Tuesday is my birthday. I'm not going to tell you how old I am going to be, well . . . you probably know that already, so there's really no point, and for those of you who don't . . . let me just say one word . . . old.
But then again they do say that you are only as old as you feel. There are some days I feel sixteen, and there are some days I feel eighty. I aim for somewhere in the middle most of the time!
You might be tempted to think that my choice of a Birthday Celebration Cake would be something decadently fudgy and chocolatey . . . I do love chocolate, but you would be wrong. Ever since I was a little girl my celebratory cakes have never been chocolate cakes . . . I do love them but . . .
When I am celebrating I want something simple and delicious, like this cake I am showing you here today. If I am going to have to bake my own Birthday Cake (and I am coz the Toddster . . . he doesn't bake!), then I don't want it to take me oodles of time and ingredients.
By the time you bake a cake that takes oodles of time and ingredients you don't feel like eating cake any more, and that's not my idea of a celebration! Is it yours???
NO, I just want quick, easy, simple and . . . delicious. This cake fits the bill on all of those counts. No kidding.
This has got to be one of the tastiest and simplest cakes ever going. A simple Butter cake. You just dump everything into the bowl and beat it up. Pop it into a slow oven and . . . *Presto Chango* . . . one hour later . . . Bob's your uncle!
Even the icing isn't complicated. It's just icing sugar and water, or lemon juice, or orange juice . . . you decide. Todd doesn't like lemon, but I do. It's my birthday, so this time we are going with lemon.
And a bit of ice cream on the side goes down very well too. Enjoy! I know I will!
*A Butter Cake*
Makes one 8 inch round cakePrintable Recipe
This is a simple, one bowl cake. It's rich and delicious. Easily adaptable to other flavours as well. Nice served plain or spread with a basic icing.125g butter, well softened (1/2 cup)1 tsp vanilla extract190g caster sugar (1 cup)3 large free range eggs210g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp bicarbonate of sodapinch salt125ml of milk (1/2 cup)Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2. Butter an 8 inch round baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
Measure all of the ingredients into the bowl, sifting the flour, baking powder and soda in. Add a pinch of salt. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed to combine, then increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is just smooth. Spread into your prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 5 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. May be served plain or with a basic icing.
Variations:Coffee Butter Cake: Dissolve 2 TBS instant coffee granules in 1 TBS boiling water and add as aboveOrange Butter Cake: Add 1 TBS finely grated orange zest.Lemon Butter Cake : Add 1 TBS finely grated lemon zestSpiced Butter Cake: Add 1 tsp either cinnamon or mixed spice. Basic Icing:Sift 195g ( 1 1/2 cups) icing sugar into a bowl. Mix through 2 TBS water or 2 TBS lemon juice, plus 1 tsp or lemon zest, or 2 TBS orange juice plus 1 tsp orange zest until you have a smooth mixture. Spoon over cake.
