VANILLA CAKE RECIPE UK RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly coat an 8-inch cake pan with butter and dust with flour. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Beat butter into the flour mixture, one heaping 1/4 teaspoonful at a time, using an electric mixer on low speed, until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Beat in  sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture resembles fine damp sand. Beat in eggs one at a time. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat  vanilla and milk just until blended. (Do not over beat.)
• Transfer to the prepared pan and bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer to the rack to cool completely.
•  Ice with Browned-Butter Glaze.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). Lightly grease an 18cm (7in) round cake tin with a little extra butter or margarine and cut a piece of greaseproof paper or non-stick baking parchment to fit the base of the tin.
• Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or a hand-held mixer for 1 minute, or until just combined. It's important not to beat the batter too much - just long enough to make it smooth.
• Pour or spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 45-50 minutes. The cake is cooked when it looks well risen and golden; the top should spring back when lightly touched with a fingertip. Another test is to insert a skewer into the centre of the cake - it should come out clean.
• Let the cake sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve dusted with icing sugar.