Monday, February 9, 2009

Plain vanilla sponge cake

When I visit bakeries, I enjoy the smell of fresh baked breads and cakes. My eyes wander across the glass shelves lined with baked goods.Their colors and freshness are sensual.The curly, buttery croissants, breads, slices of cheesecakes and glazed doughnuts .........all so tempting. I would love to own a place, someday, solely dedicated to retailing fresh made desserts and bakes.

I love to bake. One main advantage of baking your own goods and cooking your own foods( as opposed to buying them readymade) is the fact that you know and control the ingredients that go into it. Now, isn't that a relief?

Most people find baking strenuous because the outcome flops. I've had alot of friends ask me for cake recipes and all they emphasize on is "easy". I promised a friend an uncomplicated and almost effortless process and here it is . This recipe is the one I give to most cake virgins. Yes, this cake will do justice to your efforts and make you proud. You can use this cake batter to make cup cakes too.
The key to making a good cake is to follow the recipe exactly.


Ingredients:

  • Butter( at room temperature) - 1 stick( 115 gms)
  • Sugar - 3/4 cup
  • Eggs(large) - 2
  • Pure vanilla extract - 1 tspn
  • All purpose flour - 1 cup
  • Baking powder - 1 tspn
  • Salt - 1/8 tspn(optional)
  • Milk - 1/3 cup

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F( 177 C)
  • Butter an 8" round cake pan or line it with parchment paper.Set aside
  • Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
  • Add vanilla extract and mix well.
  • Now add the flour mixture and mix
    Stir in the milk until batter is smooth. (Do not over beat the cake batter as it will result in a hard cake) Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Do the toothpick test to see if the cake is done.(See note below).
  • If the cake is not done, reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees F(135 C) and bake for 8-10 more mins.Repeat tooth pick test.
  • When the cake is done, let it rest in the cake pan for 10 mins.Then remove the cake from the cake pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • And tada! You are a great baker.

Note: Take a tooth pick or a knife or a bamboo skewer and poke it till the bottom of the cake.If it comes out clean the cake is ready.If it comes out with wet cake batter, it needs additional time to bake.

luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

14 comments:

  1. hi smitha, u have a lovely blog. the pics are beautiful and so mouth-watering. i love to bake too, but dont find time to do it as often !!! loved this simple recipe, cant wait to try it out and will visit here for more recipes. thanks!!

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  2. Hi Smitha
    welcome to the blog world:) U have great thing going on here.. nice recipes & pics:-)

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  3. The cake looks so wonderful. I loved your sugar cookies too.

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  4. Hey Couch papaya, Soma and Ramya,
    Thanx a bundle. I appreciate it. Hope this blog charms you always :)
    Cheers!

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  5. Hey Smitha...thats a perfect bake...as newbies we all probably started with that cake...Guess what??I too always dream of opening a bake shop:)

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  6. oh gosh .. this is so simple, but I bet it tastes heavenly! I'll be making this soon, am sure ... and I agree, the smell of fresh baked goodies is the best!

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  7. Thanks a ton Poornima and Muneeba. Your bake shop will be competition for me Poornima:) and Muneeba,This cake does taste awesome and moist.Hope you enjoy this bake.And if I start off on the smell and taste topic, I'll never stop;)

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  8. Hi...
    Love ur cake...I was looking for a simple cake for quite long.....I do make many flavoured one but not a plain one and I think I would b trying this one...I too love baking cakes and maing desserts....its only the time that matters...And ur black forest is mouth watering....looks yummy

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  9. Hi Smitha,
    Today i tried this recipe and came very well...amazing...Only thing it took a little bit longer to bake than the suggested time...I used glass pan to bake....My kid loved this cake...Thanks a million...

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  10. Thanks shabs and Jay,
    Shabs, happy u liked the recipe. It is definitely a simple one.
    Jay,wow! you got to baking it.So glad that u liked the cake and makes me even more happy when kids love it because they never lie when it comes to food and always give genuine opinions:)
    And yes, if you are usuing a glass pan, the time will definitely vary because it takes a longer time to distribute heat through glass than metal while baking.But you did say that it came out well right. Happy for you. So, you are your kid's SUPER- BAKER- MOM now. Congrats!

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  11. Hey Smitha: These are my favorite..simplest of cakes but always turn out soft and delicious...can almost smell it right now :( Hubby does not eat cakes but he likes this one only..

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  12. Oh, dint i not tell u that the cake turned out great..?i made it last year for my hubbyy's bday and was brilliant....i want to make a 9 inch with this recipe and same measures. I dont want a high cake. i mean want a cake thats not tall. you think it will be ok to bake this one in 9"pan to make a low height cake?....will it become hard?.reply as soon as possible ok....want to bake tomorrrow...

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  13. Great! Now i'm going to try this one, too :D

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