Butter Cake or Pound Cake, what’s the difference one may ask. Honestly, at some point I didn’t think there really was any difference. I’m meant to make a Ribbon Cake for a colleague’s birthday, a first for me. I have NO idea what a Ribbon Cake is! But after being introduced to it it’s apparently a Sri Lankan traditional Birthday Cake, which is as simple as it gets, Pastel Colored layered Butter Cake with Butter Cream Frosting. Sounds simple and rich. After trying to get around my head to making a buttery cake, after finding the perfect recipe I found out the description was all wrong and it’s actually a Pound Cake with Butter Cream Frosting.
I’m just not very comfortable with making sponge cakes. The cake alone should taste like a bomb if I want it to be spectacular with frosting. The thought intimidated me until I decided to take the plunge and go for it. The last Butter Cake I had was maybe 11 years ago from a local bakery in my area, and I remember it being SO GOOD I would break off GOBS of it and just walk away without worrying on how it was going straight to my BUM! Trying to replicate that would be wonderful, but not something I am ready to experiment yet.
So I’ve borrowed this recipe from Cinnamon and Spice & everything nice. This is such a great addition to any recipe collection. This recipe dates back to 1910 and comes from a McCall Cookbook. Sometimes you just need to go back to the classics and how it was done simply when baking was less complicated and more wholesome. I ended up baking this cake a little more than I should have. I was baking at night when my 14 month got up in the middle of baking time. The cake ended up staying in the oven for 5 extra mins, hence the slightly darker shade of yellow (rather brown) than it should have been.
So here it is:
Ingredients:
2 C Flour, sifted
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C. My oven is super hot so it baked better at 150 C
- Grease and flour two 8 inch x 2 inch baking pans and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
- Add butter, milk, and vanilla. With a hand mixer, beat for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl
- Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes more
- Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally between the pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely
