Ridiculously Easy French Butter Cake

Although this French Butter Cake may have a fancy name, it's simply a delicious amalgamation of a super beloved cake made by French grandmothers and a popular American dessert called Kentucky Butter Cake. It's ridiculously easy to make as well as being moist, tender and ridiculously delicious!

If you haven't tried our French Grandmother's Lemon Yogurt Cake, you've been missing out on something incredibly delicious. I posted it back in 2015, giving it the silly name because it had a fun history involving grandmothers in France. It's been wildly popular here at The Café and, over the years, I've done lots of variations of the original cake because it's one of those no-fail, super-easy, crazy-delicious recipes. This French Butter Cake is a new rendition, a vanilla version with a hint of almond and an amazing sweet buttery glaze stolen from a beloved American classic, the Kentucky Butter Cake.

Ridiculously Easy

Does anyone out there like easy, super delicious recipes? I sure do! Although I love to cook and could spend all day in the kitchen, I don't often have that luxury. I've got a business to run, family to spend time with, friendships to nurture and a myriad of other responsibilities. I know your days look a little different than mine, but are no less busy.

That's why I'm always looking for ways to make my (and your) culinary lives a little easier. It's my challenge to come up with recipes that don't take a lot of time, special equipment or unusual ingredients, while at the same time, being so delicious that you (and I) will want to make them again and again. I call these recipes, Ridiculously Easy and we have a whole collection of them (check them out here). They have certain guidelines which you can read about in this post, but my simple definition for Ridiculously Easy recipes is "The recipes that make you look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your part".

This French Butter Cake has definitely found its home in our Ridiculous Easy closet!

Simple ingredients

You probably have everything you need to make this French Butter Cake other than perhaps, the almond extract. The other ingredients are everyday pantry staples; yogurt, eggs, sugar, flour, oil, baking powder, salt and vanilla. The glaze is just as simple with a simple cast of characters including butter, sugar, water and vanilla. The touch of almond extract is optional, but does give the cake and glaze that fine French flavor.

And just as simple as the ingredient list is the set of instructions:

• Preheat the oven and line an 8-inch pan with parchment after spraying it with baking spray.
• Pull out a bowl, spatula and whisk along with the ingredients listed above.
• Whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
• Add the baking powder and salt and give it another good stir.
• Add the flour and whisk to combine.
• Lastly, add the oil and stir until smooth
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until golden and fragrant.
• Remove the cake from the oven and prepare the glaze in a small pan on the stovetop. Simply combine all the glaze ingredients and stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is nice and smooth.
• Brush the glaze generously over the top of the cake then flip the cake onto a cooling rack.
• Slowly brush the remaining glaze over the sides and bottom (which is now the top) of the cake and let the sweet, buttery glaze seep in and coat the surface.
• Done! Wipe the drool off of your mouth and try to let the cake cool before indulging.

Why call it "butter" cake?

If you've glanced at the recipe, you might be wondering why it's called a "butter" cake since there isn't any butter in the recipe. I could have subbed the oil for butter but (although I'm a HUGE fan of butter) I've found that the combination of ingredients in this cake are just perfect with oil instead of butter. The moist, tender crumb is wonderful, so why mess with it?

So we add the delicious buttery flavor with the glaze, which not only coats the cake but sinks in and adds fabulous buttery flavor. Hence we call it French Butter Cake!

How to serve this French Butter Cake

There are lots of ways to enjoy this French Butter Cake. Serve it on its own with a simple dusting of powdered sugar. Sometimes I like to warm each slice for 10 seconds in the microwave to enhance all the delicious flavor. You can serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and some seasonal fresh fruit. Citrus is wonderful in the colder months and fresh strawberries or raspberries are fabulous in the spring and summer.

It's also wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of Raspberry Coulis, Butterscotch Sauce or this super easy Hot Fudge Sauce. It's a delicious blank pallet and pairs beautifully with so many other flavors!

Sure to please!

So if you need a simple, delicious cake, that everyone will enjoy, put this French Butter Cake on your must-make list asap!

Café Tips for making this Ridiculously Easy French Butter Cake

• This recipe calls for both vanilla and almond extracts. Almond extract has a much stronger flavor than vanilla and for this French butter cake, we want just a hint of almond flavor, so don't go overboard.
• I often use Greek yogurt for this cake but you can also use regular yogurt. In fact, in a pinch, you could also use buttermilk or sour cream. They'll all work!
• I'm a big fan of butter in cake recipes. This cake calls for oil (no butter) and I was a bit skeptical until I actually tasted the cake. Don't be tempted to substitute butter as the oil keeps the cake light, yet moist at the same time. And the flavor is wonderful!
• Any type of neutral-flavored oil works well in this recipe. I have made it with sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil and avocado oil. They all work well.
• Just like our French Grandmother Lemon Yogurt Cake mentioned above, the flat bottom of the cake becomes the top after baking. You'll brush the glaze on the top of the cake then turn it out of the pan onto a cooling rack so that the bottom becomes the top.
• Any type of neutral-flavored oil works well in this recipe. I have made it with sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil and avocado oil. They all work well.
• Brush the glaze on slowly and use it all. Some of it will drip off, but most will be absorbed by the cake and will form the delicious buttery sweet glaze.
• This recipe calls for a 2-inch deep, 8-inch pan. Not all 8-inch pans are that deep. If you don’t have an 8-inch pan that’s at least 2-inches deep, you might want to use a 9-inch pan (the cake won't be as high) or an 8-inch springform pan.
• I love this 8-inch baking pan. It has a nice, textured non-stick finish, is super sturdy and comes through the dishwasher beautifully!
• I love these pre-cut parchment paper rounds. They're reasonably priced, super convenient and save lots of time when baking cakes.
• This cake freezes well, although the glaze won’t be as crisp when it’s thawed. I freeze the cake uncovered for an hour until it’s mostly frozen then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Freezing it uncovered keeps the cake from getting smushed when you’re wrapping it.
• The best way to check if a cake is done is with an instant thermometer. Instant thermometers are reasonably priced and are invaluable to determine whether cakes, cupcakes, meats, etc. are done. Cakes will be done when the internal temp reaches 205-210˚F (96-99˚C).

Thought for the day:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39.

What we're listening to for inspiration:

You Say

If you enjoy any of these recipes, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.

5 from 11 votes

Print

Ridiculously Easy French Butter Cake

Although this French Butter Cake may have a fancy name, it's simply a delicious amalgamation of a super beloved cake made by French grandmothers and a popular American dessert called Kentucky Butter Cake. It's ridiculously easy to make as well as being moist, tender and ridiculously delicious!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: Butter Cake, French Butter Cake

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Servings: 12

Calories: 237 kcal

Ingredients

For the cake:

• ½ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup neutral flavored oil ie canola, vegetable, sunflower, safflower, avocado or grapeseed

For the glaze:

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter (I use salted)
• 1½ tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon almond extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Spray a 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray, rub inside surface of pan with a paper towel to cover evenly with the spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper lightly. Set aside
2. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs and the vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk until well blended.
3. Add the baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine then add the flour and whisk again just until all of the flour is blended in.
4. Add the oil and stir well. Don't worry, at first it will seem to separate but keep stirring till smooth.
5. Pour the batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake.
7. While the cake cools a bit, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:

1. Combine the sugar, butter, water and extracts in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Do not bring to a boil.
2. Using a pastry brush, slowly brush the glaze all over the top of the cake, using about a quarter of the mixture.
3. Flip the cake out onto a cooling rack that has been set on top of a sheet of parchment paper or foil. The bottom of the cake will now be the top.
4. Brush the remaining glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Just keep going over the cake till the glaze is gone. Some of it will drip off but most of it will soak in. Allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired before serving.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Calories 237kcal

Fat 13g

Saturated fat 3g

Trans fat 1g

Polyunsaturated fat 3g

Monounsaturated fat 7g

Cholesterol 49mg

Sodium 142mg

Potassium 103mg

Carbohydrates 27g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 23g

Protein 3g

Vitamin A 147%

Calcium 46%

Iron 1%