How to bake an easy cake

I always like to have home baked cookies or cake around just in case we have someone over. Also, a slice of cake is something the kids can eat while they play. Basically around my home, cake is a must have. But I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, after all with work, the twins, taking care of the house, cooking, cleaning, washing, laundry, the husband and hubpages, of course, the day isn’t long enough. So, in recent years I’ve learned to shorten most things. Baking was one.

So, I adapted a yogurt cake recipe to meet my needs and I turned it into an easy, quick, all-purpose cake. The idea is taking the least time possible and being able to add or take ingredients to have a different flavor every week, otherwise, the same cake day in, day out would be quite boring.

Here it goes and I hope you all like it.

• 4 whole eggs;
• 1 yogurt (then just use the yogurt cup for all the other measures);
• 3 cups of sugar;
• 3 cups of flour;
• 1 cup of cooking oil (sunflower, for instance);
• 1 tsp of baking powder;
• Basically whatever strikes your facy…

By whatever strikes your fancy I mean you can add whatever you’d like, one more ingredient, two or three or four… I actually stopped at four when my husband once told me he wasn’t quite managing to figure out what kind of cake was he eating, though it tasted good... he added.

Usually I start imagining a certain taste in my mouth and just go with it… For instance, cinnamon to taste and apple is always a sure bet. Or you can just add cinnamon. Other times I just throw in cinnamon and walnuts. Also can try adding vanilla, some dried fennel seeds and/or grated carrot.

This cake basically goes well with anything you can think of.

In a large bowl combine all the above ingredients, then add your choice ingredients (this is my favourite part throwing everything in at once).

Get your hand blender and mix all the ingredients together. Batter for two minutes, give or take, until you achieve a smooth dough.

Pre-heat oven to 410 F (210 degrees C).

Meanwhile, grease and flour a medium size cake pan. Pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top.

Sometimes, if I’m going with apple and cinnamon, besides adding apple to the batter, I also put some apple slices on top of it.

You can also divide the dough evenly and add to one half chocolate to make yourself a marble cake. For that I usually use 200 gr of a good quality dark chocolate and break it in pieces into a medium pan, then cut a bit of butter (50 or 100 gr) and tip in with the chocolate. Afterwards just warm through over a low heat until it's melted. Add to half of the dough and when you pour it into the cake pan just be sure to mix the two halves, pour a bit of the first half, then the second, then again the first, until you've used up all the dough.

Bake at 410 F (210 degrees C) for around 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.

As soon as it’s done take it out of the oven. Personally I like moist cakes, so I’m always very careful with this detail. As soon as the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is off the oven. Then just take it out of the pan, invert the hot cake pan onto a platter or cake plate, the cake should come right off.

Once the cake is done have a slice, while it is still warm (delicious like that) and side it with a warm cup of tea or coffee.

It’s great, especially on wintertime and it’s the sort of cake that goes well as a breakfast coffee cake, as a dessert, as an afternoon tea cake…

The best thing is that, not considering the 30 minutes in the oven, I usually take 5 minutes baking it, which is all I can spare, so it’s perfect for me…

Did you like this hub? Was it useful, entertaining, interesting… Don’t forget to leave me your comment and vote on the hub.

For more information check out my profile and stop by my other hubs.

Some other hubs by the author:

Portuguese cuisine recipes - How to cook Chicken gizzards

Portuguese cuisine recipe - Seafood appetizers

How to clean your house - Tricks and Tips

And if you enjoyed, maybe you can also join us here at Hubpages, it’s fun and free and you can click here.

© Copyright Jan 23 2012 / Algarveview.hubpages.com. To use part or the whole article you must first get written permission from the author. Feel free, nonetheless, to use an intro of the hub with a link to the article here on hubpages for the rest of the article.