such interesting topic about sharing recipes.  personally, i do share all recipes, and feel that you need more than a recipe to make a great product.  even with cake bible recipes, that are written and explained in well detail, one get results slightly different than others.  if you have a recipe you mastered and are well welcomed by your people, it is very unlikely to be duplicated by anyone trying the same recipe… unless they have the exact same equipment, baking conditions, environment, and ingredients.  i even go farther in sharing my recipes by inviting people over to watch or by going to their homes.

but i would never share a recipe that i got from a book.  book writers get paid very little for what they do, and books are much more affordable nowadays, so i refer them to buy the book!

Ski, there’s a lot of wise advice here from other members with which I whole heartedly agree.

My philosophy is to be generous of heart and mind. Have enough confidence in yourself to give the original recipe, without your refinements and don’t fear being shown up by your friends. Everyone cooks and bakes a little differently anyway, even using the same recipe. I have watched my mother bake a cake and followed her technique and recipe, yet the cake still comes out not quite the same. Just feel flattered that others compliment you on your cookies and want to emulate.

Those who leave out an essential ingredient or give wrong recipes are mean spirited and are found out soon enough. Not such a good way to win friends and influence people! Better to not give the recipe in the first place than to gain such a reputation.

Thanks for your advice everyone. i Know what you mean that two people making the same recipe always comes out different (I know that because my moms recipe for sauce is the one I use, and our sauce tastes TOTALLY different!)...but I guess I just feel bad if I give them out the recipe (or refer them to the recipe) and NOT inform them of my changes, or tips. That to me is mean…

  So the way I see it, I need to either give recipes to them with ALL my changes, or not give it to them at all.

This is such an interesting topic. I agree about two people trying the same recipe and the end product being different. I have tried one of my aunt’s cake recipes (which my brother loves and I tried to make for him) and it never turns out like hers. It tastes completely different. 

Joan - 19 April 2009 03:32 PM

Thanks, Ski - I think I shall open a new topic “coconut cake” and see if some ideas come forth. The posts I have seen weren’t too current. So that will be fun. I have never started a topic.

I normally would not recommend a cake recipe from anyone but Rose, but…the Barefoot Contessa has a wonderful recipe for coconut cake.  She puts coconut in her batter.  The cream cheese frosting is absolutely divine—but watch the volume after you sift the confectioner’s sugar.  You may need to add more to make up for any they blew away during sifting and mixing.  (That happened to me once.)  I’ve done this using Rose’s lemon curd as a filling.  I’ve also just frosted it the way Ina does.  People love this cake.  Here’s the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cake-recipe/index.html

Thanks so much Maureen! I will try it soon.  > ’ . ’ <    joan

You’re welcome, Joan.  Happy baking.

I agree with the bakers here who have said that the same recipe in someone else’s hands is most likely not going to turn out the same; maybe not necessarily bad but not the same. I don’t mind sharing recipes but the only ones I tend to want to keep to myself are ones that have special meaning to me from my family growing up—my Dad’s love for the Pfeffernüsse cookies my Mom made from a cookbook, her banana cake that is his all-time favorite, Mom’s butter cookies, things like that.

My sister got a very good baked French toast recipe online years ago and I made it for Chrismtas Eve brunch one year. My one SIL loved it and makes it pretty frequently now, my sister still gets annoyed about that. They don’t come out the same, either!

I’m a sharer…I always share my recipies.  I was once given a secret recipe for cheese cake…My friend’s best friend’s mother made them…and it was a secret secret secret.  I was told…“never ever ever give out this recipe”.  Anyway…i’ve been making it for years.

I was invited to my friends John and Barbara for dinner.  As dessert… Barb brings out a beautiful home made cheesecake.  I take one bite and knew it was the same recipe. 

I asked her where she got it…she said a “Betty Crocker Cook Book”.  She took out the book, I checked the recipe…EXACTLY THE SAME. So much for the secret.

Bill:  LOL   >’ . ‘<

Bill - 19 May 2009 01:57 PM

I’m a sharer…I always share my recipies.  I was once given a secret recipe for cheese cake…My friend’s best friend’s mother made them…and it was a secret secret secret.  I was told…“never ever ever give out this recipe”.  Anyway…i’ve been making it for years.

I was invited to my friends John and Barbara for dinner.  As dessert… Barb brings out a beautiful home made cheesecake.  I take one bite and knew it was the same recipe. 

I asked her where she got it…she said a “Betty Crocker Cook Book”.  She took out the book, I checked the recipe…EXACTLY THE SAME. So much for the secret.

That is hilarious! Great story Bill.

Love that story, it made me smile!

That’s really funny Bill!

It heartens me to know that someone else feels as I do - recipes I’ve prepared (some I’ve actually written), are only grudgingly shared if at all.  If something is splashed all over the internet and I haven’t actually kept the link or don’t have the printout can be found by giving the interested party the search criteria I used.  However, I’ve been baking NY style cheesecakes since I was about 20 and have tweaked and honed the recipe over time.  I rarely if ever give it out and certainly not to anyone who might sell the cakes.

The one thing I won’t do is purposely mess up or omit an ingredient.  That’s just downright cruel.  I wouldn’t want to have to toss a whole batch of anything because the recipe failed.  Not to mention if someone did that to me it would probably mean the end of a friendship.