Margaret Braun's Butter Cake
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 5cups all-purpose flour
- 2teaspoons baking powder
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- 1teaspoon salt
- 2cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4½cups sugar, plus ½ cup for sprinkling
- 6large eggs
- 2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Finely grated zest of 4 lemons (for lemon cake)
- Juice of 1 lemon (for lemon cake)
- 2cups sour cream
Nutritional analysis per serving (32 servings)
340 calories; 15 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 32 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 155 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 10-inch round cake pans. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Step 2
In another bowl, cream the butter and 4½ cups of sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Add the lemon zest and juice.
- Step 3
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Scrape batter into prepared cake pans.
- Step 4
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of the sugar on top of the batter. Bake until set, when a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean (about 1 hour).
- Step 5
Let the cakes cool in their pans, and then invert them onto a rack.
- With this dessert the Lees suggest a dry Champagne, like Veuve Clicquot.
Private Notes
Comments
I cut this recipe in half using 1 3/4 cup of sugar and the full 2 Tsp of Vanilla because I was using a chocolate buttercream, also omitted the sprinkling of sugar on top of the cake for the same reason. Absolutely divine! I’ve been searching for the perfect butter cake recipe to make a layer cake and this was on right on point. Just enough batter for (2) perfectly leveled 9 inch rounds. Thank you so much!
This was the best recipe, by far, that I found for 10 inch round cake pans. This cake was HUGE (fed 20 people with leftovers) and delicious. It baked evenly, too, so it was a breeze to make it look good frosted. I used the Magnolia Bakery Buttercream Frosting recipe, also here on the NYT cooking section. Highly recommend :)