Butter Cake

This is a good rich plain butter cake. It is in my repertoire of 'go to' recipes. It is easily altered glace cherries, rum soaked raisins and chopped walnuts are delicious. My two favourite versions are orange or the plain butter cake with baked cinnamon and sugar topping.  Mostly I bake this in a square tin as it is easier to cut into even slices, particularly if I am taking a plate of cake to an event and it needs to already cut up. A round cake  looks good on a cake stand.

Sometimes I get carried away with the orange version and bake it in a fancy ring or Bundt type tin and make it into a syrup cake. Serve with a little cream or icecream for a delicious dessert.

Drizzle with a little orange glaze for something a little easier to serve and eat

Butter Cake

Plain Cake 250 g soft butter 1 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 eggs 2 cups SR flour 2 -4 tablespoons milk

Orange Cake 2 oranges (zest and Juice) 1/2 cup sugar Optional pinch of citric acid or for the glaze 1 1/2 cups icing sugar 1 tablespoon butter Orange juice 1/4 teaspoon citric acid

Method

Preheat oven 170 deg C

Grease and line cake tin, if using a fancy ring/Bundt type tin grease well.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add vanilla extract

Gradually add eggs, beating well

Stir in flour and milk alternately.  Approximately 1/3 at a time starting with flour

Bake at 170 deg C for ten minutes and then reduce heat to 160 deg C until cooked. Golden brown in colour, the edges will shrink slightly from side of cake tin and a skewer comes out clean.

Orange Cake

As above and add finely grated zest after the butter and sugar have been creamed.

For Syrup

Combine the sugar and orange juice, simmer until syrupy. Sharpen flavour with a pinch of citric acid

For Glaze

Melt butter in a microwave bowl large enough to hold the icing sugar. Add the citric acid and the icing sugar and mix in enough orange juice to make a thick icing.

Microwave the icing on high for 30 seconds, mix and microwave for another 30 seconds. The icing should go runny, pour over the cake. You need to do this immediately as it will set quickly