Butter cake always feels like an unchallenging bake.. it just sounds too easy.. That equals boring in my books.
As such, I've never felt inclined to bake the "simple" butter cake. Further more, most butter cakes or cupcakes that I've eaten are usually dry. Even the supposedly expensive "good" cupcakes too. And the worst ones, are the ones with the fake sweet buttery aroma! Eeewww...
Anyways, I started baking butter cakes upon a friend's request after many many cheesecake bakes. And I thought it was going to be a breeze. How wrong I was! I failed at EVERY attempt to bake the perfect butter cake, in taste and texture, for at least 4 years!
But I've finally found my PERFECT butter cake last december. After all the misses in the past using recipes straight from different cookbooks and even online, I've come up with a FAIL-PROOF recipe combining the best from malaysia best, nasi lemak lover (tried her recipe, nice.. but not what I was looking for as it's more egg-y sponge cake like), my kitchen snippets and other bloggers. This is my version of the BEST BUTTER CAKE EVER! Guaranteed success in rise, moistness and texture.
Best Moist Butter Cake
250g SALTED butter (use Golden Churn Butter, or extremely good quality salted butter)
100g CASTER sugar
4 eggs, SEPARATE yolk and whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
230g self-raising flour, SIFTED (250g will not hurt too, don't worry)
6 tbsp fresh milk (use best milk possible ie. Farmhouse or your favorite ^^)
90g CASTER sugar
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Beat butter and 100g sugar till light and fluffy. Don't over beat. Just till it turns a shade lighter/paler and the sugar is still slightly grainy. I beat mine around 3-4 minutes on high with my electric mixer.
3. Add egg YOLKs one at time and mix in well. On slow speed. Batter should turn creamy and kinda stiff.
4. Mix in vanilla extract. Beware of poor quality vanilla essence that smells like butterscotch or caramel, looks a pale amber and liquid thin. It's ok to use vanilla essence, I do (^^).. just get the better quality ones.
5. Quickly fold in self raising flour in 2 batches.
6. Add in milk and combine gently. Batter should be soft now.
7. In a clean bowl, beat egg WHITES till frothy and then add in the 90g sugar in batches/bit by bit. Beat till stiff and shiny.
8. Add egg whites mixture to butter batter in 2 batches. Fold in quickly but GENTLY.
Bake in 2 - 12 cupcake tin for 25 minutes, or an 8 inch round / square tin, or loaf pans for 50minutes.
This is what I made today to feed my little piggies as I wasn't too confident that they will like carrot cupcakes.
 |
| vanilla dreams or screams |
Anyways, I did make a promise to chubby pig that I'll top his best store bought butter cupcake, vanilla skies. And mine's called vanilla dreams or screams.. depending on whether they like it (^^) or not (> <).
Oh, I topped the cupcakes with this dreamy vanilla frosting. Tastes like vanilla ice-cream.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
250g UNSALTED butter
200g icing sugar, SIFTED
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
2 tbsp fresh milk
1. Beat butter till soft and smooth.
2. Add icing sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Mix in vanilla extract and fresh milk. Combine till smooth.
Personally, half the recipe is good enough to frost this butter cake recipe. Which is what I did. Anyways, don't bother with how the frosting looks. It's how it tastes that matter (^^). I can't frost and you should know by now.
 |
| "best" vanilla dreams |
And yes! It's VANILLA DREAMS all right (^^). Pricey vanilla skies move aside!
Can you see the oh-so moist and oh-so perfect texture of the cake? It really tastes as good as it looks, believe me. Everyone loved it! More so than the carrot cake with sublime lemon cream cheese frosting. Only big pig prefers the carrot cake more.. baby and chubby had 1 piece each right before dinner and another right after dinner! Almost everyone else had seconds. And that's two at a go, immediately after dinner!
Fatty hubby had his right after supper after dinner! He loves it! It's a perfect day (^^)
PERFECT CAKE! PERFECT DAY!
p.s I've found the perfect frosting for my perfect cake ~ swiss meringue buttercream! (^^) updated on 23rd June 2012
