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Plain cake

Plain cake
This is a classic, loaf-shaped cake, deliberately left plain for you to embellish as you choose.
97 K 3.5/5 (19 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
duree1 hour 30 min. difficultéEasy prix2.10 € pour combien1 cake ingredients6 Ingredients
Keywords:
Last modified on: December 30th 2019
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For 1 cake, you will need:
Change these quantities to make:
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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 25 min.
Resting: 30 min.
Cooking: 35 min.
All in all: 1 hour 30 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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.
Plain cake : Stage 1

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.
Plain cake : Stage 2

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.
Plain cake : Stage 3
Start beating and mix the sugar and butter thoroughly.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 3 min.
Plain cake : Stage 4
Add the eggs one at a time...
Stage 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Plain cake : Stage 5
...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).
Stage 6 - ⌛ 2 min.
Plain cake : Stage 6
Sieve 160 g flour and 10 g baking powder together.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 30 min.
Plain cake : Stage 7
Mix into the batter with whisk.

Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
Plain cake : Stage 8

Bake the cake


Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).

Pour the batter into the mould or tin.

Note: As always with cakes, if you want a nice opening on top when baking, try this very effective trick.
Stage 9 - ⌛ 35 min.
Plain cake : Stage 9
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 recipe30 RDI=10 %310 RDI=30 %120 RDI=20 %2,220 RDI=110 %9,290 RDI: 110 %
Per 100 g5 RDI=2 %50 RDI=5 %20 RDI=3 %390 RDI=20 %1,630 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: egg, milk, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 1 cake : 2.10 €

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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
Flour

Like these other recipes: Chocolate almond cookies, Dublin fruit scones, Lemon and lime cakes, Canadian apple crumble, Walnut short bread, ... See them all 212

Egg
Egg

Like these other recipes: Fried rice with turnips and new peas, Sushi, Fried eggs with tomatoes, Mascarpone fondant with two lemons, Koulibiak in pie dish, ... See them all 251

Butter
Butter

Like these other recipes: Colcannon, Cabbage and cheddar quiche, Loaf for "les filles'", Lille style chicken, Leek and potato soup, ... See them all 493

Caster sugar
Caster sugar

Like these other recipes: Mulled apple juice, Crème caramel, Bonnevaux apple tart, Eton mess, Crêpes Suzette, ... See them all 375

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