Thursday, June 1, 2017

My Favorite Cake Recipe

Cake made from scratch is all about beating. So if you don't have a good stand mixer. GET A KITCHENAID. I love mine. It's white and lovely and I call him George. He's never let me down.

The key to this simple, simple recipe is just knowing when to beat, and when not to beat. An easy rule of thumb with any cake recipe is this, if it's just wet ingredients, beat it a lot. Once you add the dry ingredients, fold gently. Stick with that and this recipe will come out great. It's moist and light, and has a great flavor.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups whole milk, warmed to room temperature
3 tablespoons french vanilla instant pudding
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 teaspoon imitation almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Sift  dry ingredients and set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in color.


4. Beat the eggs in one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. 
Here is where you really DON'T SKIMP ON BEATING. Just beat, beat, beat, beat, beat. 





Once you've got that lovely airy batter, you're ready to move on.
5. Add the extracts to the milk.
Now remember, when you add the remaining ingredients to mix as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. Feel free to fold it in by hand if you like. At this point over mixing will kill all that lovely air that you've beat into it. 
6. Add about a third of the flour mixture, and gently beat or fold to incorporate. Add about half the milk mixture and gently incorporate. Repeat this process till all the remaining dry and wet ingredients are mixed together. 


7. Scoop out batter with an ice cream scoop and fill paper cups. This makes about 36 cupcakes. Bake for 12-18 minutes depending on your oven. In the picture below, I'd incorporated some sprinkles as well for fun. 


Add cinnamon to dry ingredients for a snickerdoodle cake. Play with adding different extracts, oils, zests, and pudding flavors to make it your own.

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