Sometimes you want a small cake: just enough to serve one or two friends. Make a small-batch vanilla cake! I use a 6-inch round cake pan, and the finished cake fits perfectly on a luncheon plate.
This cake can be ‘dressed up’ in a lot of ways: split and layered with whipped cream and strawberry jam, and it becomes a Victoria Sponge cake. Or try as shown, layered with whipped cream and fresh (or even canned) fruit. Buttercream wouldn’t be a bad option, and if you want to slant that toward fruity, mix in a big spoonful of jam for vivid color and flavor. It would be hard to go wrong with this little small-batch vanilla cake.
I use both weight and traditional volume (cups and tablespoons) measurements in my cooking. For this cake, I’ll give both.
prep
Preheat the oven to 375˚F / 190˚C. Grease a 6-inch (15-20 cm) baking tin.
mix
Put butter, sugar, and vanilla extract into a bowl, and beat it well, until the consistency is creamy and lump-free. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Finally, fold in the self-rising flour and mix well.
bake
Pour the batter into the baking tin, and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. The cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan, and the top should spring back when gently pushed in the middle. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out with only one or two little crumbs.
cool and serve
Let the cake cool in its pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
This is a perfect small vanilla sponge cake to split and eat with whipped cream and peaches (shown above) or other fruit. You might also make a classic Victoria Sponge by filling the layers with jam and whipped cream, then dusting the top with sugar. It’s also excellent with a drizzle of glaze or simply eaten plain.
Small-Batch Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 7 Tbsp unsalted butter (100 g)
- ½ cup granlulated sugar (100 g)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (2-3 ml)
- 2 medium eggs
- ⅞ cup self-rising flour (100 g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F / 190˚C. Grease a 6-inch (15-20 cm) baking tin.
- Put butter, sugar, and vanilla extract into a bowl, and beat it well, until the consistency is creamy and lump-free.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Finally, fold in the self-rising flour and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the baking tin, and place in the oven.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. The cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan, and the top should spring back when gently pushed in the middle. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out with only one or two little crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in its pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.