My birthday was last week (April 28th) and I received a Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer. It’s awesome. I was so excited that I actually made cupcakes for my own birthday and brought them into work. The general consensus? OMNOMNOMNOMNOM.
The key to this recipe is slow baking at a lower temperature. This is enough for a 13″x9″, 2-9″ rounds, or a bunch of cupcakes. You get a better quality cake if all the ingredients are close to room temperature and the butter is very soft. Here are the ingredients:
As always, preheat before you start – 350° should do the trick. Prep the pans with grease and flour. You want to cream the butter and sugar together and then beat in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl, you want to mix the flour and baking powder. This is done so that the mix is relatively even throughout. Next, alternate adding the flour mix and milk. I tried 1/2 c flour, then 1/4 c milk, and it seemed to do the trick. This is done to make sure the mix is even. Here are the different bake times:
-
13″x9″ 45 minutes
-
2-9″ 40-45 minutes
-
cupcakes 20 minutes
*All ovens heat differently, so you’ll want to watch the cake when it’s about 5 minutes to go. Another trick is to rotate the cake 180° half-way through the baking so that it heats evenly. You can also stick the middle of the cake with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
I found that this recipe is best for cupcakes. The cake can be a little too heavy for a two-layer or sheet cake.