Plain cake


Plain cake
This is a classic, loaf-shaped cake, deliberately left plain for you to embellish as you choose.
78 K 3.5/5 (19 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: December 30th 2019
For 3 cakes, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
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

Allow ingredients to come to room temperature


Take the butter out of the fridge at least 1 hour beforehand.

Break the eggs then weigh 13.6 oz 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

Make the cake batter


Put into a food-mixer bowl: 13.6 oz butter (cut into small pieces), 11.6 oz caster sugar and 1.6 oz Vanilla sugar.

Stage 3 - 5 min.
Plain cake
Start beating and mix the sugar and butter thoroughly.

Stage 4 - 3 min.
Plain cake
Add the eggs one at a time...

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Plain cake
...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
Sieve 1 lb + 10.4 oz flour and 1.1 oz baking powder together.

Stage 7 - 30 min.
Plain cake
Mix into the batter with whisk.

Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes.

Stage 8 - 2 min.
Plain cake

Bake the cake


Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).

Pour the batter into the mould or tin.

Stage 9 - 35 min.
Plain cake
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 recipe100 RDI=40 %920 RDI=90 %370 RDI=60 %6,660 RDI=330 %27,880 RDI: 330 %
Per 100 g5 RDI=2 %50 RDI=5 %20 RDI=3 %390 RDI=20 %1,630 RDI: 20 %
Per cake30 RDI=10 %310 RDI=30 %120 RDI=20 %2,220 RDI=110 %9,290 RDI: 110 %
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 Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Egg, Milk, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 3 cakes : 6.20 €
  • Per 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)
Other recipes you may also like
Nanou's chocolate cake
Nanou's chocolate cake
A moist melting cake, very very chocolaty...
June 22th 2013277 K4.6 1 hour 45 min.
Exotic fruit tart
Exotic fruit tart
An exotic fruit tart (bananas, kiwi and pineapple), with crisp pastry and almond cream which are cooked beforehand. It's a rather simple recipe, but the final result will impress your guests.
May 27th 2020314 K5 2 hours 25 min.
Soft fruits in sabayon
Soft fruits in sabayon
This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface.
February 21th 2011263 K3.9 50 min.
Finger biscuits
Finger biscuits
These small biscuits, that look a bit like savoy biscuits, are delicious alone or with Champagne, but are also the base for charlottes or Tiramisu.
July 30th 2021337 K5 50 min.
Old style brioche
Old style brioche
Classical version of brioche use yeast to raise the dough, but in this recipe some leaven is added. This make a more rustic brioche, with a small taste of leaven.
December 19th 2014300 K4.6 14 hours 6 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-12-01)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
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.
I am not a leaving thing
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.

Back to top of page