Sri Lankan Butter Cake

Sri Lankan butter cake is easy to make, ultra buttery, soft, moist and in my opinion the best cake for any time of the day. This is also very similar to a vanilla cake as most living abroad might have come across, but Sri Lankan butter cake is definitely more buttery than vanilla cake.

As a child growing up in Sri Lanka. Buttercake used to be served in any festival or occasion. if you visit friends and relatives you would buy a butter cake from stores as a gift. definitely, this cake was considered gift-worthy but also available in any bakery and patisserie in Sri Lanka.

We do have Sri Lankan new year that falls in April every year, even though we make traditional Sri Lankan sweets such as oil cakes, kokis etc… we also don’t forget to add pieces of butter cakes.

Authentic Sri Lankan butter cake

it is sooo easy to make a butter cake and so easy to remember it because it’s 250g of everything ( sugar, flour, eggs, butter) but the process of making the butter cake that makes it a good cake or a bad cake.

What’s the secret to a moist and soft butter cake?

Butter, Butter, Butter!!!! the butter needs to be the correct softness in order to get the softest cake. I cannot emphasise this enough!!!

Oven temperature, we need this cake to be cooked at a low temperature for a longer time, so follow my oven instructions.

Oven tray used
It is very important to use the correct tray to bake the cake, the correct height and width are very necessary, if you bake this cake in a very large tray, then the butter cake will be flat and will not be soft and spongy, so make sure the correct tray dimensions are used for this recipe.

Why Butter cake turns dense and dry

There is a few reasons as to why Butter cake turn dense and dry, read below to find out how to avoid it.

How to get the butter to room temperature?

Now, most people fail to make this recipe perfect, as butter plays a huge role. The butter needs to be at room temperature. don’t ever microwave it to soften it, as this will make the cake oily. The best is to cut the butter into small cubes and keep it at room temperature until it’s soft. But if you are in a country where it is cold and it’s winter then there is spreadable butter in supermarkets and I use that, I don’t keep it at room temperature, I use it straight from the fridge because it’s already softened.
You can also mix it in a stand mixer to get it to soften.

What to serve with Sri Lankan butter cake

Absolutely nothing, just a nice cup of Ceylon tea would perfectly go well with Sri Lankan butter cake.

If anyone in Sri Lanka has a tea party or a kiddies afternoon party, butter cake will definitely make its appearance along with all other Sri Lankan snacks; Chinese rolls, Patties, cutlets

The best occasion to make butter cake

We eat butter cake as a morning snack or evening tea. But if you are looking for a cake for a special occasion cake or an indulgent birthday, anniversary cake option, then try my secret ribbon cake recipe, warning!!! this ribbon cake recipe has already gone viral and it is my most viewed and trialled recipe by many followers and readers.

Is ribbon cake and butter cake the same thing

The base of the cake is exactly the same, the way ribbon cake is differentiated is by adding colour and icing to it. But my ribbon cake recipe, I have minor tweaks than a butter cake recipe.

How to store butter cake

Buttercake can be kept for 4 days and it will not dry out, I am using a small trick to make this recipe soft and moist, that is adding oil. I have always mentioned that oil makes a cake softer and allows it to be kept for a longer time. But the cake needs to be tightly wrapped.