May 8

May 8 A Whipped Cream Vanilla Cake Perfect for Summer Soirées

Since it's raining all day today, I've decided to turn up the lights indoors and stay busy in the kitchen. Because I have a light palate, I like to use only 1/4 of the amount of ingredients cookbooks enlist for flavor and spice. For this vanilla cake, that would have meant butter, oil, and sugar. The cakes and pastries I make usually turn out a bit dry and bland, which I'm fine with. But this time, I'm following the formula for an authentic floury experience!

Supplies

1 round cake pan/ceramic casserole dish

Measuring cup, spoons

2 bowls (small and large)

1 whisk (or 1 electric mixer, essential for making whipped cream from scratch)

1 spatula

1 baking pan/wire rack (to cool the cake)

(1 sifter)

Ingredients

Cooking oil

1 and 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Okay, let's get started.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Grease and lightly flour the cake pan/baking receptacle of choice.

3. Mix evenly flour and baking powder, then pour them into the small bowl. You can use a sifter if you have one.

4. Add softened butter, sugar and vanilla to the large bowl.

5. Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Then, crack the eggs into the bowl, one at a time, and mix on medium speed until the contents are light and airy. Add the milk now.

6. Slowly add the flour mixture from the small bowl into the large bowl, beating until everything blends evenly.

7. Pour the cake batter from the large bowl into the dish/pan, and scrape the bowl with a spatula.

8. Bake for 20-30 minutes. The cake is ready when it turns golden-brown and spongy.

Extra tips:

**Creaming with a hand whisk is not ideal, because the batter sticks to the spokes. It's actually fun to cream with gloved hands.

**Before taking the cake from the oven, stick a toothpick (or cake-tester) into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean (dry/crumby), you can be sure that the cake is done.

So, moving on to whipped cream...

Supplies

1 metal bowl

measuring cup, spoons

1 electric mixer (essential)

Ingredients

1/2 pint whipping cream

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon vanilla

1. Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to the chilled metal bowl.

2. Set the electric mixer to a medium speed, and stir the batter for around 5 minutes. When the cream thickens and acquires texture, it is done. Be careful with over-mixing.

3. Frost the cake. I am following a separate recipe for whipped cream, and accidentally end up with a whole bowl of whipped cream left over (as you can see below)!

4. Choose any topping you'd like.

Extra tips:

**Put the metal bowl and beater in the freezer for 30-60 minutes for whipped cream to form faster.

**I don't have an electric mixer, so for an hour I attempt to whisk the cream by hand. It says online that this is possible, but it really is not for such a large amount of cream. I try everything, freezing the bowl of cream and whisk multiple times, and using two whisks at once. Finally, I head out to Target and buy a long overdue hand-held electric mixer. So...lesson learned, stick to professional supplies!