Cheap Cake Recipes?

star2007

I make a lush vegan sponge cake... So you don't even need to shell out for any eggs <sorry>

Basic recipe:

400g self raising flour
200g caster sugar
200ml sunflower oil
300ml soya milk (or 50% each milk/water)
1 tsp bicarb
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

(Makes enough for 2 21cm victoria sandwich pans, use half for a small loaf tin etc)

Heat oven to 180 - 200 C, less if fan oven.
Grease tins.
Sift flour into bowl. If making chocolate variation, use 350g flour!+ 50 cocoa powder.
Add sugar & mix.
Stir in oil.
In a jug mix soya milk, bicarb & lemon, pour into the cake mix and stir till it's smooth.
Pour into cake pans and bake for 25 - 30 mins. Test for done-ness by sticking a skewer in & seeing if it comes out clean.

'Butter' icing (optional)
150g dairy free margarine, 250g icing sugar (or the correct relative proportions thereof)
Cream together
Add any of: vanilla, cocoa, almond essence, coffee etc

Variations:
Lemon drizzle... add zest from 1 or 2 lemons to the dry ingredients, and more lemon juice into the soya milk mix. When cooling, gently heat up juice and zest from another lemon and stir in a couple of heaped tbsp of icing sugar. Pr1ck the cake with a skewer all over and drizzle over the lemon.

Coffee and walnut
Add chopped walnuts to the dry ingredients.
Mix a spoonful of instant coffee with a very little boiling water to make a paste, add to the wet mixture.
Add coffee to the butter icing when you ice it.

Chocolate beetroot cake
Add grated beetroot to the dry ingredients. Use a food processor if poss, otherwise you'll look like Lady Macbeth! :eek: Use 50g cocoa to 350g SR flour.
Either ice with cocoa flavour butter icing, or melt 100g of plain chocolate in a bain-marie/ pyrex bowl, then add soya cream until it's a fudgy consistency.

Victoria sandwich
Add vanilla extract to the cake mix and butter icing mixture. Sandwich the two layers together with the icing & a big splodge of raspberry jam.

Other variations include banana, dates, grated carrots, grated courgettes, orange drizzle cake, chopped/ sliced apples, ginger cake... just remember if you're using a dry powdery ingredient like cocoa or ground almonds you need to reduce the flour accordingly. If it's solid and lumpy like fruit or chopped nuts, you don't have to adjust. Likewise adjust the liquid if you add any other liquid ingredients.

This comes out really light and lush, and guaranteed to bring on the compliments :j

Sparklyfairy

Here's some great cheap recipes I've collected on here & the harry bikers website - they are al very quick, cheap & YUMMY!

**BOTTOM OF THE CUPBOARD BARS - from someone on MSE - sorry!:o
2oz butter
a good squidge of golden syrup
3oz sugar
3 oz oats
3 oz raisins
then whatever is left in the packets so today I used
1 oz rice crispies
3 oz seeds
2 oz mini smarties
You can use anything as long as they add up to 6oz (not including the raisins and oats)
Then you just melt the butter sugar and golden syrup down, pour into the dry goods and combine and then flatten down into a flapjack/brownie pan. Bake on a 180 for about 25 minutes until they are golden brown.
Cool and then cut into squares enjoy!

HARRY BIKERS QUICK AFTER SCHOOL BISCUITS
4 oz flour
3 oz sugar
2 oz butter
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and rub together. Form a stiff dough.
Roll into a sausage then cut into rounds.
Put on a greased baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes at 160-170 DEGREES

WEETABIX BROWNIES - from another MSE friend - sorry don't know who
In a bowl put
4 crushed weetabix
4oz caster sugar
4oz self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
pkt chocolate drops (i use a 25p 100g tescos own milk chocolate chopped up)
mix this altogether
then take 4oz of melted marg and stir this into the mixture along with an egg
mix well and put in a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at electric 180.
I put this mix into a square tin which measures 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. I suppose you could use anything a similar size it would just turn out a bit more or less deeper. I also line the tray with greaseproof paper to save any sticking. Once out the oven let it stand for about 5 minutes then turn out the tray and cut into squares.

Pinwheel

Hi
Thank you Grumswife for the recipe, it is a hit in my house too (even though I used tea with milk!) it is lovely. I have started a little recipe book for my DS who is 8 and this is the next thing I am going to write in it and teach him to make, nice and simple.
Thanks again
PWx

jamsandwhich

I prefer sultanas to raisins as I find they go more plump and juicy.

Some nice recipes here - I bake all the time but have never made a tea loaf, am sure the girls would love it as they like my rice cake and lemon drizzle cakes.

born_blonde

Just tried the tea loaf recipe, making it for my Mum and Aunt who both love cake, persuaded my reluctant Husband to try it ( I don't like those), am now making another one for Mum and Aunt. I think we'll call that a success then.
Thank you Grumswife

EstherH

I made the tea loaf today but it didn't rise. Any idea why and what I could do next time. I made it up just like it said and no one else on here has said that theirs didn't rise. It still tasted delicious though.

grumswifie

Hi EstherH

The tea loaf won't rise much as it is more of a loaf cake than a spongy cake. As long ask it tastes delish:)

tulip12

I made this cake yesterday and it turned out lovely, I did add a little mixed spice too. This will definitely be a regular cake recipe for us as it was delish, very quick and no fuss to do. Thanks Grumswifie

gillian62

grumswifie wrote: »

Hi there

My tea loaf receipe, cheap, easy and tasty

1 cup currants
1 cup of tea, fresh made soak currants until cold
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar

Mix well pour into lined 2lb tin 180c for 50 mins. Serve in thick slices buttered. Delish

Many thanks for this recipe. Tried it last night (with sultanas as didn't have currants in) - it came out lovely, and so moist!

EstherH

Hi Grumswifie,

Thanks for your reply. I have two size loaf tins and used the biggest. Would I have been better using the smaller one as it cut up into fingers rather than slices iykwim. It really is delicious and so simple that I will definitely be making it a regular. I used sultanas as that was what I had in. Thanks for posting it.

Will also try the other recipes when I get chance.

Esther x