Hope you all had a wonderful beginning to the new year. Let us start the new year on a sweet note - saffron butter cake - a piece of which will bring a smile to your face.
It is that good.
Tasty, buttery, moist, delicate, melt in the mouth cake...This is the butter cake you have been looking for!
All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much. - George Harrison
Yep, this is the one.
Did you have a relaxing winter break? Or was it so hectic that you need a holiday to get over the holidays?
We had a quiet winter break at Framed Recipes, both blogging wise as well as family wise. We spent time together playing, watching movies, reading, laser tag with friends, going for exhibitions and skiing.
Well, while my husband and Sonshine skied, I sat in the coffee shop, sipped hot chocolate and read a book.
I am currently (re)reading Emma by Jane Austen, which I had read a long time back (may be in high school). When I saw it recently at our library, I realized I need to revisit the book (to jog my memory) and also to see if my perspective of her has changed with my maturity. And yeah, incorporating more reading into my life is one of my new year's resolutions. And "they" say that I should have a tangible goal rather than just saying "more books". So, I guess my tangible goal is 2 books a month? With the time I get after finishing my household chores and blogging duties I think this is a reasonable number, though I wish it was far more than this
I make this butter cake (recipe adapted from Food-4tots) - to munch on while doing the "ugh" sorta chores.
This saffron infused butter cake is all things delicious - (aromatic) saffron, buttery, moist and tenderly sweet.
Just to bring a smile on a good day, like today.
A small word of caution: This cake is calorie rich and since you have not yet broken your new year resolution to eat healthy (I hope you have not broken it yet!! I know you are motivated and I am counting on you), just a small piece should suffice.
A small piece, an itsy bitsy one.
Rest of the cake can be refrigerated in an airtight container for a few days. When ready to serve, warm it up in a microwave and serve immediately.
The recipe for saffron butter cake is pretty straight forward with not too many steps or complicated processes. Just remember to soak the saffron threads (buy good quality saffron threads) to extract maximum flavor from them. If you are in a hurry, soak them for at least 20 minutes.
Here is another tip for you .. This one was shared by my cousin who runs a cake shop in India. Grating the butter softens it pretty quick.
Talking to you is so much fun, that I forgot all about the mails I have to sort through.
But duty calls...
So, I am off to handling the "ugh" chore - sorting mail.
But with my coffee, and my saffron butter cake and some old Hindi songs in the background, there is no stopping me.
Edit (1/6/2016) :
Saffron Butter Cake
This saffron infused butter cake is all things delicious - (aromatic) saffron, buttery, moist,tenderly sweet.
Ingredients
- 225 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened (plus a little extra for greasing)
- 200 grams (approx. 1.5 cups) all purpose flour/maida
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 4 eggs (each egg weighed about 50-60 grams)
- 4 tbsp fresh milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 generous pinches of saffron
Instructions
Preparation
- Warm the milk and soak the saffron for at least 20 minutes. The longer you soak, the more flavor you extract.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit (190 degree Celsius).
- Grease a 9 inch round cake tin with butter (optional: line with parchment paper).
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, baking powder & salt and sieve.
Mixing the cake batter
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar till fluffy and pale in color.
- Add one egg at a time and beat until the egg is well incorporated and the mixture looks creamy; scraping down the sides while mixing. When you add the egg, start at a low speed to mix and then increase it to medium.
- Add vanilla essence and the milk (which has the saffron threads) along with the saffron threads and mix well.
- Sprinkle ⅓ of the (sieved) flour gently and fold into the mixture until well combined. Repeat with the rest of the flour.
- Pour the batter (batter will be thick) into the prepared cake tin and spread it evenly with a spatula.
Baking
- Gently tap the sides of the cake tin to remove any air bubbles trapped.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the cake is browned. You can also test the doneness by inserting a tooth pick and if it comes out clean, the cake is baked right. (In case the top of the cake is browining too fast, use an Aluminum foil dome to cover the cake towards the last 15 minutes of baking)
- Remove the cake from the oven, let it rest in the cake tin for 5 minutes or so. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
1. Always use clean and dry utensils to prepare the cake.
2. Soak the saffron threads for at least 20 minutes, soak longer for better flavor.
3.. Preheat the oven for at least 15 minutes for best results.
4. When adding the eggs, if your batter looks curdled, do not worry. The flour will even it out.
5. Break the egg into a small bowl before adding to the batter. This will help remove any bad eggs from spoiling your batter (you can follow this tip for all your cakes, not just this one).
6. Save the leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Microwave it for a few seconds just before serving.
7. You can make this cake with an 8 inch square tin as well. But in my experience the cake domed a little and had a cracked top. 9 inch round tin gave me the best results (a small dome was still present).
8. If you find it hard to remove the cake from the tin, gently run a knife around the edges of the cake tin to loosen it up a bit.
9. Grating the butter softens it pretty quick.
10. Oven temperatures (and hence baking time) vary considerably depending on the type of the oven, so please your discretion.
11. 1 cup= 240 ml.
12.For baking I generally rely on weighing the ingredients rather than measuring it in cups. I have seen that I get more reliable results when I weigh the ingredients.
Looking for more Saffron recipes?
Be sure to check these out.
Till I see you next time,
Ciao
Reema says
Love ur recipe and write up
Got to try this cake soon , only issue is I love saffron but my daughter is allergic to it and gets severe head ache which forces me to avoid it as much as possible
Framed Recipes says
Thanks for your comment Reema. Glad you liked the recipe and write up. I am so sorry to hear about your daughter's saffron allergy. If you do try it, you can skip saffron. When you try, do come back and give me your feedback.
Uma Srinivas says
Lovely photos:) Recently I checked your blog. All are greatly clicked. Loved your recipes too 🙂
Framed Recipes says
Thank you so much Uma.
Ariel N. says
Thanks for the lovely recipe! I made this cake over the weekend for a saffron exhibition for my class and it was a hit. We are not very familiar with saffron where I am from so it was a great way to introduce them to the spice.
Framed Recipes says
Thank you so much for your feedback Ariel. I am so happy that you liked the cake.
Ujwal says
Hi Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. My family and my friends loved this cake. They had wonderful things to say about it. All credits to you. I have shared this in my blog with a link to your blog. Hope you do not mind. Please let me know if any issues. Would surely check other recipes in the blog. This cake was love at first sight for me.
Framed Recipes says
I am so glad that you liked the cake. Appreciate your kind words and thanks for linking back to me.
Revathi says
I love simple pound cakes a lot. Love to have it in the evening while having my tea. A lovely idea to combine saffron with a cake. This saffron butter cake looks so fabulous and out of this world delicious 🙂
Framed Recipes says
Thank you so much Revathi.
Sandhya Hariharan says
Cake is just perfect Sree . The ingredients measurements tell me its an advancement of Victoria Sponge Cake where the flour,butter,sugar weight as much as the eggs... I loved the pictures !!! Fab ...
Framed Recipes says
Thanks Sandhya
shailaja says
I love cakes alot,baking makes me so relaxation,and i really impressed with your photography, awesome sree
Framed Recipes says
Thank you Shailaja. Indeed baking is therapeutic.
Ritu Ahuja says
Cake looks lovely. Moist and soft. A perfect cake and a well explained recipe. I will try it out soon. Love the pictures. I am tempted to grab a bite. 🙂
Framed Recipes says
Thank you Ritu. I am sure you are going to enjoy the cake when do try.
Rafeeda @ The Big Sweet Tooth says
Mail and laundry... hehe... two dreaded things! I fold my laundry once a week, while building up a mini pyramid on the little sofa next to our bed.... thankfully the mail is sorted out by HD so no headaches on that count... That cake is just so... I don't know... I love saffron and I am sure I may end up eating at least half of that cake... hehe...
Framed Recipes says
Rafeeda, I tried once a week laundry, and it did not work for me. I do it daily now. Kinda routine built into my day. (well, most of the days anyways). Mail is mostly once in 2-3 days. :). Thank you so much for stopping by.
Priya says
Such a soft, spongy butter cake with gorgeous images! Wish I could grab a piece..
Framed Recipes says
Oh, How i wish I could share it with you. Thank you so much Priya.
Traditionallymodernfood says
Spongy butter cake s always a winner.. Yum yum
Framed Recipes says
Of course, for sure Vidya. Thank you so much for stopping by.
[email protected] says
I love simple butter cakes. The texture of the cake is so mindbogglingly awesome. Love that board and the pics Sree... Beautiful light!
Framed Recipes says
You are sweet Jyothi. Thank you so much.
Eileen says
This looks amazing. Love the fact I can have a small piece and store the cake in fridge for a few days for that slight indulgence we all need
Framed Recipes says
Thanks Eileen. yeah, it is pretty wonderful to save the cake for later.
[email protected] says
This is so tempting. I loved your photography. Looks absolutely delicious.
Framed Recipes says
Thank you Deepika
Rupal says
Can u plz parcel it?:) It looks so mouthwatering. I want to move in next to u:)
Framed Recipes says
Come on over Rupal.
Rupal says
I want this... Parcel it now.. Looks so mouthwatering
Framed Recipes says
:). Thanks Rupal. How I wish I could send it to you.
Deepti Anand says
Wow...the cake looks amazing...rich and moist..thanks for the recipe.
Framed Recipes says
Of course Deepti. I hope you will give it a try.
parvathy says
Oh my this is super gorgeous ... Picture perfect and love your green boards...
Framed Recipes says
Thank you Parvathy. The green boards were our first DIY boards. Plywood from Homedepot and some paint. Voila! you are done.
Meena Kumar says
The cake looks sooo pretty love the yellow.
I have been thinking of reading Jane Austen series again just for the new perspective, had two at home was a prize from school. For paying bills there is an app that reminds u every month. Laundry hmm I fold all the big ones as soon as it comes from the drier the rest whoever needs will sort 😀
Framed Recipes says
Thank you so much Meena for stopping by. I am happy that I started reading Emma again. We do use apps to remind us of stuff. Now, that is good idea for laundry. I have to try it soon. :).
Dolphia Nandi says
LOVE LOVE LOVE the texture of the cake. It's so soft - I feel like inhaling the cake!
Framed Recipes says
Thanks Dol.