Growing up, one of my favorite places was Ping Yuen Bakery on the corner of Grant Ave. and Pacific Ave.  A hop, skip, and a jump from my parent’s real estate office, you would find us there often, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tea time.  Though called Ping Yuen Bakery, it was an all-encompassing, eat-in Chinese American diner that served noodles and won-ton soup alongside hamburgers and fries.

Their layout was genius, the front deli window enticed passersby with roast ducks, crispy-skinned pork, char siu (bbq pork), fried chicken, and an array of prepared braised and stir-fried dishes. On the other side was a full-service bakery that featured apple pies, custard pies, fresh strawberry cakes, chocolate cakes, and almond cookies.

One of my favorites (there were many) was their pound cake or butter cake.  The cake, tweaked to be a little lighter, a little less sweet, but still buttery, is the Asian version of a classic butter pound cake.

A post featuring a gorgeous, simple butter cake flittered through my feed and caught my eye.  Buttermilk by Sam, a baking blog from a political analyst by trade (gotta love that) described her Everyday Butter Cake as somewhere between a tea cake and a pound cake, it reminded me of Ping Yuen’s Butter Cake, so of course, I had to try it.

A Butter-ful Cake

The beauty of this recipe is that it is not just DELICIOUS it’s also pretty darn easy to make.  It can be made by hand or in a mixer with the admonishment to not overmix.  You start with semi-melted butter for the cake, no waiting for the butter to soften, just zap it in the microwave or melt it on the stove.  Do not melt it all the way, you want the butter to be slightly viscous with some lumps left.  Using cake flour ensures a tender, fine crumb cake, and the sour cream does the same plus adds moisture.  The cake flour and cornstarch create a lower protein content flour=less gluten= tender, light cake. Ta-da.

Make This Cake by Hand-It’s a Good Workout

Finally, sprinkle the remaining granulated sugar over the top of the cake batter.  This morphs the top into a sweet crunchy layer during baking.  This cake is a keeper.

I first made this cake a couple of months back on a cold, rainy day.  While the cake was baking I turned on a favorite K-drama to pass the time.  The aroma of sugar and butter wafted through the air and the heat of the oven warmed the house.  The perfect antidote to the dreary weather.

Fast Forward to Spring-Finally

Beautiful, sweet strawberries from P & K Farms and plump, juicy Triple Delight Blueberries back at our local farmer’s market prompted me to make this cake again.  It also reminded me that I had yet to share this cake with you.  Make this cake, go to your local farmers market pick up some berries or peaches, and enjoy!