7 wonders of the perfect cake

A sponsored post for Sunbeam

To me the perfect cake is a combination of a few things.

    1. Home made
    2. With a recipe from someone you love
    3. Have memories of eating it from another time, with other people
    4. Absolutely not be good for you
    5. Include chocolate
    6. Be easy to make without any fuss
    7. Be eaten immediately and entirely

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I’m not much of a baker but there are a few old favourite cakes and loaves that I love to trot out for friends and family. A cake will always impress me and bring out the little person in me who thinks that a whole iced cake sitting on a bench top is a thing of beauty.

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Being a good home cook but an unconfident baker I never really know when my butter and sugar is creamed properly. I choose recipes that are simple and can be thrown into a bench mixer to do all the work for me. Choosing the right mixer can also be as overwhelming as some of these recipes for non-bakers. Sunbeam has just launched a new campaign for their bench mixers which help home cooks choose the best mixer they can for the job. They uncovered the 7 measures of mixing that all mixers should be able to do:

        1. Whisking & Aerating: using a whisk attachment, whisk 2 egg whites to stiff peaks in less than 2 mins
        2. Mixing: using a scraper beater, combine wet & dry ingredients to produce a smooth, consistent mixture; result required in 2:30
        3. Creaming: cream butter and sugar to be light & fluffy in under 7 mins
        4. Kneading: knead wet & dry ingredients evenly into a smooth soft ball of dough in 5 mins
        5. Cookie dough: combine wet & dry ingredients into a consistent mixture in 2 mins with limited head movement
        6. Stability & heavy loads: remains within its footprint on the bench top and limited head movement whilst mixing heavy loads
        7. Ease of use: easy and intuitive to use

Up against all leading brands on the market (Kenwood, Kitchenaid, Breville) Sunbeam performed highly.

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I decided to put the mixer to work on a trusty old favourite recipe of mine that has a very important place in my family’s hearts (and stomachs!). This recipe meets my 7 requirements for the perfect cake. It was a recipe from our old Primary School cookbook from over 30 years ago (gosh we are all getting old!). This cake has been trotted out at that many family and friend gatherings I cannot begin to count the times. It’s known as Anne’s cake (named after the woman that wrote it in that cookbook). We’ll ask at a do…”is that an Anne?” As if it is a person. Anne was my wedding cake, and one of our oldest family friends lovingly made it for Rob and I and gave me the recipe to keep for my own. Anne is a beautiful cake…she is moist, she is rich and delicious, she keeps well, and she is best served with lashings of chocolate icing.

I feel like I am introducing you to another beloved member of my family with sharing this recipe. Like Willy Wonka when he opens the door to his factory. I give you…Anne.

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Anne (aka perfect Chocolate Cake)

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups of self raising flour
1 cup cold water with ½ teaspoon of bi-carb soda
185 grams melted butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons of hot water
Splash vanilla essence

Chocolate frosting

2 cups icing mixture
1 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons cocoa
Splash milk

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1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees and grease and line a 25 cm tin. Throw all ingredients into your mixing bowl…no sifting, no fussing, just throw those bastards in there.

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2. Turn the mixer onto high for 2 minutes

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3. Pour into the tin and bake for approx. 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean (it took me closer to 60 mins)

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4. Throw all the icing ingredients into the mixer and give a good mix for about 1.5 minutes. If it’s too thick just keep adding in extra splashes of milk. My cakes, like me are rarely perfect, always a little wonky.

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5. Eat immediately. Seconds a must until that cake is gone! Anne, like most good things in life doesn’t like to stick around…she is merely a fleeting moment of pure joy.

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[gmc_recipe 9337]

Sunbeam are also giving you guys a chance to win one of these fab mixers! All you have to do is head over to Pinterest, create a quick board showing us what makes the perfect cupcakes. Make sure you leave a link to your board in the comments on this picture on their Pinterest board. All details can be found here or by clicking the image below.

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You can find out more about the 7 measures of mixing to see if your mixer measures up here.

Do you have a family recipe that is as precious to you is Anne is to mine?
What makes up the perfect cake in your books?
Do you have a bench mixer? Even a dodgy baker like me loves this!

Comments

  1. We have a chocolate cake recipe like ‘Anne’. Simple, delicious, perfect for any occasion and from a cookbook my mum bought when we were at kinder! The page is so dirty with chocolate cake mix, the book just falls open to that page (it’s the only one we’ve ever made from that book!). I used it for my son’s first birthday cupcakes and it was really special to make it part of such an important occasion – I wish we had used it for our wedding too now! Think I might bake one today!

  2. Mrs Woog says

    I think she is more of an Alice!

  3. I would LOVE a bench mixer but it would probably just gather dust. Anne looks quite delicious!

  4. I love Anne already and I’ve never even met her.

  5. This wouldn’t also be known as “Simplicity Chocolate Cake” would it?! That’s been our family favourite for as long as I can remember.

    What cake do you want for your birthday? Simplicity.

  6. Great post Beth. I agree with everything you’ve said about cake. LOVE the look of the iced cake sitting on the bench! Also love your pics of the cake and the jonquils – two of my favourite visuals side by side! I’m going to refer back to this post as I do like to bake but really need to up my baking tools (ie, acquire a proper mixer – those hand-held ones just don’t cut it)!

  7. Oh Glorious One says

    Oh, hi there Anne. I’ve been looking for you all my life. Thank you, Bev, for introducing this lovely lady to me. I think I need to introduce Anne to my family and friends this weekend, at my baby son’s baptism. I know it is sacrilegious to ask, however, how do you think Anne would feel about being cupcakes?

    • Anne really is so versatile I think she would work very well indeed as cupcakes. Just watch that cooking…Anne can dry out if she is overdone. Can’t we all?!

  8. The perfect cake has GOT to have butter and sugar in it!

  9. Why hello there Anne. So very pleased to make your acquaintance!

    Think I will give this one a go! I like baking but do get nervous it will fail if things look too complicated so Anne looks perfect. One question first, do you use the fan?

  10. That looks amazing. I need to make more cakes.

  11. Anne sounds perfect, and we are baking one in the oven right now – can’t wait to try her when she’s ready!

  12. Anne looks and sounds divine! So divine I’ve just bookmarked her to my recipes to try on the weekend. I’m hungry already – thank you!

  13. Anne looks fantastic for her age, young, fresh and moist.

    Now to convert it to grain free…….

  14. Have to make a cake for a morning tea at school on Friday – I think Anne might be paying a visit. Thanks for sharing her.

  15. Called the picnic race chocolate cake in our family. – made and carried in a very big square slab tin is it wasn’t ruined over miles of corrugated dirt roads en route to the races – great cake .

  16. My mouth is watering and I may just have to give this a go for hubby’s Birthday on the weekend. I am a very nervous baker and when serving to others for parties, morning tea’s etc find I fall back on packet… I really want to change that and challenge myself.
    The only problem is… when there is cake in the house it’s not good for my waistline!! project lose baby weight falls into disarray as I can never stop at just one piece.
    I loved this quote from @Phoodiegram via @meliissalovesfood on Instagram… “Technically if you don’t cut a cake and just eat the whole thing with a fork you still only had one piece”… Jx

  17. It’s my daughter’s 6th birthday today! ‘Anne’ is in oven cooking at the moment! Thanks so much for this wonderful easy recipe, it is smelling devine! Can’t wait to decorate it for Amber. Choc cake is a huge favourite in our house. 🙂

  18. Kim Davies says

    OMG! I just made Anne! Cooling on the rack in the kitchen, filling the house with her scrumptious smell! The worst thing about having kids is youno longer get to lick the bowl…my 4 year old quickly snuck off with it to the lounge. There was enough of the mixture over for 6 cupcakes, which turned out perfectly. Sad to say, those 6 little cupcakes are no longer with us, eaten warm and almost still steaming without icing, they were completely divine! Have sent photos to my hubby at work to let him know what’s lying in wait when he gets home…thank you so much for sharing this fabulous recipe!

  19. A 25cm cake tin… would she still work in a smaller tin? maybe a 22?

    • Yes it’s just a lot of cake. That’s why mine was so wonky I used a round 22 I reckon with baking paper sides and it worked fine. Wonky, but fine.

  20. I was given this mixer 2 years ago for Christmas & I love it dearly. I was so excited & to this day every time I use it I still get excited 🙂

  21. We made baby Annes this morning (portion control……who am I kidding! I just eat two cupcakes) she’s pretty good, I think I may of replaced my Pioneer Woman Texas sheet cake as my go to choccie cake standby.

  22. Quick questions and if you don’t answer I guess I’ll just need to experiment… when you say 2 cups of sugar, are you referring to caster sugar or normal sugar?

    Ta

  23. So I made Anne on Thursday night, because the kids were asking for a homemade treat and it helped me avoid other more purposeful housework. How good is it?! I think this is my new go-to cake for days just like Thursday. Just wondering…. did you really only need 2 cups of icing sugar for the icing? I needed about 4 to get the right consistency. I hadn’t ever made icing with melted butter before. Total game changer!

  24. Hi Beth, I made Anne on Saturday to take to a friends house for dinner. Soo many compliments!!! It was perfect. Thanks for the recipe. This will certainly be a family staple from now on 🙂

  25. Lisa Mckenzie says

    Anne looks like a good cake,thank you for sharing Beth x

  26. Dead Set! This is THE easiest chocolate cake I have EVER made! in the oven now!

  27. Just made Anne!
    She is perfect! I love her, and you for sharing! Super easy, and super tasty!
    I actually only used 1 cup sugar, and used cacao powder, instead of cocoa, and I’m sure you’d never miss the sugar!
    Thanks so much!

  28. This post just saved my arse BabyMac. Badmummy forgot to bake for the school fete tomorrow, and I have 90 minutes between patients…
    I remembered this post, and had all of ‘those bastards’ in my pantry.
    Giddyup.

    #BabyMacRules

  29. I’ve got two occasions requiring cake this week: my turn on the cake roster in my office at work (high school teacher = a need for sugar and chocolate on a weekly, if not daily basis) and the husband’s birthday.

    I am going to double down on Anne. I think she’s got the goods. I love baking and I LOVE my mixer but anything that’s easy and packs a flavour punch is a winner in my book.

    Thank you for sharing this old dame with us!

  30. Small Question – Is Anne quite dense? I think I may have done something wrong…
    Sorry if I have failed you Beth!

  31. Oh Anne. Made you as cupcakes today, 36 if you don’t mind. Distributed to kinder staff for afternoon tea, morning tea with my sister and an impressively large amount disappearing into my husband guts. Oh Anne. We love you, you delicious morsel of perfection you.

  32. I just love how you get so technical with “just throw those bastards in” ha ha

  33. Yum yum and more yum! I made this cake this morning and found the recipe too easy to be true!!! It turned out perfect in every way. It has a lovely chocolately taste and texture is just right. I also like the size as I’ve never baked in a 25cm cake tin. I did bake it for 60 minutes though.
    Loved the chocolate icing and again so easy and so good.
    I have finally found a chocolate cake recipe for my recipe collection. Thank you for sharing Beth.

  34. Do you think I could half this recipe, as I only have a small cake tin????

  35. Needed a cake for Dad’s birthday today. Remembered your post. Made it. Amazing. Then went on Facebook and everyone seems to have made it today! Lol! Delicious!!

  36. How much butter is one cup.? Do you melt it then mesure out a cupful, or measure it then melt it?

  37. Thanks for sharing Beth;) I don’t have a bench mixer, only an old fashioned hand mixer! Hope that it cuts the mustard!

  38. If you were to freeze this recipe.
    Would you freeze it in glad wrap before you iced it or ice it and freeze it?

    Could you split this to make a double layer cake or repeat the recipe a second time for a second layer?

  39. Madeleine says

    Looks delicious! Can Anne be used for cupcakes too? If so how long would you back them for and any alterations you need to make? Thank you 🎂

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