Plain Cake with Passionfruit Buttercream

As a cake baker and recipe writer, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to: I think this is my favourite cake. A comfortingly simple butter cake, with just the right ratio of cake to sunny passionfruit buttercream. This is the cake I make first when I’ve been away from home, and the one I crave with a big cup of tea when my mum is not around for a hug.

MAKES ONE 20 CM CAKE

Ingredients

185 g unsalted butter, softened
185 g golden caster (superfine) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
225 g self-raising flour
Pinch of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Pinch of salt
125 ml buttermilk, at room temperature

PASSIONFRUIT BUTTERCREAM

125 g unsalted butter, softened
240 g icing (confectioners’) sugar
2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp, plus extra to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F) fan-forced and grease a deep 20 cm (8 inch) round tin thoroughly with butter. Line the base and side of the tin with baking paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Add half to the creamed butter mixture, stirring gently, before adding half the buttermilk. Once incorporated, follow with the remaining flour, then the remaining buttermilk, stirring gently until the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden, risen and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. When the cake is cool, make the passionfruit buttercream. Mix the butter and half the icing sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and passionfruit pulp and beat until light and fluffy. Spoon the buttercream onto the cooled cake, smoothing it out to evenly cover the surface, and top with a little extra passionfruit pulp, if you like.
4. Serve at room temperature in thick slices, with a large pot of tea and a good friend. Any leftover cake will keep happily in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days; just return to room temperature before serving.

Images and text from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment, photography by Tilly Pamment. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00.