Today is St Patrick’s Day 2020. I have an easy Irish Tea Cake for you to make. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry. At least I hope you do, given the circumstances…
The year is turning out to be a doozy, isn’t it? Where I live in Spain, we’re under a quarantine. The schools are closed as are all the shops, bars and cafes. We’re not supposed to leave the house except for specific things like going to work or the grocery store.
Many of you may find yourselves at home with bored children. Why not teach them how to bake? A butter cake like Irish Tea Cake is not at all difficult to make. Elementary age children should be able to manage with you by their side to guide them.
What is a butter cake?
When a cake recipe starts out with “cream butter and sugar together” the odds are it’s a butter cake. They’re different from a classic pound cake because there’s some sort of leavening, like baking powder, to give the cake some lift and to lighten the batter.
Another advantage to butter cakes is they can be stored at room temperature as they tend to get stiff and dry in the fridge. This also means you don’t have to frost them, just a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar is all that’s required.
Let me encourage you to bake this cake today and enjoy it with your tea, or coffee as you prefer. I hope it lifts your spirits during these strange days.
Ingredients
- 1 stick room temperature butter 8 tablespoons or 113 grams, plus a little more for the pan
- 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
- 2 eggs Mine were large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (220 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whole milk (125 ml)
- confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter and flour a round cake pan (8 or 9 inches)
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer to cream the two together until the butter begins to lighten in color and starts to look fluffy. You may have to scrape the sides and bottom to get all the sugar incorporated.
- Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition
- In another bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt (I use a large strainer instead of a sifter)
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix a little at a time and use a sturdy spoon or spatula to mix everything together. Add the milk and stir to combine.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan
- Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. The actual time will depend on the size pan you've chosen and the temperature of your oven. Start checking at 30 minutes. The cake should be golden brown on top and smell like vanilla. When you insert a toothpick into the center you should not see any wet batter after pulling it out.
- Allow the cake to cool, on a rack if you have one, then turn it out onto a serving plate. You may have to run a knife around the sides of the pan and gently coax the cake to release.
- Dust with confectioners sugar before serving. A fine strainer is good for this.
Enjoy these snack cake recipes:
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