Baking Made Simple – How to Bake a Cake

BAKING MADE SIMPLE

HOW TO BAKE A CAKE
Mathematical Formula Recipe

By 

VIKRAM KARVE 

Mathematical Formula Cake Recipe

 

“ ¾ : 1 : 1 ½ ” 

Hey – what’s that...?

No – it is not what you think – it’s not a secret code or some mathematical formula.

This mathematical ratio exemplifies the recipe for a simple cake – probably the first thing I learnt to cook.

 

It’s simple. 

Take ¾ [three-fourth] Cup of fresh Butter.

Cream the butter till fluffy with your hand.

[Instead of butter you can use Margarine or Dalda (Hydrogenated Oil) if you prefer]

Add 1 (one) cup of Sugar to the butter. 

Whisk vigorously till the sugar and butter blend smoothly.

Whip 3 Eggs till they fluff up into peaks.

Fold the three well beaten eggs into the butter-sugar batter mixture carefully.

Beat the mixture with your hand till the batter emulsifies nicely.

 

Sieve 1 ½ [one and a half] cups of Maida (flour) with a teaspoon of baking powder and keep ready in a plate.

 

In a glass – pour a generous “tot” of full-bodied Dark Rum (like Old Monk Rum)

The darker and mellower the Rum – the better it is – as it will have more caramel content – which will impart an inimitable heavenly bitter-sweet flavour – blended with the richly aromatic enveloping tang of molasses.

 

Now start adding – by the tablespoonful – the sieved Maida (flour) to the butter-sugar-egg emulsified batter.

Gently fold in and smooth the flour into the batter with your fingers.

At the same time – alternately – from time to time add a few “drops” by the teaspoonful of the full-bodied Dark Rum to the batter.

You must taste the batter by licking your fingers from time to time – rolling on your tongue – sampling and tasting at every step – till you get the right creamy consistency and taste.

I love to mix in a wee bit of powdered spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or cloves.

For Fruit Cake – get some raisins, orange rind, dried fruit pieces and petha – and soak these in a glass of Rum for a few hours – till the fruit soak in the Rum – and then – gently blend in the Rum Soaked Fruit to the batter. 

This will prevent the Fruit from sinking – and will also release aromatic flavorful Rum vapour into the cake while it bakes – and make the cake rise up well.

You must ensure a proper dropping consistency of the batter by appropriately balancing the liquid Rum and solid Maida (flour).

Innovate as per your mood and taste – and add a few drops of vanilla essence to remove what remains of that “eggy” taste.

Cream the batter with your hands till super smooth.

 

Now bake your cake in an oven at moderate temperature (180 Celsius) for around 30 to 40 minutes till done.

(Test with a clean dry knitting needle or small knife – poke the needle or knife into the cake and if the cake is done the needle or knife will come out dry).

The Rum will guarantee that the cake does not flop – and – the hot spicy alcohol vapour escaping from the cake will perambulate within the oven – and this will impart a tantalizing aroma and enticing fragrance to the cake.

 

This cake tastes best when eaten hot – as the blissful fresh spicy hot sensuous vapours overwhelm your olfactory and gustatory senses with their zesty fragrance and rich full-bodied flavour.

 

This is the first recipe I learnt from my mother – when I was a small boy.

The “Rum” innovation came a bit later – after I joined the Navy. 

I prefer to use stainless steel katories (vaties) – but you can use standard size cups if you want. 

Don’t be too finicky about precise proportions.

Sample the batter – taste at every step – and maintain dropping consistency of the mixture.

And – of course:

Do Your Best – and – Trust the Rum to do the rest...!!!

If you prefer – try using Brandy instead of Rum – for a different flavour.

 

I bake the cake in half an hour and it tastes heavenly.

Baking a cake is so simple – isn’t it..?  

To recap.

For a 3 Egg Cake:

Just remember the simple formula – “ ¾ : 1 : 1 ½ ”  

¾ cup Butter 

1 cup Sugar 

1 ½ cup Maida (Flour)

For larger cakes – just use multiples of this breathtakingly simple formula. 

Happy Baking.

Do remember to tell us how your cake turned out and how yummy it tasted.

VIKRAM KARVE

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All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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I developed this recipe for baking a cake 50 years ago in the 1960s and I have posted this recipe online in my blogs many times - this recipe also features in my foodie book APPETITE FOR A STROLL - here are some recent urls where I have posted this recipe : http://creative.sulekha.com/baking-mathematics-1-1_455611_blog  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/05/how-to-bake-cake-mathematical-formula.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/12/how-to-bake-cake-recipe-for.html  andhttp://creative.sulekha.com/baking-a-cake-made-simple_488539_blog and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/04/cooking-for-nerds-how-to-bake-cake.html etc