Basic vanilla butter cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup (250g) soft butter
• 1 cup (200g) castor sugar
• 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla essence
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour, sifted
• Pinch fine salt
• Edible flowers and mint, for serving (optional)

Buttercream icing:

• ¾ cup (180g) soft butter
• 2 cups (260g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence
• Squeeze lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line a 20-23cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper and spray with non-stick spray.
3. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together for 6-8 minutes, using an electric whisk. (The mixture should triple in quantity and become a pale yellow-white.)
4. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well to incorporate before adding the next one.
5. Sift flour into a large bowl, add salt, then the wet mixture and mix.
6. Pour batter into prepared cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
8. Cool in tin for 5-10 minutes, then unmould and leave to cool on a wire rack.
9. For the icing, whisk butter until fluffy.
10. Add icing sugar in 3-4 batches, whisking well to incorporate before the next addition.
11. Once cake is cool, top with icing.
12. Decorate with flowers and mint, if you like.