Basic cake batter - the French way


Basic cake batter - the French way
The French have adopted the word "cake" for one that will stand up to being transported (usually made a loaf tin and sometimes called a "travel cake" in French). There are many versions, but here is a new basic recipe to which you can your choice of flavours (pistachio, lemon, chocolate...) and other ingredients (fresh or dried fruit, nuts...).
52 K 4.2/5 (6 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: November 18th 2020
For 550 g, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 10 min.
Cooking: 7 min.
All in all: 20 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 - 7 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Melt 40 g butter in a small pan on low heat.

Bring to the boil, then wait until it stops boiling and begins to give off a nutty smell (you have just made noisette butter).

Take off the heat and leave to cool until just warm.

Stage 2 - 2 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Mix 120 g egg and 150 g caster sugar in a bowl with a whisk.

Stage 3 - 1 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Add 80 g cream...

Stage 4 - 1 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
...and mix again.

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Sieve 120 g flour, 2 g baking powder and 2 pinches salt together into the mixture.

Stage 6 - 1 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Mix again.

Stage 7 - 2 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Pour the warm noisette butter into the mixture through a fine strainer.

Stage 8 - 1 min.
Basic cake batter - the French way
Mix one last time.

Stage 9
Basic cake batter - the French way
Your cake batter is ready.

You can now add your chosen flavourings (chocolate, pistachio, lemon...), or leave it plain, before pouring it into the tins or moulds.

Stage 10
Basic cake batter - the French way
If you want to make a plain cake straight away, pour the dough into a mold and bake for about 40 minutes at 390°F (200°C).
Remarks
If you are using salted butter, omit the pinches of salt.

For a plain cake, you can use replace half an ounce (10 g) of the sugar with vanilla sugar.
Keeping: Should be used the same day.
Source: Based on a recipe by Christophe Michalak.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe30 RDI=10 %240 RDI=20 %70 RDI=10 %1,730 RDI=90 %7,230 RDI: 90 %
Per 100 g5 RDI=2 %50 RDI=4 %10 RDI=2 %340 RDI=20 %1,410 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 Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk, egg, Gluten
How much will it cost?
  • For 550 g : 1.25 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipe
Pistachio cake
Pistachio cake

Here's a loaf-style cake made with a classic batter, flavoured with pistachio (of course), and with a crunchy "macaronade" topping.
42 K 1 hour 55 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Clarified butter
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.
June 21th 2017470 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
Panna cotta
Panna cotta
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert which means "cooked cream". It's a set vanilla cream, similar to blancmange, which is frequently served with other things like fruit coulis (fruit purée), caramel etc.. Here is the basic panna cotta recipe.
February 21th 2011356 K4.3 25 min.
Crab and smoked salmon club sandwiches
Crab and smoked salmon club sandwiches
A club sandwich has three slices of bread, filled with a mayonnaise-style dressing. Here is a crab and smoked salmon version with cocktail sauce.
October 13th 2010229 K 15 1 hour 2 min.
Croute à thé
Croute à thé
Under this strange name (literally "crust for tea") there hides a delicious cake in crusty sweet pastry, filled with a smooth almond mixture and icing sugar on top. It's an excellent cake for tea time, but it goes very well with fruit salad for example.
May 5th 2021311 K 14.9 1 hour 15 min.
Paella
Paella
Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made with round rice, associated mainly with the Valencia region. The name comes from the large two-handled pan in which it is traditionally prepared. This is an adapted version with a mix of meat, vegetables and shellfish.
February 21th 2011352 K4.1 2 hours 60 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-08-03)

*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