Vanilla Layer Cake

Cake

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups Granulated sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups All-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 1/4 cups Milk

Frosting

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 4 cups Icing (powdered) sugar
• 3 tbsp Milk
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Prep

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.

Cake

1. Cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until noticeably pale and fluffy. (Tip: Don't shortcut this — the air beaten in now is most of your leavening, and a rushed cream leaves the cake dense no matter what else you do right.)
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next, then the vanilla.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two, mixing just until combined after each. (Tip: Alternating keeps the batter from getting too wet or too stiff at any one point, which protects the air structure you built while creaming.)

Bake

1. Divide evenly between the pans and bake until a skewer comes out clean and the centre springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool

1. Cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frost

1. Beat the frosting butter until smooth, then gradually beat in the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla until fluffy. Frost between the layers and over the whole cake.