Instructions

• Start by measuring out your ingredients – 1 cup cake flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ¼ cup of unsalted butter softened, ½ cup of castor sugar, 4-5 tablespoons of milk, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 large egg and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
• Butter a round cake tin and line it with parchment. Butter the parchment. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream the butter and castor sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed till light and pale yellow. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
• Now, fold in the dry ingredients. You can also beat them in with an electric mixer but cakes rise better when using the folding technique. Add a little flour to the mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold it in. Cut down the middle and stir anti-clockwise around the wall of the bowl once. Add a little milk to ensure the batter does not turn sticky or lumpy. It should have the right consistency.
• Repeat till all the flour is mixed in. Do not stir the batter in a circular motion. The folding technique traps air in the batter, which later helps the cake to rise while baking in the oven. Stirring round and round with the spatula will release this air.
• Pour the batter into the buttered cake tin and pop it into the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown. The cake is done if the top of the crust springs back when pressed gently. Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning it on to a metal rack.
• Once the cake has cooled a little more, gently remove the parchment. Your delicious old-fashioned tea cake is ready. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.
• You can add different flavors to this cake aside from the vanilla essence. Try adding a teaspoon of cinnamon powder, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg or a tablespoon of grated lemon zest. It makes for great variety in case you get bored of the same thing.