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BASIC CAKE and SEVERAL VARIATIONS




Source of Recipe


??? 2002


Recipe Introduction


I still for the life of me see why a mix is supposed to be easier than from scratch. You still have to add the eggs, butter and liquid and stir. The only thing you don't have to add is the baking powder, the preservatives, the artificial color and the artificial flavor.
The major difference as far as I can see is that most cook books for some unfathomable reason put you through a lot more steps and have you dirty a lot more bowls than is necessary. Here is a very simple cake recipe that can be altered slightly to make a wide variety of cakes. The varieties are endless and I can't see that it is any harder than using a mix! Good Luck and happy eating.


List of Ingredients




Basic Cake
Makes 2 8 inch layers

Cream together in a bowl:
1 stick of soft butter or margarine
1 cup of sugar

Add:
2 eggs and beat well

Sift together:
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with 1 cup of cold liquid (this can be water, milk, buttermilk, slightly sour milk, whey)

Add flavoring of choice ie. vanilla, almond extract etc.

Stir well and pour into 2 8" layer cake pans that have either been oiled and floured or lined with bakers parchment

Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a slim bamboo skewer stuck into the center comes out clean. When done, set the pans on wire racks and allow to completely cool before frosting.

For the frosting, just melt 1/2 a stick of butter or margarine, add 1 pound of sifted powdered sugar and then add milk or water, one spoon full at a time, stirring it in after each addition until you have a nice spreadable consistency. You may flavor the frosting any way you want as well.




Recipe



This basic cake recipe may be altered slightly to make any variety of cakes such as the following . . .

Spice Cake: Add powdered spices of your choice to taste.

Golden Cake: Use 3 egg yolks instead of 2 whole eggs.

Light White Cake: Use 3 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs and beat the whites till fluffy, then gently fold into the batter at the end instead of with the butter and sugar.

Orange Cake: Use orange juice as the liquid and add some orange zest.

Ginger Spice Cake: Add spices and finly chopped candies sugar.

Nut Spice Cake: Add spices and about 1 cup of chopped nuts of choice.

Raisin Nut Spice Cake: Add spices, nuts and raisins.

Dried Fruit Cake: Add spices, nuts, raisins, chopped dried fruits of choice.

Hobbit Seedie Cake: Add spices and 2 or 3 tablespoons of seeds of choice. A true English Seedie cake, (which is what Tolkien had in mind when he talked about Seedie cake) uses caraway seeds, but since most Americans seem to think they have been poisoned if they eat caraway seeds, use poppy seeds or sesame seeds.

Chocolate Cake: Add 1/4 cup powdered bakers cocoa.

Chocolate Chip Cake: Add some chocolate chips.

Applesauce Cake: Add spices 1 cup of apple sauce with the butter, sugar and eggs, then use less liquid.

Honey Spice Cake: Add 3/4 cup of honey instead of the sugar, spices and a little less liquid.

Coffee Flavored Cake: Use strong cold coffee for the liquid.

Mocha Cake: Make like for chocolate cake but use strong cold coffee for the liquid.

Marble Cake: Make a plain cake; remove some of the batter to another bowl and add some powdered cocoa. Mix well. Pour the chocolate back into the plain and stir very sparingly, just enough so that there are swirls of chocolate in the batter.

Molasses Cake: Add 1 cup of molassas instead of sugar and in addition to the baking powder add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and spices to taste.

Upside Down Cake: Line a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Butter it liberally. Sprinkle about 2/3 of a cup of sugar evenly over the bottom. Cover the sugar with whatever fruit you are going to use: canned or fresh, (well drained) - carefully pour the cake batter over it. When finished baking, turn out onto a serving plate and gently peel off the paper.