Many Cakes – One Recipe Base
I have found that it is possible to produce many cakes – large and small – from just one simple basic recipe.
It’s easy and quick to do and you’ll get a reputation as a good cake maker.
Recipe for basic cake mix
8 ounces Self Raising Flour
4 ounces Sugar
4 ounces Margarine
Two Eggs, beaten with approximately
40mls Milk
Prepare two well greased and floured 7 inch sandwich cake tins.
Take margarine and sugar and beat to a cream in a warm basinAdd flour and the beaten egg/milk mixture a little at a time, alternately – mix thoroughly. The mixture should be soft.Pour into tins equally. Level tops with a knife.Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes.
When cool sandwich together with jam, and/or cream.
This basic mixture can produce many cakes of great variety to be used for party food as follows:
Walnut Cake
Add 2 ounces of shelled chopped walnuts to the mixture. Ice top of finished cake – use 2 tablespoons icing sugar with a little cold water. Decorate with shelled walnuts.
Almond Cake
Add 2 ounces of ground almonds and few drops of almond essence. Place a few blanched and split almonds on top of one part of the mixture before putting in the oven to bake.
Orange Cake
Replace milk with the juice from an orange (add this last to avoid curdling). Make icing with juice instead of water. These cakes can be made to look really good by using decorations and sprinkles to turn them into party food.
Coconut Cake
Add 2 ounces of desiccated coconut to mix. Spread water icing on top of finished cake and cover with coconut.
Chocolate Cake
Add 2 teaspoonsful of cocoa powder to the flour and a couple of drops of vanilla essence to the mix. Ice cake adding 2 teaspoonsful of cocoa powder to the icing and decorate.
Iced Fancies
Spread the basic recipe cake mixture in rectangular baking tray. When cool spread with icing (4 tablespoons icing sugar and a little cold water. Decorate the top with glace cherries, Smarties, jellies, nuts, etc. Cut into small shapes.
Cup Cakes, plain
Just divide into paper cases to produce many cakes from the same batch and bake for 10 to 15 minutes according to size. These make splendid party food because they are individual so can be chosen easily by children or packed in party boxes.
Cup Cakes, currant
Add 2 ounces of currants to mixture.
Butterfly Cakes
As for cup cakes. When cold carefully slice off the top of each and cut this slice in half. Place a squirt of cream or butter cream on the cut top of cake then take the two halves of slice and stand on edge on the cream to be the wings of a butterfly. Place a minute blob of syrup between the ‘wings’ on the cream. As party food these are ideal because they look ’special’.
If you are used to mixing large quantities at once then you can see how easy it is to produce many cakes of various types out of one mix (saves on washing up too!)
