Recipe Sunday: Best Vanilla Cake Ever.

This may sound like a lofty claim – and it is. But I stand behind it. And I know what you’re thinking – “a plain vanilla cake? THAT’s your featured recipe this week?? Lame!!” Well, don’t write me off just yet – let me explain. I spent a long time looking for the perfect scratch cake recipe. Just a plain vanilla, on which to build a strong foundation, and to serve as a  base for other fancier cakes. One of the most important things I learned in pastry school is that a good recipe doesn’t have to be complicated, and if you want to really bake a great cake, start with a great base. If the foundation is weak, the building (or cake) will surely collapse. This particular vanilla cake recipe is based on one that I was taught in my first class – Intro to Baking – and was used time again throughout my classes, up to and including my last and most advanced class. Start with a solid base – and you can’t go wrong. I know how hard it can be to find a recipe that fits that bill – which is why I’m sharing my foundation with you – in the hopes that somewhere out there, I’ll help make a young baker’s life a little easier.

a sheet to build a dream on.

Best Vanilla Cake Ever.

What you’ll need:

12 oz eggs (about 7)

4 1/4 oz milk (1%)

5 oz high-ratio liquid shortening*

1/2 oz vanilla

10 oz sugar

8 oz cake flour

1/2 oz baking powder

1/4 oz salt

What you’ll do:

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, liquid shortening and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet, and mix for 5 minutes on medium speed, with the paddle attachment. Scrape the bowl to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated, and mix on medium speed for 5 more minutes. Grease a 13 x 9 sheet pan (also know as a quarter sheetpan) and pour all the batter in (it will be pretty thin and runny). Bake for about 25 minutes.

*High ratio liquid shortening is not the easiest thing to come by – in fact, I never even knew it existed until I went to pastry school. However, it truly is a wonderful thing, and I highly recommend spending the extra time and money to track it down – it’s definitely worth it. I use Fluid Flex -  click here for a list of a few sites where you can order it.

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