Easy

(Easy Basic Cake Recipe shown with Blueberry Sauce)

To be honest I am not much of a cake-lover but everyone needs an easy basic cake for last-minute parties or maybe just to satisfy a quick sweet tooth craving. I love this easy basic cake because it only uses a few ingredients that I almost always have on hand. There are no fancy mixing methods, it freezes extremely well and it can simply be transformed into so many unique flavors and applications that guests would never guess that you are continually serving the same basic cake recipe. This Easy Basic Cake has great flavor and texture, it’s rich and dense so it can hold a variety of toppings, but light enough to hold it’s own with the classic dusting of powder sugar for embellishment.

Vanilla Olive Oil Cake

• 1 ½     cups                flour
• 1/2      cup                  sugar
• 1          teaspoon        baking powder
• 1/4      teaspoon        baking soda
• 1/4      teaspoon        salt
• 1          cup                  honey or vanilla yogurt
• 1/3      cup                  olive oil
• 2          large               eggs
• 2          teaspoons      vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan and dust it with flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk the wet ingredients: yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, bake until light golden and a toothpick comes out clean; about 30-40 min.

Let the cake cool in pan for 5 min then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust with powder sugar or drizzle or make it your own with one of the suggestions below.

For variations of this cake try one of these and make it yours.

• Use almond, orange or lemon extract in place for half of the vanilla.
• Add citrus zest from lemon, limes or oranges.
• Serve with warmed fruit preserves or compote.
• Bake in a loaf pan (this will take 5-10 minutes longer to bake) I love to slice it like pound cake or use it in a trifle. (You can also take a slice off a frozen loaf and toast it with butter for super quick treat.)
• Split the cake in half and fill with Fresh Raspberry Sauce or lightly drizzle with liquor like limoncello, amaretto or Grand Marnier.
• Served with whipped cream and berries.
• Top with chocolate or Carmel sauce.
• Sprinkle powder sugar glaze with toasted coconut or nuts.