Jay

I used half the sugar and it was still pretty sweet. Substituted celery seed for the poppy seed, much improved. A twist of lemon just before serving brightened it up quite a bit. I didn’t add the oil at all. Not necessary. Will make again, but maybe a little less sugar and will definitely keep the other changes.

Frosting was the best I’ve ever made. Not the best I’ve ever had. But couldn’t tell you what the secret ingredient was in that one. I substituted good butter for margarine and used banana extract instead of vanilla and it was delicious. Will never buy frosting again.

I think this is the best Pretzel recipe on the site, super easy, and delicious. These pretzels put the frozen store brand to shame, and can be made in about 15 minutes with a stand mixer and some good coordination and a preheated oven. I want to try making with barley malt and increasing the soda bath time by 5 seconds, but WOW is all that I can say.

I made the recommended alterations from the original recipe, batter was a little thick and cake was a little heavy, but delicious. Used only an ounce of food coloring, (about 2.5 T Spoons) and the color was beautiful. Also I used the coco powder to grease and dust the pans. Cake needs to be lighter and fluffier, but will make again.