Birthday cake - simple recipes

Help!

I need a receipe for a cake, It's my good ladys b'day tomorrow and I'm gonna bake her a b'day cake, but I'm about as much use in the kitchen as ice is to an eskimo!

So basically, does anyone out there have a receipe, that's fairly easy to make and I can get the ingredients from my local Mini-mart etc.

And no I can't 'just buy her one'...she'll know!!!

Cheers.

Excellent. You know what, if there's flour in it and it looks vaguely like a cake you're onto a winner... nothing cuter than kitchenly challenged men taking on baking for a lady... stick a candle in it, wear a frilly apron and make sure you look completely knackered when she arrives and she'll be weak at the knees - she might even faint and be thereby saved having to actually eat it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...ake_73878.shtml

Betty Crocker is my Bible:

Golden Layer Cake
2 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup soft butter, 1 cup milk, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 eggs
Heat oven to 175°C
Grease and flour oblong pan 13x9 1/2x2"
Combine dry ingredients
Add shortening (EDIT: butter), 2/3 cup of milk and vanilla, beat vigorously 2 minutes
Add 1/3 cup of milk and eggs
Beat 2 minutes, constantly scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl
Pour into form, bake app. 45 mins (poke a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean the cake is done)
When cool ice with a mixture of powdered sugar, water and grated lemon peel

and if you want to be really lazy, buy Dr Oethker cake packs where you only have to add milk, butter and eggs most of the time.

the best receipe i found:

Open front door, walk to UBahn to get to rischart, buy cake, bring home, lay the table...add sweetness and innocence to taste

You could also consider buying one of those boxed cake mixes. It's not the same as if you did it all by yourself, but it's somewhere in between.

Edit: planetmoni was faster

yep I'd also say buy a Dr.Oetker one (can't go wrong with them really) as well as some nice candles and sweets (Gummi Bears maybe, you can stick them on with dabs of jam) to decorate it with. serve it on a nice plate, she'll love it!

Just as easy as Sarabyrd's, but no icing (yuck) to add on:

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Serve with whipped cream

Unfortunately sarabyrd, that man is a Scot - he probably won't understand cup measurements. Or the word shortening. Go Delia Go
For the sponge:
6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour - Use normal Mehl (405)
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder - Dr Oetker Backin, use a whole sachet (it's not the same but it will do)
3 large eggs - Eier (Gr. 1)
6 oz (175 g) caster sugar - Feinster Zucker
6 oz (175 g) butter, very soft at room temperature - Butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract - Dr Oetker Vanilin or Bourbon-Vanilienextrakt
Use whipped cream (Schlagrahm/Schlagsahne - beaten with a mixer) and fruit to decorate.

EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Do not grease pan. If you use a disposable aluminum cake pan, this cake will be as easy to make and clean up after as a cake mix!

Stir together the above dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, make 3 holes over the surface of the dry ingredients mixture. In first hole, put 3/4 c. oil; in second hole, put 1 teaspoon vinegar; in third hole, put 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour 2 cups water over and blend.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

I haven't baked this one myself, but it certainly looks straight forward. Good luck with your cake.

Did I mention shortening anywhere??? Yep, instead of butter. Will edit, thanks.
Besides, he can always deep-fry it instead of putting on the frosting.

just a tip if you want castor and/or icingsugar and cannot lay your hands on then. Blend normal sugar in a blender to get castor surgar.

Really beat the crap out of the sugar and you will end up with icing sugar!

Right. I'm going with Saras Golden doo-da cake, been to the shop and got everything (including the castor sugar) and all with absolutly no idea what these things are in German...an achievement in itself, hooray for me!!!

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Although as a saftey net I did buy Dr. Oetkers 'finest' Schoko Kuchen.

Fingers crossed.

I'll keep you informed with hourly updates:-)

Take pictures, it seems this could be entertaining

PM me if you need my phone number for tips. Good luck!

Right, so I'm 2 cakes to the good.

I'm so impressed with me...my first foray into baking and they both 'seem' edible, although they don't look it. But it's the thought that counts...right?

Thanks for your help!

J

[attachment=33500:attachment]

You'd better hope so

Looks good, hon, tell us what she says.

Beware that self-raising flour (as known in UK) doesnt exist in Germany.
405 flour isnt self-raising IMHO. Resulted in a lot of leaden pancakes instead
of light fluffy cakes when my parents spent a year in Germany in the 60s...

I always use 550 flour for baking & when self-raising is called for
I add a small teaspoon BACKPULVER per 100g flour.

My Exmoor tarts go down a bomb here with the family...
& one can slay them with Chelsea Buns (hell of a lot of work & gone in 10 mins).

It looks very good. Tell us later how she reacted. Congrats on your baking.

I might be daft, well alright i am daft, but will she not know all of this when she reads this thread mate ?

Then again, she might find out when she eats the cake.

I'm the lady in question and it has to be said that the cakes were both delicious, incredibly moist and went within about 5 mins at my work.

There were loads of compliment about what a good Haus Frau I have, which is praise indeed if you've tried some of the b'day cakes that go round at my work. I will to need to buy him a nice frilly apron as a reward!

Boys if you want to find a way to impress your lady, baking is the way forward!

I'm impressed (and relieved) that JOB could take the mere bones of a recipe and turn them into a moist and fluffy cake. Send him to cooking classes and sit back and relax.

I am not so sure - some girls get depressed/annoyed when they find their new Bf can cook.
I had to resist the temptation to produce "Baked Alaska" for years...
Had previously slayed colleagues from work with that...

Luckily in our family we both like to cook - and usually different things...
Can be difficult to get the other half to eat the results