Plain cake
This is a classic, loaf-shaped cake, deliberately left plain for you to embellish as you choose.
85 K 3.5/5 (19 reviews)
1 hour 30 min.
Easy
1 cake
6 IngredientsLast modified on: December 30th 2019
For 1 cake, you will need:
- 1
150 g egg ( How to... ) - 2
125 g butter - 3
110 g caster sugar - 4
15 g vanilla sugar - 5
160 g flour - 6
10 g baking powder - Total weight: 570 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 25 min.
Resting: 30 min.
Cooking: 35 min.
All in all: 1 hour 30 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 4 min.
Allow ingredients to come to room temperature
Take the butter out of the fridge at least 1 hour beforehand.
Break the eggs then weigh 125 g butter carefully; this is important for the rest of the recipe. Put into a bowl and leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Stage 2 - 3 min.
Make the cake batter
Put into a food-mixer bowl: 125 g butter (cut into small pieces), 110 g caster sugar and 15 g vanilla sugar.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
Start beating and mix the sugar and butter thoroughly.
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Add the eggs one at a time...
Stage 5 - 2 min.
...and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Important: If the mixture begins to curdle, stop beating and plunge the bowl into a pan of hot water, beating with a hand whisk until the mixture homogenizes (normally about 1 minute).
Important: If the mixture begins to curdle, stop beating and plunge the bowl into a pan of hot water, beating with a hand whisk until the mixture homogenizes (normally about 1 minute).
Stage 6 - 2 min.
Sieve 160 g flour and 10 g baking powder together.
Stage 7 - 30 min.
Stage 8 - 2 min.
Bake the cake
Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
Pour the batter into the mould or tin.
Stage 9 - 35 min.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Test the centre of the cake to check that it is cooked .
Remarks
If you want to include dry fruit, chocolate chips, etc., add these at stage 6, mixed with the flour.
Keeping: Several days.
Source: Based on recipe by Gaston Lenôtre.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 30 RDI=10 % | 310 RDI=30 % | 120 RDI=20 % | 2,220 RDI=110 % | 9,290 RDI: 110 % |
| Per 100 g | 5 RDI=2 % | 50 RDI=5 % | 20 RDI=3 % | 390 RDI=20 % | 1,630 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 cake : 2.10 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Flour
Like these other recipes: Sauce Normande (for fish), Hamburgers, Elsa's Comtoise galette, Pink Reims biscuits, Basic cake batter - the French way, ... See them all 201
Egg
Like these other recipes: Caribbean upside-down cake, Hamburger buns, Naan, Spinach and Comté Loaf, Rémoulette of celeriac, ... See them all 236
Butter
Like these other recipes: Lambé salad, Langoustine and leek tarts, Kouign-amann brioche, Breton galettes (pancakes), Mushroom tart, ... See them all 472
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Cherry clafoutis, Dandelion flower jelly, Little apple turnovers with almonds and raisins, Warm apple feuillantines, Sicilian Epiphany Pie, ... See them all 361
Other recipes you may also like
Guacamole
For this typically Mexican recipe there are two main methods: smooth mashed avocado (made with a blender), or simple mashed avocado (made with a fork) with small pieces. And you can add, or not, finely diced tomato. You will find the first version (smooth) below.November 26th 2011302 K4.1 1 hour 25 min.
Chocolate rolls (petits pains)
Here is a recipe for "real" chocolate petits pains, i.e. with a milk bread dough (not croissants dough) and with a stick of chocolate inside.October 30th 2021444 K4.6 5 hours 30 min.
How to cook bacon and remove excess fat
To prevent excess fat in a recipe using bacon, you can "blanch" it before use, leaving most of the fat in the pan with the water.February 21th 2011388 K 44.8 15 min.
Crème caramel
Crème caramel (upside-down caramel cream) is a classic of bistro cuisine. The vanilla cream is made with eggs, cooked in a dish with a layer of caramel in the bottom, and placed in a bain-marie. It's traditionally served turned out so that the liquid caramel runs down over the cream.February 21th 2011266 K5 3 hours 35 min.
Coconut tuiles
Delicate tuiles with coconut. Very thin, they are both crunchy and melt-in-the-mouth. Delicious on their own or to accompany an ice-cream or cream dessert, perhaps a sophisticated one like coconut-vanilla cream for Elsa .October 13th 2010330 K4.8 1 hour 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-06-22)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.