Butter cakes may be the glory of the American cake repertoire. The mother of all butter cakes is surely the English pound cake made with a pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggsΓÇöa heavy but satisfying cake adopted by the French and aptly named quatres-quarts (four quarters) for its simple ingredient ratio. The discovery of baking powder in the nineteenth century opened the door to a lighter, moister cake, and considerable liberty with the original four-quarter recipe. Properly made, with care and attention to the details, even the plainest butter cake approaches a kind of simple perfection that brings pride to the most accomplished baker.
For flavor and texture, butter is our strong preference. Shortening and margarine yield cakes with higher volume, but the loss of flavor is not an equal trade. Some may argue that in a spice or even a chocolate cake it does not matter, but we cannot agree.
Regular sugar (also called fine granulated sugar) varies in coarseness from region to region in the United States. Sugar that is too coarse may cause butter cakes to collapse in the ovenΓÇöespecially those made by the creaming method. If the sugar you are using looks significantly coarser than table salt, process it for 1 to 3 minutes in a blender or food processor, or buy sugar that is labeled superfine or extra fine.
The defining structure, velvety texture, and flavor of a butter cake are derived from the high proportion of butter in relationship to the eggs and other ingredients in the recipe. Butter cakes are leavened by baking powder and/or baking soda, which produce carbon dioxide to expand the air bubbles beaten into the batter. Success depends on the temperature of the ingredients and a sequence of mixing steps designed to create a stable batter with enough air trapped in it to rise and set properly in the oven.
There are three methods of mixing butter cakes successfully. Each yields a slightly different texture. While each method has its dedicated followers, we use different methods for different cakes. However, any butter cake can be mixed according to the method of your choice.
