White Cake Success
After my earlier post about my disappointing white cake experiment, it's only fitting that I share the next, much more successful experiment, as well as a photo or two of the end result (which, I'm proud to say, went down a real treat - excuse the pun - at the aforementioned birthday party). Feeling a little bit blue about the dry, distinctly lacklustre cake I had produced in my first attempt, I consulted fellow ex-pat and baker extraordinaire, Meg, who sometimes blogs at Emmeline and Annabelle. She obligingly sent me the recipe she always uses, and it was perfect: moist but not too dense, buttery but not overly rich, and with just the right hint of vanilla. Not only that, but it couldn't have been easier to make. Love, love, love tasty, simple recipes!! (The recipe follows after the break.)
Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from Apples for Jam
250g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
290g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
185 ml buttermilk
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line two 8in cake tins.
Using handheld beaters or a stand alone mixer, cream butter and sugar together and beat until light and fluffy. With mixer still going at low speed, add eggs one at a time. (If the mixture begins to split, add a tiny bit of flour to help bring it back together again.) When fully incorporated, add the vanilla and then sift in flour and baking powder. Mix well, adding the buttermilk a little bit at a time. Pour the mixture into prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes. (To check: the finished cake should be golden brown in colour, and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.) Cool on wire racks before removing from tins.
xTina
To complete the cake in all of its lovely buttery, vanilla-y goodness, I used the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting from the amazing Smitten Kitchen blog. This is a more complex version of basic buttercream frosting made by gently heating (and thus pasteurizing) egg whites with caster sugar before beating until doubled in size and adding in butter, flavouring, and colouring. The result is an incredibly light, whipped buttercream that tastes fantastic and pipes like a dream! The birthday girl dove straight into the frosting on her piece of cake and couldn't seem to get enough of it. A huge success as far as I'm concerned!
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| The finished cake. I made the decorative bunting that you can just see at the top of the photo following the instructions here. |
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| A plate of mini cupcakes just in case the cake wasn't big enough. |
Here's the cake as I made it...
Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from Apples for Jam
250g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
290g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
185 ml buttermilk
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line two 8in cake tins.
Using handheld beaters or a stand alone mixer, cream butter and sugar together and beat until light and fluffy. With mixer still going at low speed, add eggs one at a time. (If the mixture begins to split, add a tiny bit of flour to help bring it back together again.) When fully incorporated, add the vanilla and then sift in flour and baking powder. Mix well, adding the buttermilk a little bit at a time. Pour the mixture into prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes. (To check: the finished cake should be golden brown in colour, and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.) Cool on wire racks before removing from tins.
xTina
wooohooooo I get a mention!!! Thank you soooo much for my yummy cake for my First Birthday Auntie Tina I simply LOVED my cupcake. I think you're so clever and gifted and Maman thinks so too ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!! So glad you liked the cake! :)
Deletethe icing was indeed yuuumeeeeeeeee :-)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try this cake!
ReplyDelete