Mrs NgSK's Butter Cake



Doesn't look that appetizing, but this 8" cake was finished in 2 days

I have book-marked Wendy's page - Mrs NgSK's Vanilla Butter Cake for some time. Just didn't have the time or opportunity to bake it until now. The cake is indeed very soft and fluffy, though not very tall, but almost there. I think my whites are not very stable. But the texture is very fine, no big holes but wet lines can still be seen inside the cake. I think that is not properly mixed. And one thing I notice about all my cakes baked is that it tends to become wet, ah maybe not wet, or slightly moist the next day. This moisture caused the cakes to be mouldy very fast. I don't know if I have underbaked them as I usually baked them longer than what the recipe states and usually let the cakes cooled in the pan completely before cutting them.

And this cake is no exception. It looks a bit moist the following day, not mouldy yet. The colour also changes to a darker yellow the next few days. Wondering if the flour caused it, as the flour has no preservative added. But of course the taste is still excellent. ^_^

Thanks Wendy for sharing Mrs NgSK's recipe.

Ingredients:

• 230g salted butter, softened (I used SCS butter - so the butter should still be slightly cold, not at our climate room temperature)
• 4 grade B eggs, separated (My note: Deli Fresh Grade C around 56g will serve this purpose)
• 50g + 120g sugar (I reduced the sugar for the butter+egg yolks portion, the sweetness is just nice for me but the audiences still find them a bit sweet)
• 200g flour (I don't have self raising flour, so I used the normal cake flour and added baking powder)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 60ml soymilk (I used those which already have sugar added)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Line the base and grease the side of an 8 inch square pan.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder.
4. Beat butter and 120g sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add vanilla extract and slowly add in egg yolks and beat until well combined after each addition.
6. Add half the flour and mix with low speed until incorporated.
7. Put in milk in 2 additions and mix well until incorporated.
8. Mix in the balance of the flour.
9. Beat egg whites until soft peak forms. Add 50g sugar gradually and beat until stiff peak. Set aside.
10. Put in half the egg whites and mix under lowest speed.
11. Put in the remaining egg whites and fold.
12. Pour batter into the pan and level.
13. Bake for 55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Friday 22 June 2013

I made this again. This time I used Golden Churn butter. The smell is a bit different from SCS butter. Not to say that it is not fragrant, but I think I prefer the SCS butter smell...haha...will stick to SCS butter next time. The salt content is also higher I think. I was told by my baker friend that the wet spot may be caused by the insufficient creaming of the butter and sugar. So, this time, I ensure I creamed the butter and sugar until the colour became very very pale.

And what's the end result?

Well, there was improvement, not too many wet spots compared to the first attempt but there were still wet spots....sigh....I am pretty sure the butter and sugar were well creamed. Or maybe I should have beaten them longer. I have made butter cakes with the no-egg-separation method, and I didn't see any wet spot....so next time I will beat a few more rounds after adding the flour and make sure that the egg whites are fully well mixed (when folding in the last few steps) with the egg yolk-butter-flour batter.

I have reduced the sugar to about 100g this time, still found it a bit sweet, I think another 10g reduction will be nice (provided I still used the sugared soy milk). In this version I added raisin to it. I could have also baked it longer, as the skin is still not too caramelized.

The colour has improved. It stays the same even after a few days.

The top looks wrinkly.