About This Butter Cake Recipe

In many cultures, butter cake is celebrated as a staple and traditional favorite. This recipe calls upon the British method of a traditional sponge, but with a few extra twists and ingredients (such as buttermilk) to elevate this regular sponge cake to a flavor-packed buttery haven.

Though this butter cake came from the British pound cake, it has now become an American staple! Historically, the leavening agent used for this cake would’ve been yeast but the popularity of baking powder and other chemical leaveners in the early 20th century led to the pound cake evolving from a somewhat heavy and dense bake into this wonderful open-crumbed sponge.

My recipe takes a slight detour from tradition as I’ve scattered extra sugar and butter across the batter before baking — much the same as German Butterkuchen. It creates a thin, golden, almost caramel crust as the cake expands in the oven and cracks the topping.

A super easy recipe, you can even get it in the oven within 10 minutes of starting!

What You Need for This Butter Cake Recipe

Ingredient Notes

• Caster Sugar: It’s finer than granulated sugar, meaning a more tender sponge. The finer the sugar, the quicker it’ll dissolve into the cake batter, whereas granulated sugar can leave a crunchy and more firm texture in the mouth. If you can’t find caster sugar, you can simply blend granulated sugar until it’s a little fine, but not as fine as icing/confectioners sugar.
• Unsalted Butter: European butter is always best for baking as it has a higher fat percentage. Try using butter with a minimum of 82% fat for this recipe to get that luscious, buttery taste.
• All-Purpose Flour: This flour is fine enough for a tender cake, but not as fine as American cake flour as we need the flour to have a little more protein to hold all the wonderful fats from the butter.
• Baking Powder: You need the leaven from the baking powder to open the crumb of the cake as it bakes, ensuring a fluffy and tender loaf.
• Bicarbonate of Soda: Also known as baking soda. Do not get this confused with baking powder! Although they are both leavenings, they react differently and with different products. The bicarbonate of soda reacts with the buttermilk in this recipe for a further lift, yielding a rich, moist but light sponge.
• Eggs: As with most bakes, eggs are included in this recipe for both structure and fat. The white provides the support for the cake crumb as it rises in the oven and helps prevent the cake from collapsing into a dense biscuit, and the yolk envelopes more fat into the batter. Remember, fat = flavor!
• Buttermilk: The secret ingredient to this bake. Buttermilk helps break down any gluten developed when folding in the flour, tenderizes the sponge, adds more fat to compliment the flavor of the butter, and reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to lift the sponge.
• Vanilla Extract: Simply put, it’d be criminal to make a butter cake without the sweet spice of vanilla!

Ingredient Substitutions

• Buttermilk: If you can’t source buttermilk, I recommend using the same amount of yogurt, sour cream, natural yogurt, or regular full-fat milk.
• Bicarbonate of Soda: If you only have baking powder, omit the bicarbonate of soda and substitute it with baking powder instead. I also recommend using milk instead of buttermilk as these ingredients work together while baking.
• Caster Sugar: To add a caramel flavor to your sponge, try using half light brown sugar (but only if you’re using the bicarbonate of soda) or substitute the entire sugar amount for golden caster sugar instead!

FAQs

Why must I leave the cake to cool in its tin?

This cake is so moist that it needs to cook in its residual heat once removed from the oven. This method of using its own residual heat to bake prevents the cake from drying out as it would in the oven.

Do I have to cover it in sugar and butter before baking?

Not at all! This merely creates a thin textured crust to the loaf and adds a caramel-esque texture to the bake. It can be omitted completely.

Can I split the batter between tins?

Yes! You can make two smaller loaves instead. However, you will have to reduce the baking time to 40-45 minutes. Remember, to test if the cakes are done, insert a skewer and once it comes out clean (albeit with a few crumbs on the end of the skewer), it’s ready to leave the oven!

Print Recipe

Super Easy Butter Cake

Author: Trevennon Dakota

Cooking Method: Baking

Cuisine: American

Courses: Desserts

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 60 min Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Description

With butter as its main ingredient, this super easy butter cake is a wonderfully moist, fluffy, sponge with lashings of butter that’ll be a treat served in any setting!

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 ¼ cup (250g) caster sugar
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp (250g) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 4 medium eggs
• 3 tbsp buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

How To Make Butter Cake Step By Step

1. In a large bowl for a stand mixer, or using an electric whisk, cream together 1 cup of the caster sugar and 1 cup of the butter until incredibly pale and fluffy (5-10 minutes).

   

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 340℉ and line a 3 lb loaf tin with greaseproof parchment.

3. Once the butter and sugar have creamed, scrape down the sides of the bowl using a silicone spatula. Combine the flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda, and add half the dry mix and 2 of the eggs, folding them to combine. Do not over whisk or you’ll develop gluten, resulting in a tough cake. Once combined, follow with the remaining flour and eggs, folding until fully incorporated.

   

   

4. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract, folding again until there is no marbling of colors or texture.

   

5. Spread the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top of the loaf using an offset spatula. Scatter the remaining sugar over the top of the cake batter, followed by the remaining butter in cubes.

   

   

6. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the cake.

7. Remove from the oven, and allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin, slicing, and serving.

   

Note

• This cake is even better if you refrigerate it after it’s cooled. Wrap it in cling film, a beeswax wrap, or put it in an air-tight container and leave it in the fridge overnight. The butter solidifies slightly, creating a more impactful flavor without compromising the tender crumb!
• This cake can keep for up to 3 days. If it begins to dry out, you can toast it for a few minutes and top it with even more butter!