The best butter cake is extremely buttery, dense, and sweet without being too rich. This butter cake recipe is fail-proof, easy, and great for novice bakers. It’s tried, tested and backed by millions of people across the world. If you had to imagine how traditional butter cakes used to be in the past, this would have to be it. Very rich, very decadent, very moist, and very, very buttery. Just sweet enough, with a slight hint of vanilla. So simple, so basic, but so delicious.

The recipe calls for simple and everyday ingredients that most of us have at home: butter, all-purpose flour, sugar, eggs, and milk. All you need to do is follow the easy instructions and in less than an hour, the mouthwatering aroma will fill your house. To start, have all your ingredients at room temperature.

Now, depending on where you live, room temperature could be anything from a cool, even chilly, kitchen, where it’s 18°C inside. But for most intensive purposes, it is widely regarded as between 19°C to 21°C. Chilled butter cuts and slices easily, so have it weighed and cubed once out of the chiller. It’ll probably need 20 to 25 minutes to come to room temperature, so you can go on to prep other ingredients.

If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, you can easily gauge when butter is ready for creaming by pressing your index finger lightly on its surface. You can serve the pieces of this cake with a cup of coffee or tea, for breakfast or afternoon tea. It’s delightful and delicious.

Ingredients;

  • 310 g plain flour
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 10 egg whites
  • 310 g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 10 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 455 g butter (or use 350 g for a less rich version)
  • 6 tbsp condensed milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 drops of almond essence

Instructions;

  1. Preheat oven to 175 deg C (350 deg F). Place the oven rack in the bottom one-third of the oven. Lightly grease the base and sides of the cake pan with butter, and sprinkle lightly with flour.
  2. In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip egg whites on medium-high speed Once the whites get foamy, stop the mixer and sprinkle baking powder over the whites.
  3. Turn on the mixer, and whip to mix well. Add sugar, a little at a time, in a steady stream. Continue whipping on medium-high speed until thick or just about stiff peak stage.
  4. Continue whipping for 1 minute after all the yolks have been added, until thick and creamy. Pour out into a large mixing bowl.
  5. Clean the mixer bowl and dry thoroughly. Place butter and condensed milk in the bowl. Using the electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add almond essence, vanilla extract and brandy (if using), and beat for 15 seconds until well blended.
  7. Add one cup of egg mixture and beat for 30 seconds till well mixed. Fold in the flour-salt mixture lightly together with the rest of the egg mixture, all at once.
  8. Bake at 175 deg C (350 deg F) for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 135 deg C (275 deg F) and bake for a further 60 to 75 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges free of batter.
  9. When the cake is done, remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.