Buttery yet not greasy. Dense yet slightly airy. Moist yet maintaining a texture to a bite. Welcome to my take on the Butter Cake!
Last year while I developed recipes for my Marble Cake, I did so only because there was a chocolate component to it. This year, I decided to do a full butter cake and fill my blog with yet another take of mine, although it is very similar to that of the Marble Cake recipe!
This is also a tea version as it is lighter on the palette. I will come up with a richer version in time to come!
As per usual, I will speak about this recipe in the sequence of 1) ingredients, 2) taste and texture and finally 3) method of preparation.
I am talking about ingredients first because I foresee questions regarding the minimum quality of butter to be used in this recipe. If that is you, fear no more! I used discounted butter that is on the cheaper end of the range not just because I am on a budget (heh!), but also to ensure that it has at least a satisfactory level of quality regardless of what butter you use! ]
The next thing I would like to bring up is that I am using baking powder and not the whipping of egg whites method. I am doing so because it does the job equally well in my opinion, and saves a lot of time and effort.
Next up, the taste and texture.
My take on the butter cake is that it must be buttery but not too, and not too sweet! It should be something that is easy to go with tea and doesn’t leave a greasy after taste when you are done. It is achieved exactly here in this recipe and you can try it! I also served them in bite size portions to go with tea, we all know how important tea is!
By the way, it tastes better overnight! Do not ever refrigerate it though, or it will lose its flavour!
For the texture, it is moist and slightly dense yet nicely spongey. It is towards the soft side! If your cake comes out very dry, you might have over baked it!
For the method, I am just going to talk about the minimization of air bubbles before I become too naggy!
- Ensure that you do not overmix so that you incorporate as little air bubbles as possible.
- Make sure to mix your baking powder and plain flour well before sifting them to ensure good distribution.
- Hit the pan against the counter a good few times before loading it into the oven to dislodge as many air bubbles as possible.
Here’s a small portion of a cake with trapped air bubbles for a gauge. Still edible, but wish it was prettier.
I shall cease all my nagging now, and just go enjoy tea! But before I do that, here is the recipe for this Butter Cake!
Butter Cake Recipe
by Javier Tan July-07-2018
My take on the Butter Cake! Buttery yet not greasy, moist yet soft, it leaves a pleasant and light aftertaste, perfect to go with tea!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup or 225g Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
- 3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons or 175g Granulated White Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 Cups + 1 Tablespoon or 190g All Purpose/Plain Flour, Sifted
- 3/4 Teaspoon or 3g Baking Powder, Sifted
- 1/4 Teaspoon or 1.4g Table Salt
- 1/3 Cup + 2 Teaspoons or 100ml Full Cream Milk, Room Temperature
- 3 Large Eggs, Room Temperature, 55g each
- 1 Teaspoon or 5ml Vanilla Extract or 10ml of Vanilla Essence
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C and line your 8 x 8 inches baking tray with parchment paper.
- Beat the unsalted butter slightly for a couple of minutes to fluff it up and loosen it.
- Add in the sugar to the butter and cream both together until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Mixing well is important at this stage!
- Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix well.
- Mix in the milk and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and mix well.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder mixture into the batter and mix using a whisk or hand mixer stopping immediately when there are no longer any lumps of flour. The best will be to use a spoon to fold it in to prevent overmixing.
- Transfer the batter to your lined baking tray and hit it against the counter a few times to dislodge excessive air bubbles. I did it in two separate times.
- Bake the cake for about 52-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If nearing an hour and the toothpick comes out with just very fine lumps, it is considered fully baked as well.
- Cool at room temperature for an hour before serving. Cool it upside down for a denser finish. This cake tastes best after being stored overnight at room temperature.
- Prep time:
- Cook time:
- Total time:
- Yield: 1 8 x 8 Inches Cake
Notes:
- Store at room temperature for up to 6 days. If placed in the fridge, it will be hardened and can lose flavour. Can be softened again after exposure to room temperature for a couple of hours.
- Do take note that if your cake has small little holes in it, it is perfectly alright but you can minimize it by following the methods suggested on the read up!
- Feel free to ask me any questions!
- If you would like to be updated for more recipes which I strive to create to perfection for sharing, do check out my Instagram, Facebook Page, or YouTube 🙂 Thank you so much for all of your support! Feel free to tag me or link back here!
Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan
Chanced upon your receipe on FB page which redirected to your page. Tried your receipe today and the cake turned out perfect. It was super moist, buttery and not too sweet. Absolutely delicious! Thank you! Oh and I put it on airfryer. That’s the one difference. But thanks again! Can’t wait to try your other receipes
Hey Priya, thanks for trying your hand out at my recipe and I am so glad it worked out for you 🙂 The Butter Cake is one of my favourites and go to, especially for a gathering or sharing. Also, this cake is air-fryer friendly too except it might take a faster cooking time.
Thanks for dropping by and I hope to share more recipes to come!!
It looks delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thanks for dropping by and for the kind praise 🙂
Can I use a bundt cake pan? How will that change baking times? Also, do we put the pan directly in the middle of the oven? I am excited for this recipe, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Hey Mishal, thanks for reaching out and apologies for the late reply! Missed out a couple of comments as they were stuck between quite a few spam comments, and had to retrieve them! Hope I didn’t got back too late!
Yup you can use a bundt cake pan. The baking time to change really depends. I would say that a 9 inch baking pan has the least impact in terms of baking time, since its about the same as this square butter cake in terms of size. If you use a smaller pan, I would suggest a longer baking time of about 5 – 8 minutes, but to keep close watch in case it burns or dries out. For bigger pans, a shortened baking time of about 3 – 5 minutes!
Additionally, you cna consider doubling or multiplying the ingredients by 1.5x if you’re using bigger pans, so that the cake won’t look short altogether! And yup you can place the pan directly in the oven 🙂 It would be great if you can still observe the surface of the cake (it’s not fully blocked) so that you can gauge the baking process.
Hope that helps and freel free to reach out further anytime you need help!
Hi.. can I use Self -raising flour instead of plain flour?
Hey Abby, most definitely 🙂 Apologies for the late reply!
Hi I’m from the UK is full cream milk the same as whole milk?
Hey Charlotte, thank you for dropping by my blog and apologies for the late reply! Hope I still got back to you in time!
You are right that the full cream milk is the same as whole milk :D!
Can you make butter tea cake in bread machine? I dont hv oven
Hey Evelyn, I haven’t tried that myself and its a good question! If I do try it, I will make sure to update you. I believe its possible with some tweaks!
Hi Javier. T,
I have tried some of your recipes and its turn all well. Thanks for sharing and the Tips too..
Hey Roziana, thank you so much for dropping by my blog and I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed reading and trying out the creations I have 😀 Am so glad that you appreciate them too!
The eggs are room temp and for the milk, i left it outside the fridge for ard 1hr before baking.
Hey PeiQi! Hmm if you do try again and have pictures of it please do snap some and send it over! I think that might be easier for me to troubleshoot with!
My cake turn out rubbery at the bottom half but the top half is okay. what can i do to improve my cake?
Hey PeiQi! Thank you for trying out my recipe and dropping by my blog 😀
I am suspecting the culprit here to be an overmixed cake batter, which results in a denser bottom. To improve, I would recommend folding in the ingredients and mixing less (meaning to stop once its well incorporated!). Another possibility could also be that the cake has collapsed on itself.
It would help too if you happen to have taken any pictures of the bottom rubbery half 😀 hope that my commentws helped!
Hi, i didn’t take a picture of it. I tried this recipe again and after step5 which is adding and mixing the vanilla and salt to the mixture, the mixture is like solidifying. It looks like its turning back to butter again.
Does it mean that i mixed too much? How do i improve?
Hey PeiQi! I suspect if its up to that step and it has solidification, it is likely that some of your ingredients might be too cold or not at room temperature. Was all the ingredients including the egg at room temperature just to check?
Hello, can you include photos or videos to guide us through the baking process? Will rlly appreciate it!
Hey PeiQi! Thank you for dropping by my blog! I will definitely take your comment in recommendation! Currently my pictures of the baking process hasnt been very nice and I am afraid to post it but I will try to see what I can do :p
Hi
the butter i bought is 250g per piece . the recipe is 225g of butter.
If i use 250g, how should i adjust the rest of the ingredients?
Thanks
Hey Carol! Some butter that are at 250g comes with marking at the back for you to cut off 25g off so that it becomes 225g! Alternatively, just scoop 2 tablespoons off and it should be 225g if you don’t own a weighing scale 🙂
But if you stick to 250g, it could be slightly tricky to adjust the ingredients. But there shouldn’t be a harm. Add perhaps 10 more g of flour and it should be almost the same!
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Javier, have you tried making cakes using your breadmaker? Perhaps you can experiment and share any good recipes! 🙂
Hey Lin! I would love too but recently my breadmaker broke down 🙁 Currently I am unsure if I should invest in a new one or get a different appliance!
Oh, no! Sorry to hear that. I hope you get a new bread maker!
I hope I do too 😀 Still have some bread maker flavours I would like to try experimenting on but havent got a chance to yet!
Hi Javier, I tried baking the butter cake (tea version) but my cake turn out to be lumpy in the middle and the top is not golden brown like yours.
Do you know what went wrong?
Do you think the cake was fully cooked? Was afraid that the lumpy part was uncooked..
Hope to hear from you soon! 🙂
Hey Kylie! Would you be able to send me a picture of it either via Instagram, Facebook or email (bakeomaniac@gmail.com). Would like to take a closer look.
However, from your description, it seems that the lumpiness might either be a collapse of the cake while baking or it wasn’t mixed / cooked well! For the golden-brownness issue, you should be able to make it more goldene brown by upping the temperature 20-30 degrees higher at the last 5 mins or to bake it at one tier higher 🙂
Hope to hear from you and hope I helped!
Hi Javier,
Thank your for your reply and advice.
I didn’t take a picture of the cake..
should have taken a picture. I try to mix well when i bake the next time. 😊😊
As for the golden brown issue, thanks alot.
I will take note of that. 😊😊
Hopefully , will get it right the next time.
No problem at all 😀 We are all learning and no worries! Improve slowly along the way and I am sure the problems you faced will be solved eventually :p Feel free to send me pictures anytime and I will help to troubleshoot accordingly!
Hi Javier, can I use cake flour instead of plain flour? Will it affect the texture of the cake?
Hey Janice! Thank you for dropping by! Yup you can use cake flour instead of plain flour. The texture of the cake will be slightly softer 🙂
every time I bake butter cake, there is an oil layer at the bottom. what is the reason? tqvm
Hey SF! Thank you for dropping by!
Its likely that that’s the condensation from the steam coming out of the cake as it is cooling down if you cool it in a baking tin!
tq for you reply. after done I move it to rack to cool. wonder why all my butter cakes can’t have nice texture like others, that oil layer make me wanted to give up butter cake 😞
I hope after placing it on the rack it looks better! Sometimes the oiliness should most probably be water condensation but oily because it mixed with the bottom of the cake! Do update me if it doesnt work and we will see what’s the root of the problem, don’t give up 😀
Hi Javier, can I ask 55gsm egg is with shelve or without. Thanks
Hey Helen! It is 55g with shell!
Thank you Javier! It’s still great though – I did the egg separation method and frankly I prefer the denser version. I’ll try with less sugar next time!
I do definitely like the denser version too! I hope it works with less sugar! Do be careful not too reduce it too drastically just in case. But I have seen people done it with 50g!
Tried with 120g and it’s perfect ! Thanks for the recipe!
Great to hear that Veronica! At the same time, someone told me 100g is possible too, so if you would like to reduce further, I guess its possible and solved :p
Too sweet! I reduced the sugar to 150g and still Super sweet. Would 100g sugar still yield the same texture?
Hey Veronica! Nice to see you here and am glad you are trying out the recipe!
I did see someone do the reduction before and its possible. However, do note that the cake might be slightly drier so do take note of the baking time. Besides that the structure might be slightly flatter since sugar helps to hold the structure!
Hello!
Mine turned out super oily! the whole pan and plate (after i transferred the cake over from pan) was literally soaked in butter. Is it usual?
And also, can I sub the milk with yogurt?
🙂
Hey Felicia! That is indeed unusual. Do you happen to have pictures of it? I will try to troubleshoot it for you!
I have never tried substituting milk with yogurt before in this particular cake but did it before for my other cakes. It should be possible but I am concerned it the cake will be too moist if yogurt is used.
Thank you so much Javier
Am going to try make with the swap ingredients
Thanks once again. Really appreciate your reply
Jo
No problem Jo! Feel free to ask if anything and am glad to be of help 😀
Hi Javier
My baking tray is measuring at 7 inches x 7 inches x 1.5 inches
Will it overflow if i use this size
The rest of my baking tray are big rectangle
However I do have Loaf Tin measuring at 4.3 inches x 8.3 inches x 2 inches
Can i use muffin cup or paper cupcake for this recipe? Would temperature and baking time be affected?
Thanks so much for your time and sincere apologies for asking so many questions.
Jo
Hey Joanna! Thank you for dropping by!
I suspect the cake might overflow just very slightly for the 7 inches cake and you would need extra baking time of about 5-10 minutes. For the loaf tin, it has too small surface area and would likely result in an undercooked cake.
I would recommend going for the 7 inches square and baking slightly longer. Hopefully it doesn’t over flow too much! Muffin cup would work too but I am not too sure how long to bake it for. Based on my experience, a good guess would be 20 minutes!
No worries at all and please feel free to ask if anything 🙂
hi Javier,
thank you for the comments. I tried this recipe but i made a mistake not reading the notes. i halved the recipe and cooked it,,,,,but i accidentally used a load pan, resulting on the top being burnt and the bottom under cook. Will try again……
Ah yes. I think the baking time has to be looked at very carefully when halved! Do feel free to approach me too if you need help to give a rough gauge of baking time depending on the dimension of the loaf pan too! Even the size of the loaf pan affects baking time!
Hi Javier
i do not have full cream milk as allergic…can substitute with Fresh Sweetened Soy Milk?
As for granulated sugar…can use Caster Sugar?
Thanks so much
Jo
Hey Joanna! Yes for both!
I baked with Caster Sugar when I run out of granulated sugar. As for soy milk, sometimes I make the swap myself too when I bake for my lactose-intolerant friend 🙂
Hi Javier, totally apreciate your time n effort to try out recipes n then simplify them. Most of us look for fuss free recipes. I esp look forward to more bm bread recipes. Keep up the xcellent work! Btw u take beautiful shots of yr food. 👍
Hey Monica! Thank you for dropping by 😀 I am really honoured and glad that you like my recipes and I hope i can continue making good ones!
Food photography is a hobby that I picked up as I blog and I thought it would be great if the food both looks good and taste good, though taste is definitely more important! If you have any flavour recommendations or styles for BM bread recipes, feel free to let me know too, I will be glad to take the ideas in! 😀
Hi There!
I read ur post, looks easy to bake! I’m so going to try it out ASAP. But I’ve a little questions.
1. Can I use salted butter instead? Then I’ll omit the salt in the ingredients. Will it affect outcome?
2. I can’t get any vanilla essence 🙁 everywhere’s sold out. What a waste! Only these 2 ingredients are affected, otherwise I’m all good to start baking.
Hey Eden! Am glad to see you here 🙂 Let me try to help you out!
For 1. Yup entirely possible and it won’t affect the outcome at all.
For 2. Some butter cakes don’t actually add any vanilla at all since the flavour of the butter is sufficient. However, it might affect just slightly even if absent.
I would think that you can make sure to serve the butter cake only after letting it sit overnight for a stronger flavour!
Any tips for making this in an airfryer instead of a traditional oven? Thanks!
Not yet, but I will definitely update this if I do. I haven’t worked with an air fryer / air oven before. But if you have worked with similar cake recipes on your airfryer, let me know and lets see if we can work an adaptation out 🙂
Butter cake recipe
Instructions number 3 add in the sugar to butter and cream. You mention the cream is it the full cream milk?
Instruction number 6 mix the milk and mix well. Is it the milk is full cream milk from 100ml full cream milk?
Hey Amanda! Thanks for droppping by!
Yes you are right. Both these items are all referring to full cream milk 🙂
[…] we have Butter Cake (Tea Version) that is perfect for tea settings or as a light snack. Now we are going to explore the other method […]
A semolina cake is actually called Sugee Cake by the Eurasian community. The best recipes are a carefully guarded family heirloom, I have been told. But still you can find some good recipes on the internet.
Share a rcp of eggless too plz
An eggless version is difficult but should I be able to experiment one for it to happen, I will make it happen :)! Thanks for the recommendation too!
Hello Javier, thank you for helping us bake better cakes with these recipes your give so freely all the time!
Again this one is a hit with me already. I will certainly try it.
I have a few questions to ask concerning the cake:
1) can one make with margarine instead of butter as I live in Nigeria and butter is expensive?
2) do u think it can be used for a birthday cake; creaming and covering with fondant for a birthday cake?
Thank you for all that you do. God bless u
Hey Miriam, I am so glad to hear that you like the recipe! Let me help you with some of your queries and greetings from Singapore to Nigeria!
Regarding (1), it is possible to use Margarine. However, the taste quality of it would be different since margarine is vegetable oil-based.
Regarding (2) Its possible for both. However, I would recommend using Hot Milk Cake Recipe as it is much more fluffier!
Hope that helps:)
Hi Javier, at this moments , I only have salted butter & icing sugar, can I replace with this two item, tq
Hey Nacy! Thank you for dropping by my blog and apologies for the late reply!
For the salted butter it is possible to use it to replace unsalted butter! Don’t add any more salt then 🙂
Regarding the powdered sugar, I am not too sure but you can most definitely try. Use about additional 20g of powdered sugar and make sure to sift it before you cream!
Hope it helps! 🙂
Hello Javier
As always enjoyed ur sharing & showing ur skill in doing these recipes. TQ.
Passion without hard work and diligence will not bear worthy & (or) worth-while satisfying result. Kudos to u!
Hv u tried baking Semolina cake? If not could u share with us to bake a good quality Semolina cake that most Eurasians love & familiar with in Singapore? Love to hear from u soon.
Hello Nazz! Thank you for your kind words of encouragement! Its the first thing I read in the morning and I am already smiling, you make my day!
I have not heard of Semolina Cakes before though I think that does sound really familiar! I will look into it and try to make my version of it that I deem worthy of making! Thank you for the recommendation or else I would have ran out of ideas :p
Really appreciate your time and contribution for the recipes you have share, thank you very much 😘
Awww man, thank you for taking the initiative to drop a comment and for your kind appreciation too 🙂 I hope that you will find my recipes useful and that you will like them too!