If you have a food processor and a few pantry ingredients, 10 minutes and a cake to bake – make this! Simple, perfect, light, flavorful and can easily transform into something else (think layer cakes and trifles) Alice Medrich developed this recipe for you. I failed miserably on a new apple cake recipe (thought the smoke alarm would go off) but had committed to delivering a cake. I quickly found this recipe for a vanilla cake…a “One-Bowl Vanilla Cake” which sounded super easy and quick. It was, and it delivered a moist and delicate cake that I will make again and again. Serve it with fresh fruit and whipped cream, top it with frosting, or fill it with a lemon curd or orange cream adding some zest to the batter (reduce vanilla if you do this) to enhance the flavor. Double this and bake in a 9×12 pan and keep as a simple sheet cake. Possibilites abound.
one-bowl vanilla cake (from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich):
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (6.125 ounces — if you have a scale, use it!)
1 cup (4.5 ounces) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and hot
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Quick note – The oven takes longer to preheat than it takes to prepare the batter. So wait a beat and start to make the cake once the oven is almost to the desired temp.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oven rack in lower third of oven. Grease and flour the sides of the cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.
Place the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor and pulse to blend the ingredients.
Add the cream and butter and pulse quickly – 8 -10 times, until the ingredients are blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and pulse 5-6 times. Scrape down the sides of the the bowl and pulse another 5-6 times.
Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake 27-35 minutes – until a toothpick comes out just clean.
Let the cake cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Then slide a knife around the edges and invert the cake onto the rack. Peel off the liner.
Turn the cake right side up to let cool completely.
Feel free to freeze up to 3 months.
Enjoy –
