Dinette Cake

Very good recipe, but double the vanilla, at least, to get any flavor. Also, highligh recommend at least a 9 x 9 pan or larger for baking rather than the 8 x 8 as instructed. The batter is on the thick side, and it takes longer to cook in the cake’s center.

Will definitely make this again!

Made this today as I needed only a simple one layer cake. I used butter because that is what I had. As per another review, cream the butter and sugar AND add the four alternately with the milk, ending with milk.

I have made this several times now. Like some others, I use butter rather than shortening. This is not a refined, delicate, cake, as others have noted, but it’s an awesome, simple, super versatile and easy cake. It’s also great because it makes a modest amount, perfect for my small family. I love it because I can make it really fast with my pre-school daughter “helping.” Today, we took a cup of frozen strawberries, microwaved and pureed them, and added that in. It made 12 little strawberry cupcakes that were very moist. We just sprayed whipped cream on top and added a few sprinkles!

I used butter. It was good! Smelled great while baking and tasted good too, even before frosting. I also made this as my baby’s first birthday “smash cake”. It was nice to make the cake from scratch rather than from a box.

Not my favorite, totally worth the extra effort to make a cake that uses beaten egg whites to help with leavening

This is a great starter cake, I have made it for years. The boston cream pie variation is the best. But try filling it with a clear lemon filling and drizzle with a lemon glaze. Great, easy, and your fillings and frostings are endless.

My guests raved over this retro 1950’s style cake. I did make a few adjustments however as follows: I used baking soda and cream of tartar instead of baking powder, I used baker’s sugar, sea salt, butter instead of shortening and I upped the 100% real vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons as well as adding 2 Tablespoons of dried lemon zest and I used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of milk. My cake was perfect topped with the chocolate sour cream frosting I found elsewhere on this site and fresh raspberries to decorate the top. I was the best dessert I have made in ages.

This was not good at all:-( tasted like cardboard and was very dry.

I use this recipe when I want to make Boston Cream Pie, or have short notice dinner guest. Can’t go wrong!

On taste alone it was Delicious! But it was very crumbly very hard to eat. For me its not worth trying again…

This turned out awful for me. The flavor was lacking.

The results produce a very heavy cake, not much flavor and a very strange texture. I do alot of baking. This is just not a good recipe for me.

This is a five star. This Dinette cake recipe was in my old Betty Crocker paperback. But here’s the wonderful twist. In a 13×9 baking pan put a stick of real butter and set it in the oven to melt while the oven is warming up to 350. Meanwhile mix all the ingredients in a bowl. (I just put everything in a bowl and mix with a whisk.) When the butter is melted add 1 cup of packed brown sugar, spread evenly over the butter. Sprinkle with a good cinnamon and then *Here’s the twist* open a large (29 ozs) can of sliced peaches plus 1 small can (15 ozs) in heavy syrup and pour over the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon. Sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon and bake for about 35 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean. The “peach cobbler” will be moist and syrupy which with a good vanilla ice cream is wonderful.

I’ve been using this recipe as a base for pineapple upside down cake for years. It’s not too sweet, perfectly moist and just makes the upside down cake as a whole perfect. love it!

This is a small, versatile vanilla cake made with ingredients that are always on hand. Our family is small and we don’t really need a big cake so it’s perfect for us. I’ve used for cupcakes and strawberry shortcake, both with great results. While it is very simple, the flavor and texture are distinctly homemade–so much better than a mix, yet just as easy.

I made this cake a few different times. And it turn out great every time.

I’ve made this twice now and it’s a good recipe. Fast, easy and tasty. I used raw sugar because that’s what I had and along with vanilla, it made the cake taste and look delicious. A nice golden colour. I also used butter instead of shortening. Served it with warm, ‘from scratch’ lemon pie filling spooned over top and fresh strawberries and blueberries. It was a hit. Edit: Have made it 3 times now. Love it with the raw sugar and butter. This time I made the Seven Minute Pudding from this site, and served the pudding with sliced bananas and this cake, topped with chocolate sauce, parfait-style. Good stuff!! I love this recipe. So easy and versatile. This is a coarse-crumbed cake, like others have mentioned who didn’t like it. So if you’re looking for a finely textured cake, this wouldn’t be it. I think of it as sort of the peasant version of cake. But mine have all been moist.

It’s just a matter of personal expectations, I guess, that account for the variation in reviews of this recipe. This is a basic, standard recipe for Dinette Cake that is quite common and has been around forever, so again, liking it or not is a matter of personal preference because there isn’t anything “wrong” with the recipe. I didn’t like it and won’t tinker with it to make it better or different. It IS fluffy and moist, but it has a coarse, open crumb I found unappealing.

I absolutely loved it!! I made a cake with it the first time and made pancakes the second time with the batter and it turned out great! My husband is on a strict low salt diet, so I left out the salt and baking powder and used 1 cup of fat free skim milk instead of 2/3 cup of milk the recipe calls for. Of course when you leave out the baking powder you get a very thin cake, so the second time I used it for pancakes. My husband was able to eat pancakes for the first time in over 6 years!

This cake was a hit – everyone had seconds. I served it with strawberries and ice cream.