Method

1. Heat the oven.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
3. Beat the eggs and add them gradually to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
4. Add the sifted flour alternatively with the milk, beginning and ending with flour, then beat for about a minute till a smooth batter forms.
5. Pour batter into a prepared cake tin (sprayed with cooking spray and also lined with baking paper if the tin is NOT non-stick), see below.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Patty cakes will only take about 12-15 minutes.
8. Turn out onto a rack and allow to cool.

You can bake the cake in either of the following cake tins...

• 2 x shallow cake tins (round or square)
• Loaf tin
• Slab tin
• Ring tin
• Patty cake tin

Variations

• Chocolate - Add 4 level Tbsp of cocoa powder to the flour. Increase the milk by 1 Tbsp.
• Chocolate Chip - Add ½ cup choc bits to the dry mixture before adding the milk.
• Citrus & Poppy Seed - Add 2 level tsp of grated orange or lemon rind and 1 tsp poppy seeds to the sifted flour - replace the milk with fresh orange or lemon juice.
• Coconut - Add ½ cup of desiccated coconut and a few drops of coconut essence/flavouring before the flour and the milk.
• Spice - Add 1 tsp of ginger, ½ tsp of cinnamon and ½ tsp of nutmeg to the flour.
• Almond/Hazelnut - Add ½ tsp baking powder to the flour before sifting and substitute 1 cup of the flour with almond or hazelnut meal and add a few drops of almond/hazelnut extract.
• Ginger - Add 2 tsp ground ginger to the flour.
• Marble - divide the batter into three bowls, add cochineal (red food colouring) to one, and 2 Tbsp cocoa, a pinch bicarbonate of soda and 1 Tbsp extra of milk to the other, and leave one plain. Drop all three mixtures into the prepared cake tin and draw a thick skewer or knife through all the batters to streak the colours.
• Patty Cakes - spoon into 24 greased patty tins or patty cake papers on a standard cookie slide. Cooking time is 10-15 minutes.
• Muffins - spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tins instead of a cake tin. Cooking time is 20-30 minutes.
• Chocolate & Beetroot - substitute the castor sugar for brown sugar. Add 1 cup beetroot, cooked and pureed (either fresh or from a can) and 125g melted chocolate to the creamed mixture before adding the flour and milk. Finally, add ½ cup finely chopped pecans or macadamias to the batter before placing into the pan, or sprinkly the top with a little brown sugar and the nuts before placing in the oven. Allow 45 minutes to cook.
• Rich Orange  - wash and puree in a blender, 2 whole small oranges (after removing seeds). Instead of creaming the butter and sugar, mix the sugar with the flour, melt the butter and add to the pureed oranges then beat in the eggs (omit the milk altogether, the oranges will provide enough moisture). Combine the dry ingredients with the wet and mix together. Spoon the mixture into a tin and bake for 60-80 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre, comes out clean. (this cake will take longer to cook because it's a melt and mix method.
• Carrot Cake - add 1 cup grated carrot to the batter just before putting it into the cake tin, and replace the milk with fresh carrot juice.
• Banana Walnut Cake/Bread - mash 2 medium sized bananas or 1 large banana and add together with ½ cup chopped walnuts to the cake mixture before the flour and milk. For a more banana flavour without the sogginess, add a few drops of banana essence. You may need to adjust the milk so add it last after all other ingredients have been combined.