I think I have perfected my basic cake recipe. I try to bake Andy a fill-me-up cake every week, and it has to be large (he is not fat, just 6ft 8'' and needs his sustenance). I've been dickering with proportions for years, and my last effort had the best crumb ever, with a moist, soft texture like a sticky cushion. I use the best part of an 80p block of cheap butter, and the rough price of making it is under one pound fifty. It takes about 25 minutes max. to make and I vary the added ingredients from week to week. Cherry, fruit, and this week lemon drizzle. Nothing fancy - we don't do gateaux or swish icing.
Basic cake mix
8oz butter, 8oz caster sugar, creamed together. Three medium eggs, added one at a time. 10 oz plain flour with three level teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mixed. Then a splash of milk, to loosen the mix up. Baked in a low-medium oven, until it is done. I always use a shallow 8 inch square tin; it bakes more quickly.
Variations - cherry vanilla - add 2-3 teaspoons vanilla essence when adding eggs and when flour/baking powder is added, add 6 (or more) oz chopped cherries (dusted in flour)
Fruit - add between 4-8 oz mixed fruit, and lessen the baking powder to one teaspoon,
Lemon drizzle - grated rind of 2 lemons which is added to the creamed butter/sugar, and the juice of one, added after the eggs. When cake is done and cooled, make a drizzle by mixing the juice of the other lemon with about 5-6 tablespoons of icing sugar in a small pan and gently heated to make a clear liquid (I don't even measure this bit, I just bung the juice in the pan and add as much icing sugar as I need for the cake). Poke holes in the cake (I use an old knitting needle) and slowly ladle the drizzle over, trying to ensure as much is soaked into the sponge as possible.
Fruit - add between 4-8 oz mixed fruit, and lessen the baking powder to one teaspoon,
Lemon drizzle - grated rind of 2 lemons which is added to the creamed butter/sugar, and the juice of one, added after the eggs. When cake is done and cooled, make a drizzle by mixing the juice of the other lemon with about 5-6 tablespoons of icing sugar in a small pan and gently heated to make a clear liquid (I don't even measure this bit, I just bung the juice in the pan and add as much icing sugar as I need for the cake). Poke holes in the cake (I use an old knitting needle) and slowly ladle the drizzle over, trying to ensure as much is soaked into the sponge as possible.
For years I made the error of not using enough baking powder. My cakes were fine, but I was frustrated that I could not make them lighter, no matter how I altered the proportions. A few weeks ago I actually read the side of the tub and read that for a stout fruit cake, only one teaspoon is used, but for a sponge-style cake, then three are required. Sometimes it really helps to read the instructions...
