Classic Sri Lankan Butter Cake
Recipe by Miss Nasrin
The golden, buttery tea-time cake every Sri Lankan home knows — with a fine, tender crumb and a crisp sugary top.
Our students bake this cake in their very first week. Get it right and you understand creaming, emulsions and oven heat — the foundation of almost every cake on our Diploma.
- Prep
- 25 mins
- Bake
- 50 mins
- Total
- 1 hr 30 mins
- Yield
- One 20 cm (8") square cake, 16 pieces
- Level
- Easy
Want to bake this with an instructor beside you?
Browse workshopsInstructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 170°C (160°C fan). Grease a 20 cm square tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.
- 2
Sift the flour and baking powder together three times — it sounds fussy, but it is the secret to the light texture.
- 3
Cream the butter and half the sugar for 6–8 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla.
- 4
In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the remaining sugar a spoonful at a time until glossy.
Perfect your technique
Blog
Why did my cake sink? 6 reasons and how to fix them - 5
Fold the flour into the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Finally fold in the meringue gently — stop as soon as no white streaks remain.
- 6
Spread into the tin, sprinkle the top with a teaspoon of sugar and bake 45–50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
- 7
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out and cool completely on a rack before cutting.
