Wondering how to celebrate Friendship Day? By Baking a cake of course!

This article brings you three cakes that are as basic as cakes get that you can decorate with whipped cream, frosting of your choice, melted chocolate, or just plain powdered sugar. These are 1 kg cake recipes that taste amazing with any kind of toppings. You can also turn them into a two-layered cake by cutting them horizontally and putting frosting or pudding in between them. So, here’s how to celebrate Friendship Day, made simple with easy but delicious cakes.

1. Simple Vanilla Cake

Ingredients

• 225 gm butter, softened
• 200 gm granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250 gm all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 240 ml milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, grease a 9x13-inch baking pan, and set aside.
2. Take a big bowl, add the butter and sugar, and mix with a handheld electric whisk. Next, add the eggs and mix until combined. Pour the milk and add the vanilla extract next and mix to combine.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dry streaks disappear.
4. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes and check periodically.
5. Once golden and all pillowy, remove from oven and let it cool. You can frost it to your liking.

2. Brownie Cake

Ingredients

• 115 gm unsalted butter
• 300 gm Cadbury Bournville Dark chocolate, broken
• 200 gm sugar
• 4 eggs
• 70 gm all-purpose flour
• 40 gm Cadbury cocoa powder
• A pinch of salt

Optional:

• 35 gm chocolate chips
• 30 gm walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Use butter to grease an 8-inch springform cake pan and place parchment paper at the bottom.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Next, take butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pop into the microwave and every 30 seconds stir to speed up the melting. Once fully melted, take it out and set aside to cool.
4. Separate the eggs next and in the egg whites bowl, add sugar, and use a handheld electric whisk to combine until smooth and voluminous with stiff peaks forming. This is meringue.
5. Take your bowl of melted chocolate, add the egg yolks and carefully combine. Then add the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and combine until just about incorporated.
6. Add meringue to the chocolate mixture, gently folding the egg whites into it. Then add chocolate chips and walnuts. Avoid overmixing otherwise, you will lose the volume.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smoothen the top.
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes and insert a skewer in the middle to check if done. If it comes out mostly clean, your cake is done. It is normal for this cake to have cracks.
9. Take the brownie cake out and let it cool outside.
10. You can serve the cake once it’s cooled or store it in the fridge to become fudgier. Use the cocoa powder over the cake before serving.

3. Cookie Cake

Ingredients

• 170 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• 200 gm brown sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250 gm all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 225 gm chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Grease a 9-inch cake pan generously with butter and set aside.
3. Take a big mixing bowl and an electric handheld mixer, stand mixer will do too. To the bowl add butter and mix on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Next add the brown sugar and mix again. Crack in 1 egg, and separate the egg white and yolk for the other egg; keep the egg white aside and drop in the egg yolk. Mix both in, add the vanilla essence, and combine again. Make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom to evenly mix the concoction.
4. Take another bowl, add the flour, cornflour, baking soda, and salt and give it a mix.
5. Divide this into three parts and add it one at a time into the wet ingredients, slowly mixing to incorporate.
6. The cookie dough at the end of mixing, will be thick. Add the chocolate chips next, keep a portion away for decoration, and mix with a spatula to evenly distribute.
7. Press the cookie down in the baking pan.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cake will turn a light golden brown. You can cover your cake’s surface with foilUse a toothpick or a skewer to check if you cake is done.
9. Remove from the oven and set it on the kitchen counter to cool completely.
10. You can keep the cake in the pan or transfer it to a serving plate.