Simple Vanilla Cake Recipe

This simple vanilla cake recipe comes courteousy of trying to entertain my friends’ kids for a couple of days while they are on their mid term break.

I was given a year’s membership to Airfield Estate when I attended the launch of Overend’s Kitchen recently and it has come very handy indeed. Myself and the two kids took the car early on Thursday and went to the farmyard where the kids can see how the eggs are collected and how cows get milked. It’s particularly fun as since it is spring time, there are lots of babies around the yard. I think the calf took a mega shine to Aodh and Roisin was particularly handy with the hens. Anyways, back to the baking! 

As we bought a dozen eggs at the estate, we thought we really should use them when they were super fresh. So after decorating the boxes, we decided to get cooking. Earlier this week, we made a delicious chocolate cake, so it was only fair that we would now try a simple vanilla cake recipe. 

I’ll be honest, I parked the kids in front of a movie (Despicable Me 2 since you asked) and ended up making the cake by myself. I’m glad I did as I think they would have gotten bored with the creaming of the butter and sugar. 

I based myself on an old recipe from Nigella and souped it up a bit. It turned out beautifully. It is crunchy on the outside and really moist inside. It’s simple but not dull and the smell when it was in the oven was just stunning. I will be making vanilla cake again! 

Ingredients 

• 350 g of plain flour
• 300 g of sugar
• 225 soft butter (I used unsalted)
• 6 large eggs (buy the best ones you can afford please) 
• 1 heaped table spoon of baking soda
• half a large pot (250 g) of natural yoghurt (I use Glenisk where I can)
• 4 table spoons of vanilla extract
• 1 table spoon of vanilla paste or vanilla grains from 1 pod 
• 1 shot of Galliano (vanilla liqueur)

Method

• If you have a food processor, I recommend that you chuck it all in and let it do the work for you. Creaming butter by hand is never ever a fun job and I strongly recommend you get all the help you can with it. If you don’t have a food processor, you will be at it for a while. 
• If you don’t have a food processor, do make sure your butter is ar room temperature and cut it in small cubes. Cream it with the sugar.
• Once that’s done, you can add half the flour and 3 eggs. Mix well until smooth and repeat with the rest of the eggs and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Butter your mold and pour your batter in it. Place in the middle of a preheated oven (180 C). 
• This is quite a lot of batter so it will take between 40 min and 75 min depending on the kind of mold you use. The deeper the mold the longer, the cake will bake. Remember to do the knife test (if it comes out clean from the cake then it’s cooked through).

Suggestion: this simple vanilla cake recipe would be delicious if you wanted to add some pear or rhubarb to the batter.