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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WISHING TREES TUTORIAL
"I used Sarah's Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake for the cakes and Tami's Buttercream for the frosting.
I fashioned the doves out of Marshmallow Fondant....They tasted good too. "

WELCOME TO BAKING911.COM
What is this site all about?

baking911.com is an online cookbook staffed by a well-known baking expert and cookbook author, Sarah Phillips!
It's perfect for those who want to learn
how to bake like a pro in your own home.
It's more than just a typical recipe website!

Washington Post: "...this is one useful Web site"
Chicago Tribune: "baking911.com: an excellent resource for home cooks".
Los Angeles Times: "baking911.com (is) filled with good information and is easy to use. It (has) solid baking information..."
New York Times: "...directions can be found at baking911.com".
CNN NEWS: "...visit baking911.com".
Guardian, UK: "baking911.com, home to some of the best baking know-how on the net..."

CHOCOLATE OVERLOAD CAKE TUTORIAL FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS!
SARAH SAYS: This is a easy recipe! Properly leavened cakes bake flat and require no trimming! All of my cakes can be baked and be stacked right away! No fussing! Use butter, cold, from the refrigerator!
"I just wanted to start off by saying that ya'll are absolutely amazing. Almost feels like I don't belong on this site compared to some because of the creations and the know-how that ya'll possess. I tried the Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake last night and I have to say, I don't think I've ever had a better chocolate cake. Absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T!"

Register and upgrade to a PREMIUM MEMBER to gain access to PROFESSIONAL home baking recipes, ask questions about any recipe or technique and get my PERSONALIZED AND INDIVIDUALIZED EXPERT ADVICE, online!

"...this is the only place that I have ever come across that offers REAL advice from a REAL, LIVE expert...!"

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Joining as a PREMIUM MEMBER, gives you the ability to ASK SARAH solutions to your baking problems or questions ONLINE about your recipe or choice you have made before you bake!

baking911.com includes Step-by-Step Baking Instruction & Expert Advice. Hundreds of Pages of Unique and Accurate Information in an interactive environment with over 33,000 members & 41,000 posts on the new Ask Sarah Forum.

There are over 1,000 well-tested and trustworthy PROFESSIONAL baking recipes, with NEW ones being added every month!
Includes healthy baking recipes, as well!

baking911.com receives over 9 to 12 million hits per month! It is consistently ranked in the top 5 of the most popular baking and confection websites on the internet.

CLASSIC RED VELVET CAKE CUPCAKES
by Sarah Phillips
"(They) turned out to be very moist and delicious! Of course I am not surprised, Sarah's recipes are the best. I was supposed to frost it with Cream Cheese Frosting, but then again, I did not have butter anymore so I settled for the French Buttercream that I have frozen. It was a lovely combination though."

This site is dedicated to you! Here you will find useful and step-by-step information about baking – with quality, flavor, plus accurate and detailed information always in mind.

Join the ASK SARAH FORUM and chat amongst yourselves! Share photos of your cake, sugar art or cookie creations in the Member's Only Gallery! Or, you can just linger to enjoy the conversations!

"I know my membership fee is small in comparison to the great information I receive from this site. The recipes alone are worth their weight in gold. I seriously recommend joining if you are like me and just beginning to learn about baking. This has been a great learning tool for me."

"I am a new premium member and so far LOVE IT! (it has only been a day though, this site is slightly addicting!)"

"I must say becoming a Premium Member was worth every penny. I don't think I would have gotten the attention and expert information anywhere else especially so quickly. Thank you again Sarah"

"With Sarah's recipes, you don't have to worry about erroneous directions messing up your cakes, etc. That's the great thing about her recipes! They are detailed, and they WORK AS WRITTEN."

"And I'd like to thank you Sarah because there is not one single recipe here that failed me. Whenever I fail, it's because there is something that I did wrong and you were always there to answer my questions."

CHIFFON CAKE TUTORIAL
"I have never seen a chiffon cake rise as high as this one does - 5 to 5-1/2-inches!"
"Thanks Sarah!!! Every recipe I have tried so far from yours has worked each and every time!!! My favorite and the one i get the most raves about is your chiffon recipe which i used it on this one to and everyone went on and on about how moist the cake was!!!"

RASPBERRY CLOUD MINI-LAYER CAKE
The delicate raspberry flavor of this Genoise cake, filled with raspberry preserves and frosted with hot pink colored buttercream, topped with gum paste flowers or fresh raspberries, is hard to beat. This recipe can be made with other flavor combinations....
"I made Sarah's Raspberry Cloud Cake yesterday.... We had it for dessert today and it was so heavenly! Sarah thanks for the wonderful recipe, it was another hit."

WHO IS SARAH PHILLIPS?

Sarah Phillips is the Founder and CBO (Chief Baking Officer) of baking911.com, cookbook author and professional baker. Her advice, original content and research from this site are quoted Nationwide in magazines and newspapers, such as in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, LA Times, and others. Links to baking911.com are posted widely on other cooking and baking forums, blogs and websites on the internet.

I am an expert baker and provide solutions to baking problems. You can ask me questions and get professional answers, too!
I answer your questions in a timely fashion!

I have a twenty year proven track record! You can apply my techniques to any baking recipe.

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Have baking questions? Want to learn how to improve your baking? Need professional home recipes?
ASK SARAH FORUM AND EXCLUSIVE RECIPES

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CLASSIC COCONUT LAYER CAKE
Cake frosted with Sarah's Cream Cheese Icing and filled and decorated with Pineapple Curd.
"Sarah, I'm addicted! And, I'm getting everyone around me addicted to this cake. This time I made it in 6" pans, 1/2 recipe for 2 - 6" x 2" layers. Same filling and frosting with toasted coconut around the sides....I just can't say thank you enough~ THANKS!"

baking911.com is an online cookbook!
Need well-tested recipes?
Choose among a thousand or more!
Register and upgrade to a PREMIUM MEMBER to enjoy my EXCLUSIVE and PROFESSIONAL home baking recipes!

START HERE>
Register and select upgrade to a
PREMIUM MEMBER ON THE
ASK SARAH FORUM

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Ask questions about any recipe or technique and get EXPERT answers!
I offer you a money-back guarantee!

How are our tutorials different?
We go into much more depth than other websites!
We explain every single baking step and where you can go wrong! We show your pictures where it matters!
Most of our tutorials have 40 or more color photos each!
We take the time to explain in detail, the how's and why's of baking!
We show you how to fix your mistakes and what the batter or dough should look like at every single mixing stage!

AND, YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS AND GET ANSWERS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!
I offer you a money-back guarantee!

~Find out WHAT'S NEW THIS MONTH FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS!~

RECIPES FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS:

Scratch Cake from a Mix
by Sarah Phillips
"This is Sarah's Scratch cake from a mix using spice cake on the 8" bottom layers and yellow cake on the 6" top layers. I tapered the 8" layer up to meet the 6" top layer and tapered that one to 4". I also used Sarah's MMF. Both are excellent recipes! The petunias and lilies are royal icing. The butterflies are gum paste with royal icing bodies."
All new taste and innovative recipe! Works much better than the White Almond Sour Cream Cake we are familiar with! No chemical after-taste!

baking911.com is an online cookbook!

Once a member of the ASK SARAH FORUM, feel free to UPGRADE to a PAID PREMIUM MEMBER at any time, and gain special access to my online interactive cookbook - filled with hundreds of my EXCLUSIVE step-by-step recipes, created just for you - As a PREMIUM MEMBER, you can ask my expert advice, over and over, again, and be able to view thousands of posts and unique content - all about baking!

Did you know that most US cookbooks are printed in Asia, and then shipped to around the world for sale?
This comes at a great environmental cost: pollution - especially carbon dioxide - the main global warming gas - not to mention Asia's lax environmental controls of allowing printing by-products to be dumped in rivers, greatly harming people and the environment!
~
I am a cookbook author, and have decided to "publish" all of my recipes online, instead of in hard-copy printed books - It's my way of helping to save the environment, allowing myself greater creative freedom so you can get the most up-to-date trends and information - instead of your waiting years to read about my ideas and latest recipes in a costly, hard-cover book!
Being online also allows me to post color photos with each recipe, step-by-step information, add new recipes every day or month, and enables you to "chat" with me, one-on-one, every day from your home - to ask me questions about recipes before, during and after you bake!
~
I feel as though baking911.com is helping to pave the way to a better future! !
What more could you want from a baking website!

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Register and select upgrade to a
PREMIUM MEMBER ON THE
ASK SARAH FORUM

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Ask questions about any recipe or technique and get EXPERT advice!
I offer you a money-back guarantee!

RECIPES FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS:

ULTIMATE BUTTER CAKE by Sarah Phillips

QUESTION FROM ANNA: I have tried several cake recipes from scratch. It seems that all have turned out very dry. Is there something I could add to bring some moisture into my cakes?
ANSWER FROM SARAH PHILLIPS: You can add moisture to your cake by torting the layers and filling them with jam, or brushing the layers with sugar syrups, but it is a band-aid approach! The best way is to bake a moist cake recipe! I have moist cake recipes on this website I developed because I have taken a lot of time to address this number one complaint people have about cakes.

You may want to try my
Ultimate Butter Cake, 1234 Buttermilk Cake, Red Velvet Layer Cake, Classic White Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, to name a few! My cake recipes also include tutorials so you can view exactly how to make these types of cakes because overmixing and overbaking can also produce dry cakes - but it really starts with the recipe! Many cake recipes will produce dry cakes no matter how perfectly well you mix and bake them! All of my cake recipes bake flat because they are properly leavened and balanced, requiring no trimming.

RESULT: ANNA: Thank you so much. This Ultimate Butter Cake is delicious and moist....I am so excited to have a moist cake made from scratch. I was beginning to think that this was not possible. Just learning to decorate cakes and wanted to surely have a delicious foundation to begin with. Thanks again, Anna

Vintage Photo ~ My love of baking started early! Sarah Phillips (far left), age 6
photos © Sarah Phillips, baking911.com

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~ THE RECIPES FOR SUCCESS
for PREMIUM MEMBER'S~

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~

CLASSIC RED VELVET CAKE by Sarah Phillips
SARAH SAYS: Most Red Velvet Cakes are dry. I have a thing about eating dry cakes - no good! So, I make sure I work harder to create cake recipes that are moist. It is because I became so tired of eating butter cakes that are dry and flavorless. So, I took a lot of time to develop this recipe so it was tender and had a good mouthfeel. The cake layers bake flat - the way properly leavened cakes should! Just stack and go!

PERFECT BAKING IDEA for an Elegant New Year's Eve!
"The final black and white cupcakes looked beautiful and really elegant, but best of all it was delicious. The cake was very good and particularly rich especially with the melted chocolates inside."

Lemon Cupcakes!
"The cupcakes looked really pretty, they domed nicely and not one cupcake fell out of the liner! This recipe is quite a keeper, I said to myself. The cupcakes also never fell flat once cooled. I immediately tried one of the cupcakes and it was so lemony good...it was fluffy and moist."

SOUR CREAM APPLE STREUSEL PIE!
"The taste of this pie is very sophisticated. I LOVE the combination of the tart apples, sour cream custard and the rich, crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. This makes the PERFECT Thanksgiving pie!"
"Not to sound braggy , BUT, my sour cream apple pie was the best tasting pie on that (Thanksgiving) table. I am so glad that Sarah was able to deconstruct the original recipe so we can make it at home."

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Chocolate, Lemon and Orange Variations! LATEST VARIATION - Butter Pecan Glazed Pound Cake

"Thanks to Sarah for her Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe and the precise tutorial; for the first time I successfully bake a great tasting pound cake with cream cheese. As I mentioned in another forum, this type of cake have always been challenging for me. I followed the flawless tutorial and glazed it with her butter pecan glaze recipe! Scrumptious!! Coodles to Ms. Sarah Phillips!!"

Decorated Layered Mini-Cheesecake & Cream Cheese Pound Cake Tutorial

DELICIOUS FOR DESSERT....
ALLSPICE APPLESAUCE LAYER CAKE with
WHITE CHOCOLATE ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM by Sarah Phillips
Of course, Step-by-Step!
"The cake is very delicious! The combination of spices, nuts and raisins gave the cake a burst of flavors. I was never a spice cake lover, but I think it is because I ate the wrong cakes! I totally love this cake! The buttercream also provides a luxurious taste that is complimentary, but not overpowering. I had better watch my diet! "

merllgirl: I am learning so much about baking being a member of this site!! Through Baking 911, I am understanding the science of baking, which heightens my development as a baker. I enjoy new baking adventures...being a premium member is definitely a plus!

dfoley: Hi Sarah, First let me say that your site is invaluable and I cannot express how much it helps me every week! Thanks for your expert advice and for bringing baking enthusiasts together.

zaxmom: Hi Sarah,

Thank you very much for reminding me that my premium membership has expired. I've been meaning to renew for weeks now, but have been distracted with the holidays. I finally renewed today. Your site is the best and I can't tell you how much your personal attention and help have meant to me throughout the year. Your step by step tutorials are great. Time for more videos! It's a pleasure and privilege to be a premium member of baking911. It's also wonderful getting help from other "preemies" who post on the forums.

Hope you are enjoying the holidays and thanks again. I'm looking forward to more great recipes, personal attention, and the best baking info on the net in 2009.

Warmest wishes,
Zaxmom

blueeyedbear via email: re: renewing Premium Membership - thanks for ALL of your help. your web site and cookbook are fantastic! (your red velvet cake recipe is still my favorite!!)

dawkinsd: I do greatly appreciate your response. You and the team are the only valid source of information that I really trust to be correct without any biases.

kathy13: I forgot to say I am very excited to find this site; it seems full of very useful information. As I said I am a novice so I will need all the help I can get. Kathy13

MooCookies: Thanks for all your help!! I love this website! If I find a recipe I like, I come here first to see if there's a better version or tips that will help me along the way.

divabaker: Hi Sarah,
Glad i found you site. Like you, I've never brought ingredients to room temperature, just used straight from fridge. Also i agree wholeheartedly with you about the creaming sugar & butter til light & fluffy method in cookies. Makes them flat, and I hate flat cookies. Last, Like you, I've always sifted flour before measuring. Tried measuring then sifting after seeing Chefs on tv do it and it resulted in too much flour.

Glad to know that there is someone out that uses the same logic of baking as I, or vise-versa sin you have been at it much longer (as I am 38 yrs old). I've been baking from scratch since I was in high school. Started when I had a couple failures with box mixes .

Congratulations on your accomplishments & I look forward to exploring your site. Sheblea

barbaby: It's all your fault Sarah. I went from baking the occasional cake mix to little miss Susie Homemaker. If it wasn't for you and all the support I have gotten here from everyone else I never would have attempted anything like I have done. I am now the designated family baker but I do love it.
I sincerely appreciate everyone that has given me their advice.
Well I guess I have gone on long enough so I'll close with one last note.
If anyone is debating about joining as a Premium Member just know that any questions you may have can be answered here. There is a wealth of information and if Sarah doesn't have the answer she will get it for you. This has been an investment worth every penny. Her recipes alone are worth their weight in gold.
Thanks again and Happy Holidays to everyone.
Barbbaby

cynthia0915: Hi! I'm from the Philippines and I just joined as a premium member of your site. I'm a newbie wanting to learn to bake for myself and my family. I find your site very informative and the fact that I could get detailed instructions make it more convenient for me rather than attending a baking class. You see, I have a full time office job and I can't afford to take a time off and pay for attending a baking class. It was really a good thing that I found this site. Thanks, Cynthia

zaxmom: Hi Sarah, First, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. My pie baking was successful, so I thank you for your help in making that happen!!!

baking911.com is an online cookbook!
Need well-tested recipes?
Choose among a thousand or more!
Register and upgrade to a PREMIUM MEMBER to enjoy my EXCLUSIVE recipes!

START HERE>
Register and select upgrade to a
PREMIUM MEMBER ON THE
ASK SARAH FORUM

Login Not a Member? Register
Ask questions about any recipe or technique and get EXPERT advice!
I offer you a money-back guarantee!

SARAH SAYS:

baking911.com is unique!
The website is filled with recipes I have developed and techniques that help solve your everyday baking problems!

Every recipe is well-tested. There's no more guessing whether it will work, saving you money and time! Wasting ingredients today are very costly!

There are step-by-step recipe tutorials that are detailed, with tips and techniques
that work!

WHAT PREMIUM MEMBERS ARE BAKING AND THEIR COMMENTS (MORE)

Scratch Cake from a Mix by Sarah Phillips
kjp1984: I really love the white/vanilla cake mix from scratch recipe and I use it for most of my cakes nowdays.

Pecan Turtle Bars
mom2kate: These are really wonderful. I put them in gift baskets, along with cut out cookies, bon bons, and linzer cookies. They are really yummy, and quite easy to make. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Pumpkin-Walnut Cream Cheese Cake Roll Tutorial by Sarah Phillips
chefcandy: i also made the amazing wonderful pumpkin roll for my son to take to a dinner party. it took me less than an hour to make it, fill it and whip cream it. it was a tad warm when i filled it. it was perfect... they inhaled it. i also made the pumpkin swirl quick bread yesterday, that's already gone.

Amish Friendship Starter & Bread
cake4two: Good morning Sarah, attach is a picture of my Amish Friendship Bread that I made and it came out delicious using your starter recipe and using the rest of my recipe to complete the bread. Friends and family loved them that I will continue to make for the remainder of the holiday season. They make great holiday gifts as well, which I will give out with some of my homemade cookies. Take care and have a good day.

Chicken Pot Pie by Kelly CA
esterm: hi! i made this for supper last night and it was a big hit!! thank you so much! ester

Creative Cut-out Sugar Cookies by Sarah Phillips, Glazed with Royal Icing or Fondant Glaze
kmetour: ...the cookies were yummy!

Creamy and Luscious No Crack Cheesecake by Sarah Phillips
meefy: I have had great success with the no crack cheesecake...

Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake by Sarah Phillips
buckeyegirl: ...this cake is great! I didn't get a taste of it until today (4 days after making it!). It was still moist. I'd used the Easy chocolate frosting. The 3 layers were so high that we only used 2 of them for the cake! I will definitely make this again....

Priscilla's Orange Sponge Cake Frosted with Orange Swiss Meringue Buttercream Tutorial by Sarah Phillips
odette: Hi Sarah, I made your mom's recipe of Orange Sponge Cake and it was so good! It is the fluffiest and softest cake that I've ever made, and by far is my best cake crumb!
Once the cake is cooled, I decorated it with simple pipes of the buttercream....I cut the cake and the texture was very fine. This is the fluffiest cake that I've ever made. The texture was so fine and soft, it's like made with a mix! And, the color was perfect light yellow.I'm so happy with how the cake turned out, it's so delicious because of the orange flavor that it imparts with every bite. The recipe itself was a classic, and even if it is just my first time baking a real sponge cake, it was successful. I love this cake, now definitely one of my staples.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Sarah Phillips
CYNDI65: Thanks again Sarah! It worked like a charm!! I didn't have a lemon peel, so I used 1 1/2 tsp of lemon and it is awesome!

Pumpkin Carrot Bread
chefcandy: This is a wonderful quick bread.

Pumpkin Cheesecake by Sarah Phillips, Scented with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
Cdnshaz: I made this the other day, and my family are not struck on pumpkin but they loved this....I used (frozen) pumpkin puree (no pumpkin in UK) and as I don't have all the time in the world I used pumpkin pie spices....Not a crack or wrinkle....

Make Ahead Dinner Rolls by Sarah Phillips
merllgirl: I like Sarah's "Make Ahead Dinner Roll" recipe as well.

Dulce de Leche Swirled Cheesecake by Sarah Phillips
dinieby: It was great....They ate it today with the chocolate sauce that was with your recipe. One person order one for christmas.

The Ultimate Butter Cake (UBC) by Sarah Phillips
dimitrina73 from Bulgaria: Here is my first trial of this recipe. I loved the cake - paired with the White Chocolate-Raspberry Ganache Frosting and Filling. Thank you for the detailed step-by-step recipes!

Snickerdoodles by Sarah Phillips
Kelly CA: They are a humble looking cookie...the kind of cookie you could bake with your children or grandchildren. They are very simple to make...You just roll the dough in balls and toss them in cinnamon-sugar, and bake. That's it! The taste, however, is quite complex. They are buttery, crisp-chewy and spicy-sweet.

Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake by Sarah Phillips, Relish in a double blast of chocolate
darcie983: I just wanted to start off by saying that ya'll are absolutely amazing. Almost feels like I don't belong on this site compared to some because of the creations and the know-how that ya'll possess. I tried the Ultimate Chocolate Butter Cake last night and I have to say, I don't think I've ever had a better chocolate cake. Absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies by Sarah Phillips, Soft and cakey
CYNDI65: Can I say YUMMMMMMM! These cookies are so good and I love that they are soft and chewy!...These cookies have a great flavor!

Sarah's Thick-with-a-Chew Chocolate Chip Cookies
kjz: Hi Sarah, I have been making your Thick-With-A-Chew-Chocolate Chip Cookies and my family and friends love them!
chefcandy: my thick with a chew chocolate chip cookies came out beautiful.

Classic White Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Step-by-Step by Sarah Phillips
msbreez: I a