the hungry mum

I often hear people say they don’t have time to make a cake from scratch so they use a packet mix. I am here to dump all over that argument.

This super fast and simple white cake uses stuff you already have in the pantry and takes mere moments to throw together. Don’t have an electric mixer? Beat it by hand like I did. Scared it will fail? Don’t be – it is fool-proof and requires no specialist equipment or knowledge.

Unlike a packet mix you know exactly what is going into this cake – real, actual ingredients that your great-grandmother would recognise. No fake flavours or artificial colours, just the backbone of baking recipes the world over: butter, milk, sugar, flour, eggs. You could even leave the vanilla out if you didn’t have any and the end result would still be a beautiful cake that you can dress up or down. Throw some ganache over the top, make buttercream frosting, sprinkle over icing sugar or make a simple icing sugar and boiling water paste and drizzle over.

In my local supermarket a 1kg bag of self-raising flour costs 75 cents, butter $1.30 and a bag of sugar is $1. Much cheaper than some of the packet mixes on the shelves.

Just bake this delicious white cake it and promise me you will never buy a cake mix again.

GATHER:

115 grams butter at room temperature, diced

¾ cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups plan flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

LET’S GET TO IT:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 20cm round cake pan with non-stick baking paper.

Sift together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy – you can do this by hand or in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla.

Sift the flour mix over the batter and beat until combined, then add the milk and beat until all mixed together.

Pour into the pan and bake for 35 – 40 minutes / until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Sit in pan for ten minuted before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

When cold ice or decorate however you want. I used my buttercream icing / frosting: buttercream icing / frosting:

125 grams butter, diced, at room temperature

1 cup sifted icing sugar

A few tablespoons milk

Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer on high for three minutes or until pale.

Turn beater off then sift over the icing sugar. Put beaters on low and beat to combine, then add enough milk to make a spreadable consistency. Use a palette knife to evenly spread over the top of the cake.

Tags: bake, baking, cake, cooking, dessert, easy, food, from scratch, recipe, sugar