Everyday Butter Cake
A cross between a tea cake and a butter cake, this is a simple & quick vanilla cake recipe that leads to a fluffy snacking style cake good for any day, anytime.
Servings 1 9" cake
Equipment
- 9" square or round cake pan
Ingredients
- 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter cold is fine
- 205g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs at room temperature (place them in a bowl of warm water before you begin melting the butter)
- 180g or ¾ cup sour cream
- 250g or 2 cups cake flour sifted
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (can sub with granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9” square or round cake pan.
- Place the butter in a large glass or heatproof bowl and microwave it until it’s almost but not completely melted.
- Add the sugar and whisk very well, a full 30 seconds.
- Add the salt and vanilla and whisk for another 30 seconds.
- Add the eggs one by one, whisking to fully incorporate before adding another then whisk for a full minute, until it’s light and creamy.
- Sift in the cake flour, powdered sugar and baking powder.
- Whisk in the sour cream.
- Fold the batter until it’s smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with an additional 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Video
Notes
To make this cake a "chocolate butter cake" : I skip the powdered sugar, reduce the flour to 200g ( 1 3/4 cups), add 50g or 1/2 cup dutch cocoa (it must be dutch process or it can mess with the chemistry of the cake) and use vanilla greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and add two more tablespoons of it (for a total of 3/4 plus 2 tablespoons of yogurt). You can also add half a cup of chocolate chips!