Sunday 26 February 2012

Sour Cream Vanilla Cake


A good storecupboard standby (if you can classify sourcream as storecupboard I suppose). This is one of Dan Lepard's recipes, minimally adapted to suit my fridge.

I remember making this in an adapted form a very long time ago, and not really being very enamoured of it (you can see my original post here) but circumstances dictated that I needed to use up the sour cream, wanted a cake at the end of the day and the two collided in this recipe.


You can find the version published in the Guardian here (I used the version in Short and Sweet) but there are changes in the quantities of butter, sugar and eggs, so although similar it's not exactly the same cake. As I mentioned I made a couple of change of my own. I only had a small (150ml) tub of soured cream, but did have some full-fat Greek yogurt too, so I used all the soured cream and made up the difference with yogurt. I also added 2tsp vanilla extract to the mixture too. I found my cake took about 70 minutes to bake, but it is a deep cake so this is to be expected. I think I recall covering it with foil after about 45 minutes.


I recently bought some parchment cake tin liners from Lakeland, having resisted for a long time. I'm not sure why I waited so long (well, I guess cash is part of the answer - they aren't cheap!) Well, they won't be suitable in all circumstances - they do give a pleated edge to your cakes, which is quite attractive in homely style cakes such as this, but wouldn't be any good if you want a smooth finish, but I'm very impressed! No bother of lining the tin, and saved a little on washing up too - always a bonus! In addition, once I had cut the cake, I simply lifted the liner with the cake contained inside into my cake tin for easy transport to work. 


Noted by Dan as a very buttery cake, best eaten cold I thought this was an absolute dream to cut - you can see how neatly the slices cut - no crumbling in the centre here, with beautiful sharp edges. I decided to make this cake more of a dessert for myself by serving it with stewed raspberries and blackcurrants, with just a little sugar. The contrast of the buttery cake and the sharp berries was lovely. I couldn't really taste the vanilla, perhaps it's such a large cake that it needed more than I used. I was definitely keener on this cake now than when I first made it. The texture seems finer than in my previous photos, and perhaps my tastes have changed too. One of my colleagues commented that it had a subtle flavour - I'd agree with this, but it provides the perfect foil for the berries.  

11 comments:

Victoria said...

i made this cake at new years...it is a winner in my books. I served it was creme fraiche and blueberries...it definitely needed the berries. So yummy. Your's is a beautiful yellowy colour!

The Caked Crusader said...

what a lovely looking cake - I love a sponge that cuts as neatly as that!

Alicia Foodycat said...

That looks like exactly the sort of cake my husband loves! I have the parchment loaf tin liners, but now I think I will get some for my round cake tins too.

Maria♥ said...

I love a good vanilla sponge and this one looks yummy!

Btw I love the cake liners from Lakeland, especially the loaf tin liners.

Maria
x

Sunshine - www.cancersurvivor26.blogger.com said...

Looks good!

www.cancerinthecity.com

Johanna GGG said...

love the sound of the parchment cake tin liners - great for transporting cake - would keep it a little fresher with the liner on it, I imagine. Funny how you can revisit a cake and revise your ideas about it

Nic's Notebook said...

This sounds and looks lovely! I have tried sour cream in a choc cake before but never in a vanilla one :) x

Choclette said...

What a beautifully yellow cake you've made C. It looks perfect. A cake that cuts cleanly is a dream. I usually substitute yogurt for sour cream as I usually have yogurt in the fridge but very rarely sour cream.

MissCakeBaker said...

This looks exactly my kind of cake - perfect with a cup of tea! Lovely! I haven't tried cake liners yet but will have to get some.

celia said...

I love sour cream/yoghurt cakes - I love their fine crumb and how well they slice. This one looks superb, C! :)

Caroline said...

Victoria - It's a good cake isn't it, and good with berries. I think the yellow is partly to do with ahem, dodgy lighting!

CC - yes, the neat cutting was very satisfying!

Foodycat - those liners are great - so much less fiddle.

Maria - I've bought some loaf tin liners too, just waiting for the right cake to need them.

Sunshine - thank you!

Johanna - I think I'm constantly changing my mind about what I like, so it's good to revisit sometimes! The liner made it so easy to transport this!

Nic - Sour cream seems to work in lots of cakes!

Choclette - thanks! I didn't want to sub yogurt as the fat content is quite different, but as they're both acidic I can see it working well.

MissCakeBaker - I'd recommend the liners for lack of hassle!

Celia - they do indeed slice well. Fine crumb is the perfect description too.

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