Everyday Cake

for when you need cake right now.

I can’t be the only one who gets random but very strong urges for a simple slice of cake. When these cravings hit, I don’t want anything too fancy - no layer cakes or buttercream or ganache please. Just a good thick wedge of homemade cake.

This Everyday Cake, named so because it doesn’t require any occasion or reason to be made, is the kind of cake you work your way through over the course of a few days, each time accompanied by a giant mug of tea. It’s the kind of cake you have on hand ‘just in case’ someone pops round or when you crave something homemade that doesn’t require incredible effort. This is a perfectly dense one-bowl cake that stays moist for days thanks to the oil and yoghurt combination. It’s a simple case of adding your wet ingredients to the dry and giving it a good mix. Simples.

Much of the beauty of this cake lies in its flexibility and forgiving nature. Use what you have! Bake it in a round pan, swap out the vanilla for almond extract, grate in a little nutmeg or use olive oil for something a little more fragrant. Most times I’ll eat a slice on its own and I’m always joyfully satisfied. But if you wanted to jazz things up a little you can have it hot with custard or toasted in a pan with salted butter and a drizzle of honey. (Fried cake truly is a thing of wonder). This may be called the everyday cake, but she is anything but mundane.

The recipe is taken from my second cookbook, A Good Day to Bake.

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RECIPE

serves 8
equipment : a 2lb (900g) loaf tin

• 225g plain flour

• 180g caster sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• grated zest of 1/2 lemon

• 3 large eggs, beaten

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

• 100g unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 100g plain yoghurt or sour cream

• icing sugar, for dusting, optional

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C(160C fan). Grease and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the lemon zest. Make a well in the middle and pour in the beaten eggs, oil, melted butter and vanilla.

Mix gently until completely smooth and there are no streaks of flour. Stir in the yoghurt or sour cream.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar, if using, to serve.