Nan’s Light Butter Cake

This light butter cake can be used for a variety of applications.  It is a delicious light butter cake in its own right or can be flavoured with, for instance, the finely grated rind of a lemon or orange and toped with a matching icing.

Other variations follow the basic recipe.

Light Butter Cake

1 large egg

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup milk

1½ cups self raising flour

60g butter, melted

Method

Heat oven to 160 degrees C (fan forced). Grease an 18cm (deep sided) round cake tin and line base with baking paper, grease again.

Whisk the egg and sugar together with just a handheld balloon whisk until well combined.

ALL AT ONCE add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Variations

One of my favourite applications is to top the cake batter before baking with fruit, such as apricot halves (fresh, tinned or preserved).  When it comes from the oven and is turned out and still hot, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

It can be used as a muffin mixture, just add for instance blueberries (a cupful). Makes 10 to 12 muffins.

Split in half and spread base with raspberry jam.  Top with the other piece of cake and dust the top with icing sugar (essentially this is a Victoria sponge cake)

Use as a flan base – bake the mixture in a 23 to 25cm recessed flan tin.  When cool, fill centre with seasonal fruits and whipped cream.

My Nan used to make that all-time favourite – jelly cakes, the recipe for which is given here.

Jelly Cakes

Makes 2 dozen, approximately

Light Butter Cake Mixture

85g packet raspberry jelly crystals

1¼ cups boiling water

1 ½ cups desiccated coconut, approximately

300ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks with 1 ½ teaspoons icing sugar

Method

Heat oven to 160°C (fan forced).  Grease 24 scoop patty pans.

Mix the jelly crystals with the boiling water and stir until dissolved.  Place in fridge to cool (but not set).

Place the coconut in a bowl.  Roll each of the cakes in the cooled jelly and then roll in the coconut.  Place on wire rack to set.

When to coating is set, slice each cake in half horizontally (not quite all the way through.  Pipe in the cream.  Serve immediately or store in fridge until serving time.