Foolproof Cake Recipe

sairy2005

Thought I would share my cake recipe with you. This makes a large batch of cakes which are perfect for giving the children when they come home from school until tea time. Good for lunch boxes as well. The cakes keep for about a week but you can halve the recipe if you want. Sorry it is in imperial as I dont do metric and it is quite important to get the measurements right.
Set oven to gas 5 and prepare tins. (makes a large sandwich and about 36 buns)

1lb self raising flour(replace 1 or 2 ozs with cocoa if you want chocolate cake)
14ozs gran sugar
6 eggs (separated)
1/2 level teaspoon of salt
1/2 pint cooking oil
1/2 pint water
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence if not using cocoa

Beat the egg whites until very stiff (a hand held electric beater helps) Then put all the other ingredients into a large bowl and beat all together until really well mixed. Fold in the egg whites using a metal spoon until mixed but the air bubbles are not knocked out.

Put into tins or bun cases. Small cakes take approx 20 mins and larger sponges about 30-35 mins.

You can make loads of variations. Lemon sponge or lemon drizzle cake. Butterfly buns. Or sugar and spice cake, mix 2 tablespoons of demarara sugar and 1 teaspoon of mixed spice together. Line a swiss roll tin with foil and sprinkle bottom with mix then put cake on top and cook. Leave until cold before turning out else some of the sugar may stay in the tin.

I have been making this since the children were little and it never fails.

Hope you enjoy it in fact I think I will make one today and sandwich it together with butter cream.

thriftmonster

Thanks - because of health reasons we are always looking for cakes made with oil instead of butter - the choc yoghurt cake on one of the threads is also good

**purpleprincess**

This might be a silly question but you know you separate the eggs and then beat the egg whites, do you use the yolks when you mix all the other ingredients together or do you miss out the yolks altogether? Thanks!

sairy2005

Sorry didnt make that clear. Yes you use the whites. I always mix them in with the oil and water and put that all in together.

sairy2005

Sorry I mean yolks not whites. I will go and have a lie down and an aspirin.:D

Actiongirl_2

thriftmonster wrote:

Thanks - because of health reasons we are always looking for cakes made with oil instead of butter - the choc yoghurt cake on one of the threads is also good

Forgive me for being thick, but why is oil better than butter? Isn't oil 'refined' whereas butter is 'natural' - eg. the reason we eat butter rather than margarine/sunflower spread?

I am really interested as we are moving into 'comfort cakes on a sunday afternoon season'!!!