Nigerian Cake Recipe (original recipe)

Nigerian Cake is super rich, dense and absolutely delicious. It is a variation of the conventional butter cake and does not fall apart or crumble when cut into slices. 
  If you've ever attended a Nigerian Wedding or birthday party and wondering how the cake was made; here's a detailed recipe you'll surely enjoy.

Nigerian Cake Ingredients :

This recipe makes a well risen 10 x 3 inch deep Cake.

- 500 grams( about 4 cups) Plain Flour /All purpose flour
- 500 grams Butter (at room temperature)
- 10  Eggs (at room temperature)
- 350 grams Sugar
- 2 tablespoonful Baking powder
- 2 tablespoonful flavor (coco or vanilla or butterscotch flavor)
- 1 cup Brandy or Rum(optional but most people add it)
- 2 tablespoonful Preservative powder (optional)
- half cup browning(for dark cakes) (optional)
-  1 handful Dry fruits (raisins, cherries) soaked in the alcohol you'll be using(optional)

Notes: 
- Preservative powder is optional in Nigerian Cake, but it is used by most Bakers to extend the shelf life of the cake. It is best used for wedding and birthday cakes that needs to be preserved or coated with Fondant or icing.
 The alcohol also helps to keep the cake from going stale.
-  Browning is used for making dark brown cakes 
(see how to make cake browning)
-  Use fruits only if you want to make fruit cakes.
-  1 tablespoonful of Plain Flour is approximately 9 grams
-   1 tablespoon of sugar  is approximately 13 grams
-  I used oldenburger butter, you can get it all big supermarkets, like shop rite and Park n Shop, at the fridge section.

Preparation:

A. If you want to make use of fruits, you have to prepare it in advance by soaking the dry fruits in the alcohol for 3 weeks( if you can't wait that much , a week will be fine).
  If you couldn't prepare it in advance, you can also you can boil it in a pot for 10mins with 2 tablespoonful of sugar and ¹⁄4 cup water; strain and place in a bowl, then add the alcohol and leave to cool to room temperature and set aside.

B. Prepare the pan by thinly greasing the insides of the pan with butter and then dusting with flour. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.

C.  Preheat the oven  for 15 minutes at  150ºC or the 300ºF mark.

Steps

1. Sieve/sift the flour, baking powder and preservative(if you're using any) together in a wide bowl and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl or an electric cake mixer, cream the butter until it is light, fluffy and white, then add the sugar and continue creaming until it goes from grainy to fluffy again.
   Tips:The creaming step is very important in making Nigerian cake. This helps to trap enough air into the batter and also helps the cake gain additional volume and  have a rich texture.
 If you're using an electric cake mixer, use the slow setting, so that the air bubbles can form slowly.

3.  Add the eggs one after the other as you continue to cream.
 
4.  Add the flavor, coloring, alcohol and soaked fruits.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture, one cup at a time.
      Mix until well incorporated.

6.  Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The  batter should fill the pan half way, if you have left over batter, you can pour it into another smaller pan.

7. Bake in the preheated oven (150ºC or the 300ºF) for 1 hour or until the cake is springy to the touch and has started to shrink out from the sides of the pans. 
 Some oven bake faster, while others are a bit slow, so check your cake after 45 minutes of placing it in the oven, to know if it is ready or needs further baking.
  Tip: You can also check for ''doneness'' by sticking a skewer into the center of the cake; if it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

6. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. 

Serve and Enjoy or Decorate with Fondant or Butter Icing.

See how to Make this beautiful Polka Dots Fondant decoration.

<<You might be interested in:
* Easy Multi-Colour Polka Dots Fondant Cake for Beginners
* How to make Fondant from scratch* How to Color Fondant for Cake Decorating
* How to Make Butter Icing (buttercream icing) 
* How to cover a cake with Fondant
* Nigerian Cake Recipe
* Apple cake recipe
* Banana cake recipe
* How to make Cake in a Sandwich Toaster
* How to make Cake Browning