Light, Fluffy Butter Cake

Author Notes

If you love butter cake but wish the texture could be as light and fluffy as a sponge cake, please try this delightful butter cake adapted from a recipe posted in wendyinkk.blogspot.com called "Mrs. NgSK Vanilla ButterCake." Wendy, who is from Malaysia, says that she used to eat a really good butter cake that this lady called Mrs. NgSK from church used to bring, and one day she asked for the recipe, which the lady surprisingly shared with her. Many other food bloggers have adopted her cake, and I think most if not all may be from Asia (which I think is known for their light cakes).

So now I am sharing it with you, my fellow Food52ers, but I have modified the recipe by replacing the self-rising flour it asks for with all-purpose flour and baking powder, and converting from grams to cups. I sometimes do this recipe using my scale, and on other occasions, I use the cup measurements. Both deliver an excellent cake. I don't think you will find a better butter cake than this one. Please use the exact size of pan that is required and, ideally, a light not dark color. You will find that the cake is so light that it almost melts in your mouth. Sprinkle the top with some powdered sugar if you want, and serve with coffee/tea, or as snack or dessert.  

NOTE: When using measuring cups for flour and sugar, please do not dip the cup directly into the flour or sugar. Instead, spoon it into the measuring cup, then scrape off the excess with a straight edge. Also, please note that my cup measurements are rounded, but you should still have the same outcome than if you weigh the ingredients. —Regine

Test Kitchen Notes

Is this the most ethereally light, "rivals our favorite pillow"-level fluffy cake in our repertoire? It might be—and we have superstar community member Regine to thank. The cake gets its lift from a few key components: 1) whipped egg whites, which are beaten to soft peaks; 2) perfectly aerated flour; 3) an uber-gentle folding process to incorporate all the batter's ingredients; and 4) a two-part baking technique that ensures sky-high puff, zero drying-out.

Because the recipe has so few ingredients, you'll want to make sure all of them are in tip-top shape: Good-quality butter is a must, as it's the flavor base. Room-temperature eggs and milk are necessary, too, since ingredients at a consistent temp play nicely together. And pure vanilla extract, plus organic citrus, if you go the zest route, will both accent the cake's deep butteriness wonderfully.

Last, we have to point out: A dump-and-bake cake this is not. It requires a few extra steps, but they're well worth it to achieve the fluffiest cake of your life. First, adding flour and milk to the batter in steps, instead of mixing everything together at once, will ensure a lump-free batter that's less likely to get overmixed. And the gentle folding-in of whipped eggs also a takes a second to master, but will yield a buoyant lightness like you've never seen. Cooling the cake before cutting and serving is the toughest step of them all, but also the most essential. In the meanwhile, walk the dog, call a pal, and brew some tea or coffee to enjoy with a freshly cut buttery slice of cake. —The Editors