Extremely moist and delicious
Today was one of the best days since June began, everything was just right, especially the weather. No too hot, not too cold, just right. Sort of reminded me of Goldilocks and the three bears and the porridge. She fell asleep when she finally found the right bed. Oh no I didn’t fall asleep, I just enjoyed the weather because I know it will not last too long. What about you? How did your week begin? Is the weather pleasant wherever you are? Are there great things that transpired over the weekend?
This week has been amazing for me because I met so many wonderful people on the WordPress platform, from all over the world and we had amazing conversations. At one point I thought some of them were my long lost friends, but then I realised, we just met. I love the WordPress platform. It enables so many things. And for a-not-so-tech-savvy-person, like me, this is just the forum.
I was just wondering why butter cakes are called so, and my first stop was Wikipedia, as usual and this is the verbatim definition from Wiki “ A butter cake is a cake in which one of the main ingredients is butter. Butter cakes consist of taking the most basic of ingredients, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and a leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda) and transforming them into a baked good”
I don’t know if this definition clearly distinguishes a butter cake because all the cakes I have been baking so far have butter as a main ingredients and all the other basic ingredients, but I usually transform them into a cake, not a good. Anyway after browsing around for some thirty minutes I wondered what the heck I was doing. Do I need to define it to eat it?
I then wondered how to serve the butter cake. Most of the recipes just recommend dusting the cake with icing sugar then serving it, I presume with coffee, tea or whatever beverage you are consuming. You can also glaze it with basic icing (confectioners (icing) sugar + water, or lemon juice or fruit nectar, and if preferred some lemon rind (zest), can be added too). This makes the cake have better look and an added taste.You can also slice the cake into two, horizontally, and fill it with your favourite filling, or jam, or whipped cream and strawberries. The options are limitless.
This cake can also be easily transformed into a coffee cake by adding two teaspoons instant coffee powder, lemon/orange cake by adding orange/lemon zest (rind) and juice; chocolate cake by adding some cocoa powder to the flour; spice cake by adding some spices like cinnamon or ginger. You can transform it into whatever you please.
On the day I baked my butter cake I was feeling lazy so I didn’t do any of the above. But the cake was extremely moist and I ate it with some strawberries, blackberries and cream. You could also serve it with custard for dessert. Bottom line: I enjoyed eating the cake and I think that’s what matters. Hope you enjoy it too, if you ever decide to try it. Someone at trialx.com said “Indulge yourself in butter cake and you’ll find yourself in heaven!”
Remember to always assemble all ingredients before you start baking.
Please always sift flour
Combine water and sugar in a pan, stir over heat without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, remove from heat, Cool syrup to room temperature.
Combine butter, vanilla essence , and egg yolks in a mixing bowl.
Then beat the butter vanilla and egg yolks together until light and fluffy. The mixture will look more like scrambled eggs, but don’t worry.
With mixture on medium speed, gradually pour in syrup in a thin stream, continue beating until all the syrup is mixed in. This is what the mixture should look like after beating in all the syrup.
Stir in sifted flour all at once.
This is how the mixture will look like after you’ve stirred in the flour.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form,
fold half the egg whites into the mixture, then fold remaining egg whites gently into the mixture.
This is what the final mixture looks like. Pour into prepared tin and bake at 360°F (180°C) for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I baked the cake at 360°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.
Stand a few minutes before transferring onto wire rack to cool
I really enjoyed eating this cake. I was however too lazy to ice the cake or fill it with cream
I ate it with strawberries, blackberries and whipped cream
I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Butter Cake
Recipe from Best recipes of the weekly
Ingredients
- 80ml (⅓ cup, 2.7fl oz) water
- 180g (¾cup, 6oz) sugar
- 125g (½ cup, 4½oz, 1stick + 1 tablespoon) butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 3 eggs, separated
- 225g (1¾ cups, 8oz) self-raising (I used all-purpose & added baking)
Instructions
- Combine water and sugar in a pan, stir over heat without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, remove from heat, Cool syrup to room temperature.
- Beat butter, vanilla and egg yolks together until light and fluffy. With mixture on medium speed, gradually pour in syrup in a thin stream, continue beating until all the syrup is mixed in.
- Stir in sifted flour all at once.
- Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, fold half the egg whites into the mixture, then fold remaining egg whites gently into the mixture.
- Bake at 360°F (180°C) for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Stand a few minutes before transferring onto wire rack to cool.
- **I weigh the flour and butter. I do not use cup measures. The weight of a cup of flour tends to vary based on individual interpretation, publication and size of cup used (from 125g to 130g to 155g per cup)
- Cup measures based on 1 cup = 125g flour so that would be the US cup of 237ml, not the Australian Cup.
Points to note:
- Please note that oven temperatures are given as a guideline only. You may need to add or reduce the suggested temperature depending on your oven. I baked the butter cake at 360°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.
- I always weigh ingredients, especially the flour and butter. You can use cup measures, but please note if you scoop flour directly from the bag you will end up with 150-185 g of flour instead of the recommended 125g. I suggest you spoon the flour into the cup, heaping it up over the top, then slide a knife across the top to level off the extra. Be careful not to shake or tap the cup to settle down the flour or you will have more than you need. You can also sift the flour first then scoop. Best advice: use a weighing scale, you’ll get the best results.
- If you use all-purpose flour add 1 teaspoon baking powder for every 125g (1 cup) flour
myfavouritepastime.com
My Favourite Pastime 
It looks delicious!
Thank you!
Liz
This looks SERIOUSLY good!!!
One of my favourite cakes. Thanks for stopping by every so often. Your presence is always appreciated!!!!
I made this butter cake 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks so much for making my day. I have been to your blog and left a long message. I shall be making your orange muffins some time this week! Thanks enjoy your sunday!!
Thank you for your message! It was such a help! I’m so happy you’re going to try the orange muffins, they are delicious! Have a good week 🙂
I am so happy too, that I shall be trying a recipe from India, I love talking to bloggers from other countries and now I’m going to try our your recipe!!!. Thanks so much for being here several times. I hope you will have a very pleasant week. Happy blogging and happy baking!!!!!
Right back at you 🙂
I have left a long message on your blog, but all the same thank you so much for trying out the butter cake, you have made my day. The goal of my favourite pastime is to inspire you and me to bake/cook. I shall be making the fresh orange muffins from your blog some time this week and will post the pictures here. Thanks so much for creating a networking spirit!!!
My 6 year old daughter and I made this recipe into cupcakes for Father’s Day with some yummy buttercream icing and fresh blueberries for decoration. We bakes them for 18 minutes at the same temperature. Delicious and a big hit all around. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks so much for trying this recipe with your six year old daughter. You have made my day because I started the blog to inspire you and me to bake/cook. I am so happy you got inspired and made this for Father’s day, I wish you had taken photos though, I could have posted them on the Facebook page or provided a link to your photos. Thanks so much and have a wonderful week!!! XOXO to your six year old!!!
I do have pics of the girls holding plates of the cupcakes! Not stylized for food blogging type pics photography but they are very cute! Let me know if you want them, I can send one to you. And for the record, I am 38 years old and this is the FIRST time I have made cupcakes from scratch. I admit it…my Mom wasn’t a baker so no one taught me the ropes….I always just buy a box! Not anymore:)
Sorry I took so long to respond. I had a long day today, with kids and school and all. I am so moved by your story, I always tell my daughter that I would like to target “those who are not currently baking..and now my dream is coming true. I am so happy to hear that your FIRST TIME took off so well. I hope you’ll not stop…keep it up, please don’t stop. I would love a photo if you don’t mind and let me know if I can post it, on the blog and later on on Facebook (my Facebook account is brand new, not much activity at the moment), but only if you give me a go ahead. I wish you all the best. XOXO to the cute girls and wish you a lovely day tomorrow. Thanks so much, once more, for trying out the recipe. YOU HAVE MADE MY WEEK!!!
Wonderful, Yes I should have mentioned I was a “virgin” in my first comment. It was confidence building for me and magical to pass on the gift to Sofia. She loved watching the eggs froth as she held the electric beater, but was a bit disappointed in the taste:) We will have to make meringues sometime or Lemon Meringue Pie, oh my! I tweeted the pic to my husband as he was away doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer and missed Father’s Day:( @Bloomlisa is my account where you can grab it or try this link: @GoneFishinRich cupcakes & icing made from scratch w/ luv for you!!! Travel safe my love. pic.twitter.com/rRkw0QapUg I hope that works out for you!!
The egg whites are always bland and tasteless but I do love the process of whisking them into soft peaks and folding them into the cake mixture. Please let me know how the meringues turn out. I’m sure it will be fine. I did manage to get the picture. Will inform you in advance before posting them anywhere. Take care, XOXO to the girls and wish you a wonderful weekend. Mine us busy, we are spring cleaning, in Summer (summer just started) and turning the house inside out!
This cake looks wonderful! Can I use this for my blog (and my taste buds and tummy)?
Thanks so much let me know how you want to use it. Thanks for stopping by and have lovely week!!!
I so love cake and fruit. This looks yummy!
Mamad1xx4xxy
It tasted very yummy, while it lasted. It’s a cake I would make again and again. have a lovely weekend! L1z
This looks yummy. I love cake with fresh fruit!
MamaD1xx4xy,
Hey how are you? I also love cake with fresh fruit. I really enjoyed eating it. Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely weekend with the boys!!!
Liz this looks so good. It is simple byte your presentation makes it fabulous .
Hi Renuka,
and tastes so good. Thanks for being here. Have a good day and I wish you a fantastic weekend!
Thanks Liz u too have a gr8 day
Hey Liz now u r tempting me to bake😊 u too have a gud day
Oh yes I do want you to bake. Thats the purpose of this blog. Post nice pictures and tempt people to cook and bake more often. Good day to you!
Wow, it’s a perfect cake for morning tea. It’s very invited…. and yummy too. Honestly, I have never baked a cake in my life (it sounds a bit odd but it’s true) but I always love to learn doing it, especially now I am mum (of a daughter). Baking a cake is always a “big thing” in the kitchen for me. I don’t know why but I am always scare of that.
Today I read this post and I just feel very happy because I found something I have been looking for a long time – an easy talking how to bake a cake. With the step-by-step instruction going with the photo demonstration, I feel like doing it straight away. Thanks very much for this post. It means a lot to me!
Hi Thoa,
I have just been admiring the beautiful parrots on your blog, my best is the Rainbow Lorikeet, they are so cute! If it’s true that you have never baked a cake before, then start with muffins, or the Poppy Seed Cake. (Banana chocolate chip Muffins).They are so easy to make and the results are amazing. You just need a hand mixer to do it. My hand mixer cost $19 and it’s the one I use for all the cakes I make. All the recipes here have step-by-step instructions and you are welcome to try all of them. Thanks so much for being here. Have a wonderful evening and I wish you a fantastic weekend. It’s just round the corner!!!
Thanks Liz for the advice. I will start with the muffins on the weekend. You have wonderful weekend too!
Goodluck!
Today was a cold day in Ottawa. My husband baked chocolate chip cookies … yum. He is the chef and baker in the family if you haven’t guessed by now. Berries, cream and cake looks like a delicious combination. Great photos Liz. You’re making me hungry.
Hi Beth
Ottawa is always much colder than here, Omg I would love to have a husband like yours, mine doesn’t bake, maybe I should give him few baking lessons. Thanks Beth, for stopping by. I love your energy. Have a wonderful day!!! And by the way I love your photoblog, It’s so refreshing. I spend hours on Photblogs when I am relaxing. I think I should start one too.
I love cake. Your butter cake has inspired me to bake my own. However, I must use flours other than wheat, but it isn’t difficult. I can pretty much bake anything I want with sorghum, fava bean, almond, tapioca, rice or other non-wheat flour. It took me a few tries, but I wasn’t going to be defeated. Enjoyed your post.
Thanks for loving the cake. I see I am doing a good job because the goal of my blog is to inspire you and me to bake/cook, from whatever source. I didn’t know sorghum could be used for baking, Enjoy your cake when you make it with the non-wheat flours. I am really curios, does it still taste like a real cake? Please pass on the recipe so I can satisfy my curiosity. Thanks and enjoy the rest of the week!!
Lovely. Simple. Perfect for spring. Man, I miss spring. *antipodean sigh*
Oh yes I think you are now in Winter or something like that? Here we are in full spring. BBQ and all the great things that come with it. Thanks for dropping by. Enjoy the rest of your week!!!
Fantastic recipe! It’s quite similar to the cupcakes that I made last night, however the process is entirely different. I’ll be posting mine soon. I love how yours involves beating the egg whites separately, your cake looks so light and fluffy:) Butter cakes are simplicity at its best, you don’t need to add anything fancy for it to be perfectly delicious! It’s also nice that you measure with a scale, I’ve been meaning to buy one too 🙂
Thanks for stopping by again. You know I appreciate your presence here. I made some cupcakes too, I shall be posting them in a few days. The cake was very nice. We enjoyed eating it. I was brought up measuring with a scale and I just can’t do it otherwise, it’s the most universal form of measurement, You can’t go wrong and the results will never disappoint and anyway I bought my nice little scale for only $9 during a Canadian Tire sale. They always have them Scale-sales. You can glimpse mine on the conversions page although it’s not fully visible. Thanks I am going out for a pizza tonight, Too tired to cook. Have a lovely evening and enjoy the rest of the week. It’s almost over anyway. Thanks. I’m glad I met you!!!
I’m glad I met you too! I’ll definitely stop by Canadian tire for one, thanks for the tip. I’ve always used measuring cups but would prefer something more exact and it would also mean less dishes, so I’m sold! It’s a good call getting pizza, you can only make so much before you start feeling burnt out. I know how that feels. I’m just having a simple garlic rubbed sirloin tip roast with potatoes, a lot of food for minimal effort! I hope you have a lovely evening too, and enjoy your pizza!
I am back, fully armed with my Pizza, I prefer to eat it at home because kids are going to school tomorrow. I was in Canadian Tire, too, looking for a stock-pot. I love making soup and the pot I have is too small. Enjoy your simple garlic rubbed sirloin tip roast with potatoes, sounds delish! I love potatoes too, Thanks and goodnight!
Ah yes, I have a similar problem and need to get a bigger stock-pot at some point. Homemade soup is the best:) Glad you had a nice evening, and I definitely enjoyed my dinner. Sweet potatoes and potatoes cooked under a roast is always so flavourful, I can never make enough!
Enjoy your day!
A total photographic delight, and you do make it look so simple to do yet glamorous at the same time! I make a similar cake and sometimes keep it really simple or make a mixture of light cream cheese whipped into some yogurt. It’s not overly sweet and it is lovely with fruit as you have shown. Thanks for the inspiration your posts always provide!
Ha ha I love reading your comments, They inspire me to keep on posting and cooking. Thanks so much for always being here to give me encouragement, with your positive comments. I am a bit on the lazy side these days (since the children became four) that takes a chunk of one’s time too. Light cream and cream cheese sounds really delicious and if you add some fruits to that, wow, tastes really good. My job is to inspire you to cook/bake from whichever recipe you have. Thanks for your friendship and have a wonderful day! Liz
So simple yet so delicious!!
Simplicity is the way to go. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!!
Looks light, delicious and perfect for summer, Liz! Beautiful photos as well. Thanks for sharing!
Welcome back. Hope you have some great photos to share? Have a nice day!!!
ohhh. Lovely butter cake! Yesterday was a perfect day here in Seattle! Cool during the morning, and 79° in the late afternoon! yum..thinking about the berries and cream with your cake!
The weather has been really nice this week. Our windows are open and that’s a sign of good weather. Is Seattle the home of Starbucks? and that’s where Bill Gates is as well? thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!!
Yes! Starbucks & Bill Gates! You have a great day too.
Haha that’s right. There must be a lot of money floating around your state. Nice day and thanks!
Love the look of the butter cake, especially with those juicy berries. I love the simplicity of these cakes not only for their deliciousness but they bring back memories of the cake my mother used to make.
Nazneen
Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a wonderful blog with wonderful recipes. I’m glad I found it and bookmarked it. Simplicity is the way to go when life is so busy!!!
This looks great, I love the simplicity of it!
Thanks. Most of the time I just love to make simple and practical recipes. Life can be so busy with four kids and work. Have a pleasant day. Thanks for staying in circulation.
Beautiful cake, lovely crumb. Nice job.
Thanks, Have a lovely day!!!
It must have been a great day for a lot of people! Lovely weather, I got a new job and won an award! Whoooo, and now I am going to celebrate by baking this yummy cake! Thank youX
OMG I am totally happy for you for finding a job, that calls for a celebration because jobs are very scarce these days. Congratulations on your job finding and on your winning an award. Enjoy your celebration and thanks so much for leaving me this note. have a wonderful day!!
MMMMMMM,..a lovely home-made butter cake: delicious, Liz!
Hi Sophie,
It did taste nice while it lasted. We enjoyed eating it. Have a pleasant day and thanks for stopping here!
😉 x
Reblogged this on showbiztsikahan.
Thanks for the re-blog. Have a pleasant day!!
Looks like it’s delicious. Love the step-by-step.
The step-by-step takes a chunk of my time but I want to inspire those who never cook to try. Thanks for noticing the step-by-step. Have a lovely day and a wonderful week!
Wow, this really does look like indulging in a piece of heaven! There’s a real art to fluffy butter cakes, it looks like you have perfected it!
Hi Trinity,
It’s so nice to see you. Thanks for reading the post. I love butter cakes they always taste so nice and you can always modify them to become other things. Have a lovely day and thanks for being here!
Oh dear Liz, you manage to make the simplest things look so fabulous. In Lagos, berries arent readily available , when they are, its quite pricey. So when I make butter cake I sandwich with mocha cream. Still turns out delicious!
There’s just something captivating about your pictures on your blog.
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Hi thanks for being here. Imagine its 3.11am I gotta go to bed. I think there are a lot of tropical fruits that you can use to garnish cakes. I can’t think of some right now but I shall let give you some ideas tomorrow. I love mocha cream too, it would also do well with a coffee cake. Thanks so much for complimenting the pictures, its the part of blogging I dread, because it takes time to get the pictures right. Enjoy the rest of the week too and thanks so much for joining the conversation. Time to sleep…Liz Please I shall visit your blog tomorrow!!!
This looks so delicious!!!! My favourite butter cake used to be from a bakery in Pune in India. I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Gayatri,
And it tastes very delicious too. If you do try it, enjoy eating it. I hope it will match the one from your favourite bakery in Puna, India. Have a lovely day and enjoy the rest of the week!!!
I’m sure it will! Have a good week too and thank you for sharing this 🙂
Have a good day!
Mmm! Lovely blog! Thanks for liking a post of mine recently. This post makes me hungry! 🙂
Thank too for stopping by. I appreciate that you left me a note too. Enjoy the rest of the week!!! Kind regards.
I’m not much of a baker, Liz, so it’s news to me that a single batter can be easily modified to make different cakes. And as much as I enjoy icing, I like the look of your cake served with just fresh berries. I must admit, you’ve got me to consider breaking out the cake pan. I don’t even remember the last time I did that. 🙂
Hi John,
Thanks so much for commenting on my posts twice. Oh yes one single basic mixture can be modified into so many different cakes. That’s what bakeries do. I prefer eating the cake with berries and anyway sometimes I am just too lazy to proceed beyond baking, or is it that I’m too busy doing other things, like being a mum. You should start with the poppy seed cake on this blog: “place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix for 2-3 minutes, pour on prepared tin and bake” easy or muffins. I shall visit your blog tomorrow. It’s now 3.00 am I need to catch some sleep. Thanks and have a wonderful tomorrow. Best wishes!
I just made butter cake 2 days ago and turned it into a marbled cake. So easy yet so delicious! I like how you served yours with berries and cream.
Everybody seems to be making butter cake, but it forms the basis of baking and anyway it tastes really nice and is worth the trouble taken. Thanks for stopping by, I enjoyed eating it with the berries and fresh cream. Have a wonderful week!
I call this ‘Amma’s Cake’ (My mother’s cake)……. The word ‘Cake’ in our home is synonymous with a recipe very, very similar to this one. Both Amma and Dodda (my mother’s older sister) were famous for it.
Hi Aruna,
It’s really nice to hear from you after such a along time. Your mother’s cake tastes very nice. I’m glad to know your Amma and Dodda were famous for butter cake. Thanks for commenting on the post. Have a pleasant day. I’m just getting ready to go to bed! It’s almost 2.00 am. Thanks
Good Night
Have a pleasant day…thanks!