Basic Vanilla Cake

Basic Vanilla Cake

This isn’t the first cake I ever baked, but it’s surely the first perfect cake to step out into the glorious sunshine beyond the oven-realm. And the credit for that goes to my friend Rojaly Rashmita, a cake fanatic, who told me the secret (also know as: the obvious fact cake enthusiasts knew, but I didn’t) is to use 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda for every cup of flour. That’s it. I was amazed, and went on to find out for myself. Laid out below is the child borne of that discovery.

RECIPE.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar, powdered
• 3 tbsp vegetable/olive/canola oil (or 1/2 cup melted butter)
• 1 egg (or 2 tbsp yogurt)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Combine/sieve all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whip up the sugar and oil/butter. Add in the egg/yogurt and vanilla essence. Mix. Add the milk. Mix.
3. Once all the wet ingredients have together smoothly, slowly fold in the dry mixture in portions. The batter needs to be thick. That ensures a crumbly texture.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C.
5. Grease a 6″ inch baking tray, sprinkle some flour, tap it around and remove the excess. You could also simply line the tray with parchment paper.
6. Pour the batter. Bake for 30-35 mins, or till the top has cracked and is golden brown. Do a knife check to ensure the done-ness.

Enjoy!