Excess has its place, certainly where dessert is concerned, but sometimes I just want something perfectly plain, though no less delicious. A thin slice of this cake, crumbly and buttery and delicately dusted with powdered sugar, fits the bill. It’s also incredibly simple to make, which means that you can throw it together without much notice and still totally impress whoever you serve it to.
Berries or chocolate chips would be perfect additions, folded into the batter, if you would like to gild the lily. You also might try rubbing citrus zest into the sugar before combining it with the butter for a more flavorful cake. I have to say, though, that the plain buttery-ness really does it for me.
Butter Cake (from Gourmet magazine)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, plus one large egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- confectioners sugar (for sifting)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until well-combined. On low speed, add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Switch mixer to medium and beat for 10 to 15 seconds, just until batter appears uniform. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula or knife; bake about 40 minutes, or until it reaches a dark-gold color and an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let rest in pan 5 minutes, then remove to a cake stand or platter. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Comments 10
I do love the simplicity and you’re right – sometimes you just don’t want the extra
Posted 10 Sep 2008 at 9:58 am ¶Butter cake definitely has a place in my heart! Delish!
Posted 13 Sep 2008 at 2:35 pm ¶One of my favorite cakes my mom made for us growing up was a decadent butter cake – yours brought back those fond memories. Here’s to simple delights!
Posted 16 Sep 2008 at 11:52 pm ¶You say Butter and I come running…. I love this cake. My mother in law just made this cake the other day… It is so good. I love your blog – very informative and I will become a regular from now on. Great work….
zesty
Posted 17 Sep 2008 at 10:13 am ¶Sometimes what I do to my banana cakes or pound cakes is I squeeze some caramel syrup on top just before it goes into the oven so the top has a nice sweet crust.
Dee
Posted 26 Sep 2008 at 6:23 pm ¶I adore minimalism in desserts. One silly question, though, if anyone happens to see this… if I don’t have a standing mixer, (someday? a girl can dream) can I use a hand mixer instead, and just mix the rest of the flour in by hand if it gets too thick?
Posted 24 Oct 2008 at 11:27 pm ¶Cynthia:
You can absolutely use a hand mixer! Sometimes I use one if even if I am just feeling too lazy to drag the standing mixer out of the cabinet
Posted 26 Oct 2008 at 10:34 pm ¶Ok So I tried this recipe today and it actually tasted better when it was cooled.LOL irritated my sinuses though (think it was the whole milk) So next week I’m off to trying the blueberry cheesecake. Thanks Gena
Dee
Posted 29 Nov 2008 at 7:36 pm ¶hi love your recipe. like to know , how much is a stick of butter translates into grammes? tq
Posted 04 Dec 2008 at 4:16 am ¶please let me know what is the mass for 1 1/2 stick of butter. Is 1 stick of butter same as 250 g butter?
Thanks
Posted 26 Feb 2009 at 8:04 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 2
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