The Forgotten 4-Ingredient Cake Shortcut That Requires Zero Recipe Books and Zero Math
From 18th-century European inns to the first American cookbook, this absolute legend relies on one dead-simple rule: grab four basic staples, weigh them exactly the same, and bake.
If your kitchen cabinets are completely devoid of baking manuals and you absolutely detest complicated measurements, this historic masterpiece is about to become your ultimate dessert weapon.
Known across the globe by various names — the British Pound Cake, the French Quatre-quarts (four quarters), the German Rührkuchen, or the classic Russian Three Glasses trick — this recipe features a brilliant concept that is completely impossible to forget.
The grand secret is that there is no secret: you simply take equal weights of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, beat them into a smooth batter, and slide it straight into the oven.
Ingredients: 450 g of butter, 350 g of granulated sugar, 10 large eggs, 500 g of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Make sure to sift the flour.
Take the butter and eggs out of the fridge at least an hour before you start cooking so they have time to come to room temperature.
Grease and flour the cake pan.
Keep in mind that if you use the quantities listed in the recipe, you’ll need a fairly large pan with a capacity of about 2.8 liters.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the butter in the mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.
Then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Without turning off the mixer, add the eggs one at a time. After adding each egg, beat the mixture thoroughly before adding the next one.
Once all the eggs are incorporated, reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly sift in the flour in a thin stream.
When the flour is fully incorporated into the batter, add the vanilla extract and mix everything together one more time.
Pour the finished batter into the prepared pan. Do not fill it more than 2/3 full, as this cake expands significantly in volume during baking.
Place the pan with the batter in an oven preheated to 180°C and bake for about 80 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for half an hour before inverting the pan onto a serving plate.
For a special flavor, you can soak the cake with classic sponge cake syrup or generously drizzle it with lemon sauce.
