I don’t remember how I stumbled on this recipe, but now it’s become one of my most used recipes for cake. The main reason for me liking this recipe is that there is no beating the butter and sugar.

I LOVE recipes where butter is melted…saves the hassle of beating it with sugar.

This recipes gives two slightly thin 9″ cakes or three tall six inch cakes. I usually make three cakes and freeze two of them for later use.

I have gifted them plain and with a glaze on top another time. I have made this cake to go under fondant also. This makes a great snack cake as well.

Recipe Source: The Family Baking Book, by America’s Test Kitchen

Makes : three 6″ cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter (I use 100 gms)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs

Method: 

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Grease three 6″ pans. Here I have used a 9″ pan. The rest were made into cupcakes.
2. Cut the butter into cubes. Heat it with milk until it’s very hot. The mix shouldn’t boil. Take off the heat and add vanilla.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Keep aside.
4. In a big bowl, beat the sugar and eggs using a hand mixer. Add the milk-butter mix and beat once again.
5. Tip in the flour mix in 3-4 batches until no lumps remain.
6. Pour into the prepared pans (until 2/3rd full) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes free of crumbs.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the cake and flip it down to a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for at least 2 hours before serving.
8. I suggest mixing the batter before pouring it into the pan for baking. If you are doing multiple cakes (say three 6 inch cakes), then mix and pour the batter into the pan only when it is ready to go into the oven.

Gather the ingredients.

Cube the butter and heat it with the milk until its very hot and the butter has melted. It shouldn’t boil.

 

Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a smaller bowl.

In a big bowl, add the sugar and eggs.

Beat, using a hand mixer until its combined, about a minute.

In low speed, add the hot milk mix to the egg mix and beat for 1-2 minutes.

Beat in the flour in 2-3 additions, until just incorporated.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until  a skewer comes free of crumbs when inserted in the middle. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes. Flip it upside down to a cooling wire rack and let it cool completely before icing/slicing it.