Buttermilk Cake

While buttermilk here in India means chaas, a thin, light beverage, in the context of this dish, buttermilk has a different meaning and history. Originally, in much of the west, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. Today, that’s referred to as traditional buttermilk. And the product widely available in markets today is a fermented dairy product, essentially a cultured buttermilk. 

In cakes, buttermilk serves several purposes. For one, it’s a tenderiser, making cakes moist and soft, giving them that melt in your mouth quality. It’s also tangy, giving it a rich, buttery taste, and making sure it’s not too sweet, through balancing out the sweetness. And the acid in buttermilk also helps cakes rise, through reacting with the leavening agents. 

The recipe for the Buttermilk Cake calls for this cultured buttermilk. Besides that, it also includes butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and flour. Topping options include butter, brown sugar, nuts like pecans, fresh fruits and berries, or anything else one might be inclined toward. While still hot, one can also poke holes in the cake and pour over a lemon glaze or some other flavour as desired. Since it’s a simple dish, it's up to one’s creativity and choice to decide how and how much to dress the cake up!