Vanilla Butter Cake - the best moistly dense (in a good way) cake~

Vanilla butter cake

Vanilla butter cake. Photo / Supplied

By Donna Hay

Serves 6-8

150g butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
3 tsp baking powder, sifted
3/4 cup milk
Raspberry jam, for spreading
Icing sugar, for dusting
Whipped cream, to serve.

Preheat oven to 160C. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy.

Gradually add the eggs and beat until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and milk and beat until just combined.

Spoon into a lightly greased 20cm-round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut the cake in half and spread the bottom half with the jam.

Sandwich with the remaining half, dust with icing sugar and serve with cream.

Vanilla and Chocolate Cupcakes with NO BUTTER - super easy to make with kids!!!

Vanilla cupcakes - 2 doz

4 eggs
1c sugar
1c oil
1c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp baking powder
2c flour

Mix oil sugar eggs well then add rest - will be quite runny - is more a batter. 

Chocolate cupcakes - 2 doz

4 eggs
1c sugar
1c oil
1c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1tbsp b powder
6tbsp cocoa - if you're using Equagold you only need about 4tbsp
1 3/4c flour

180C 20 mins for cupcake wrappers in muffin tins - less if using patty tin sized papers or mini muffin sized. 

I often make both these mixes and marble them together. Have also successfully substituted 150ml of applesauce for oil when making a 1 and half times amount (so 150ml apple sauce to 225ml oil) and one less egg (5 instead of 6) and they were fine.

Nice and easy for kids to make as don't have to cream butter and sugar. Use a measuring cup to pour batter into cases. Cases need to be about 3/4 full.