Tablespoon of water per 8 oz. jar or by gently warming the jam in the microwave on low and stirring in water, however much is needed. It can't do any harm and may counteract some of the rubberiness. [Not that I've ever had to salvage a jam experiment gone wrong, LOL.] Carol

I like parchment better than waxed paper....here's my favorite carrot cake recipe...From JT's Cuisine...cookbook...to give credit where credit is due. Carrot cake Julie T’s 3 eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup buttermilk 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tsps cinnamon 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour Buttermilk glaze 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup butter 1 Tblsp light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup softened butter 4 oz softened cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Buttermilk glaze: In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake Cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.