Butter Cake

This one has been on my to do list for some time.  I first heard of warm butter cake on a tv show many moons ago--someone mentioned it being a popular item at a Los Angeles restaurant and something sounded perfect about the words "butter" and "cake" defining a dessert.  Though I have no recollection of which restaurant this ingenious idea came from, I do know that sometimes a name goes a long way.

The actual desire to go through with this recipe came during an evening at a friends house.  We were looking for something to bake that would hit the sweet tooth just right when I pulled up my recipe wish list.  She got started on some cheesecake bars and I got to work on a butter cake.  Two desserts are always better than one.

The cake batter was basic in nature.  The first step was to cream the butter and sugar together, then I gradually added in the eggs.

In a small bowl, I mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt.  We used spelt flour in place of regular all purpose flour, as we were baking in her kitchen and that was readily available.  I've found spelt flour to have a denser, slightly grainier texture, and it is really quite good.  I also used some hazelnut flour for part of the dry ingredients after a great cupcake experience before.  We didn't have any baking soda available at the time, so we improvised and used an additional teaspoon of baking powder (I love substitutions!).

With all the dry ingredients combined, I added the mixture slowly into the batter, adding it alternatively with some Greek yogurt and buttermilk.  I kept mixing in-between additions until I had a uniform cake batter.

I poured the batter into two cake pans for baking, and let them cook until they were golden brown.

They were ready to go once the center was solid.  I cooled them a bit, then transferred them to a plate and for the glaze ready.

I made the glaze by heating the sugar, butter, and water over medium-low heat, until the butter was melted and the sugar dissolved.  I stirred in the vanilla extract and cinnamon.  The next step was just like with rum cake -- stab a bunch of holes in the top of the warm cake and pour syrup over!

Fresh out of the oven with this glaze poured over...this was one amazing tasting cake.  Real butter adds real flavor to a cake--and to have that flavor be the focus was just incredible.  The cinnamon was a subtle flavor, but I liked how it went with the hazelnut flavor from the flour.  This cake has a super rich flavor and doesn't require a lot of decoration.  Perfect!

Butter Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup greek yogurt
3/4 cup hazelnut flour
2 1/4 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs individually, mixing well.  Mix in vanilla extract.  In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and salt.  Alternatively add flour mixture, buttermilk, and Greek yogurt, mixing well after each addition.  Pour into 2 (9 inch) cake rounds and bake for 25-30 minutes, until center is fully cooked.  Prepare glaze by adding sugar, water, and butter to a saucepan.  Heat on medium low heat until butter melts, then stir in vanilla.  Use a toothpick to poke several holes in cake, then slowly pour syrup over the top and allow cake to absorb.

Adapted from blue ribbon butter cake