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Plain cake
This is a classic, loaf-shaped cake, deliberately left plain for you to embellish as you choose.
89 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.
Note: As always with cakes, if you want a nice opening on top when baking, try this very effective trick.
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: Diamond biscuits, Panettone, Oatmeal cake, Clafoutis batter, Special small breads, ... See them all 204
Egg
Like these other recipes: Brioche tart with Comté cheese, Gisèle's Pasties, Half-cooked chocolate cake with raspberry coulis, Sweet pastry, Buckwheat almond biscuits, ... See them all 238
Butter
Like these other recipes: Apple and whisky crumble, Cocotte eggs with Comté, Breton Sandwich, Tagliatelle New Zealand style, Pork medallions with "full" turnips, ... See them all 476
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Melon with port sorbet, Lime (or lemon) curd, Antoinette's caramelized apple cake, Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream), Shortbread tart with sweet apricots and rosemary, ... See them all 361
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