Paula's Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks. Cool completely and spread cake layers with your favorite frosting to make a 3-layer cake.
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REVIEWS: (100)

One of the best cakes ever : i add a cup of sour cream after adding the eggs and i mix a small pack of instant vanilla pudding in with the flour..so moist and amazing...if you can mess this cake up it's not Paula's fault.

Loved it! I mixed it and my 10 yr old measured out everything (except the flour. It was an amazing cake! It's definitely in my fav's!

This is my go to cake. My daughter harassed me into making homemade chocolate icing and we needed a cake to slather our creation on. This cake never fails to be super moist, really easy, and fantastically tasty. I always half the recipe and put it in a mini bundt pan.

This is my go to cake. My daughter harassed me into making homemade chocolate icing and we needed a cake to slather our creation on. This cake never fails to be super moist, really easy, and fantastically tasty. I always half the recipe and put it in a mini bundt pan.

A great recipe - very quick and easy. I used a little more vanilla than called for and I cooked it for 30 minutes in three layer cake pans....almost too long, but I like the crust a little more brown. Wonderful cake!

This cake is SOOOOOOOOO Delicious.
My eyes were rolling into the back of my head with each bite.
It's really easy to remember too.
And so easy.

Its so dense and spongy and yummy. If you are a birthday cake fan like me you will love this. (I used Betty Crocker's Vanilla frosting for the icing My mom told me this was the best cake she ever had!

Whoever said that this cake is dry did not measure the flour AFTER sifting. If you measure first and sift second, you will be using too much flour resulting in a dry cake. If you forget to measure after sifting and started mixing the cake already, then just add maybe 1/2 cup more liquid either water or milk based on how thick the batter is. But please, always measure after sifting to avoid dry cakes!!!

This cake was delicious. Although it only made one 9" layer for me. I baked this cake for my moms birthday and now others want me to bake for them. Thumbs up Paula!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read through the reviews before I made this. Thanks to the suggestions (secrets of clairemarie from Atlanta, it was fantastic.
I sifted the flour four times and, instead of adding whiskey at the end, added Amaretto, since my friend had requested an Amaretto cake with raspberries. It was moist and incredibly flavorable. I can't imagine a better basic cake recipe and I will definitely make it again.

This was the "Core" recipe for All Cakes my Mother ever made in Her Lifetime.Learning in a Cookery Class when about 14 years old!Here is The Perfect Basic Cake. It Never Failed.Sheer Perfection,easily remembered by the "counting".Still part of Our arsenal for Cakes over 80 years later!Miss.Paula knows,"You never mess w/Tradition".

This is my all time favorite cake batter receipe. I use it every time I deciede to bake and it is always a hit with my family.

I have made this many times and it is always a huge hit! The trick is to sift your flour first then measure as someone else already mentioned. I'm baking two more this weekend for my grandson's birthday! Thanks Paula!!

I don't know what everyone is talking about this recipe being dry. I have been using this cake for a couple of years now and it is perfect every time. It's too moist for wedding cakes so we use a wilton recipe. But if for some chance you use this recipe and it is dry use half water and half milk. It's what my baking instructor swears by (its a godsend for some recipes. I love how versatile this cake is. Instead of milk (or my half water half milk mix I will use home made fruit purees like strawberry. Also this recipe transcends to gluten free perfectly!! and I have never had that with any other cake!!

I was looking for an easy, basic cake recipe to use for my cake decorating class. This was the perfect recipe, as it is quick and easy to make. To combat the dryness that was commented upon by others, I added 1 pkg. of instant vanilla pudding when I added the dry ingredients and increased the milk to 1 3/4 cups. It is so moist!! I also used almond extract instead of vanilla. Stupidly, I tried splitting the recipe between 2 9" cake pans instead of three. I panicked a bit when the cakes started to rise above the edges of the pans, but when I removed them from the oven to cool, they fell a bit. Next time, I'll probably use 3 8"pans. Overall, this was a great recipe after making some modifications.

I enjoyed this recipe, I used a half a cup of sour cream and it really helped to make it moist. I used a vanilla frosting on top.