Celebrating simplicity with a butter loaf cake

Now that I’ve started writing here again, I’ve also started going through some of the food blogs I subscribe to. I’m talking about a hundred food blogs or so here. The thing is, there are so many foodblogs out in the blogosphere. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s in the tens of thousands. Some are really good, others mediocre and yet many more are really unappealing. The ones that tick the boxes for me do so because they do one or all of three things – they are informative; carry warm, beautifully shot photos; or are written in a style I can relate to.

See, I’ve been trying to find my voice in my writing and with that, the direction of thebountifulplate going forward. Given that I do have a day-job, what do I have time for? Do I play around more with recipes, try to develop a more eloquent writing style that reflects my personality or learn to take better photos? Do I pay someone to develop a better-looking blog for me – but what’s the point in that if the contents are not up to par? What angle do I write from – that of a part expat (part because my husband hails from this corner of the world) in Singapore sharing her stories of her new life here?

I don’t have an answer, just a load of questions. But hopefully I will explore some of these ideas in the coming months, maybe shake my style up a little bit and see where it takes me. I’ve already had so many positive experiences through this little blog of mine, it doesn’t matter the number of visits I get here or if I get freebies. I simply wish to continue enjoying the blogging process – to learn, savour and laugh!

Anyway, I’m not just here to ramble. I also wanted to tell you that I baked. After packing up and moving over to Singapore for over 14 months, I finally baked. Remember last year when I made these no bake Oreo chocolate cherry tarts because I was ovenless? Confession, I’ve had an oven for the last 4 months. I could give you a good few silly excuses as to why but the bottom line is, I’ve been lazy. Then I got scared: What if I don’t know how to bake anymore?

So I chose a really simple recipe to bake from. Nothing fancy, and certainly not my own creation. Just a good ol butter loaf cake. I took out my trusty Kitchenaid mixer, bought a few ingredients and I baked. Last weekend, our home was filled with that gratifyingly delicious scent of baking cake and my heart with simple joy that I haven’t yet lost my baking mojo. I celebrated.

Please head over to Rasa Malaysia by Bee for her recipe of this delicious cake.

Note: I used a loaf tin measuring 23.5 x 8 x 10.5cm. The batter filled just over half of the loaf tin and baked to just about that size. The cake stores well in an air-tight container for about 3 days.

Have a great week ahead, you!