ultra easy buttercake! YUM

[Triple Zero]

not as easy as that microwave chocolate muffin/brownie recipe, but I'm still posting this because I was amazed at how quickly I was done

- preheat oven

- chop one or two teaspoons of lemon zest (using a potato peeler to peel just the top layer, I keep a little plastic baggie of the stuff in my freezer, cause I don't always have lemons)

- I got a digital scale for my birthday this year, digital scales are FUCKING AWESOME

- in a plastic bowl, combine:

    - the zest
    - 1.00 part butter (I used 205g)
    - 1.25 part flour (I used 225g at first but added a bit more later on cause it didn't look right)
    - 0.85 part sugar (I used 175g)
    - a bit of salt. you always need a bit of salt.

- cause I was feeling crazy I also added some ketumbar (ground coriander seeds) and kurkuma (turmeric) for great extra yellowness

- nuke it at full power for a minute or so

- stir it with a non-wooden spoon, and taste, possibly adjust ingredients

- dump it in an appropriate container, the goal is to have a round disc that's about 3-5cm high. I was extra smart because I covered the container in baking paper so it won't stick.

- it needs about 30 minutes (until brown) at 170 degrees Celsius. That's 338F. Rather low temperature is because otherwise the cake will get very hard, and you want it soft. One recipe even said 160C.



The reason why this recipe is so easy, is because you use the microwave to melt the butter, and you don't actually need to kneed anything, but just mash it about with a spoon, and you don't even get your hands dirty cause you never touch the dough.

Also the lemon zest is optional but it does make the taste really really great.

Also also I just remembered I added two tbsp of water and a squirt of lemon juice cause, I dunno, I felt it required some liquid.

[Triple Zero]

After typing this, the oven was about done.

Another important thing, you obviously need to let the cake fully cool down to room temperature, because otherwise it will fall apart because all the butter is still molten.

As soon as that's done, I will report back on the taste.

[Triple Zero]

Report: I finished all of it

It was delicious. Slight modifications:

- I may use a littlebit less butter next time
- I dunno, I feel the structure might turn out better if I let the cake dough "sit" for a while, or stir it longer or something
- Some of the recipes mentioned an egg. I didn't have an egg. It turned out fine, so apparently the egg is optional. But next time, egg.

[Jenne]

Next time you don't have an egg, use mayonnaise, if you have that.  Works the same. 

[Triple Zero]

mayo?

I'm a bit afraid of the vinegar and savoury taste, maybe a small teaspoon ... ? It's that buttercake is extremely cheap and so easy, so this recipe would be a place to try it out ...

I generally make sure I have eggs, though.

[Jenne]

I was afraid of that too--but it actually works quite well.    After all, all mayo is really is eggs and oil, whipped together at high speed.

[Triple Zero]

True that. Though proper mayo should only contain the egg yolk. But that's okay because it's usually the good part

BTW do you mean the mayo just for brushing on top to make it shiny, or to actually use it in the cake mix as well?

Brushing on top sounds like a great plan for certain savoury dishes for sure.

Attempt two is in the oven now, cause I told my gf over the phone (she's away the weekend+monday) I made buttercake and she was all YUMMMMM, so I thought I'll just make another one. I chickened out bought eggs, though. I'll bump this thread when I got the guts to use mayo

I used 160g butter, 225g flour, 145g sugar a pinch of salt and an egg.

Random additions this time: lemon zest, squirt of lemon juice, ketumbar, white pepper, and two tiiiiny amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg.

I'm not sure about the lemon juice, I don't think most cake or cookie recipes use any, do they? But it's my opinion that it's always good to have a little bit of acid in the food, for balance of flavours. (and lemon zest is not actually acid, it just tastes "like lemon")

Also I carved real sweet a pretty heart and our initials on the top, but it turns out that the stuff melts and you already can't see any of it anymore

[Jenne]

Oh, no I didn't mean to use mayo to brush it on top to make it shiny and pretty--I meant as replacement for inside the recipe.  I got the idea from this website that my mom pointed out to me about "if you're out of THIS, subsitute for THIS."

I'll go find it.

[Jenne]

Here it is.

http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/common-ingredient-substitutions/Detail.aspx

and here's a different one in grams:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html