Best Butter Cake

By leanndobbs

Simple, yummy, and extremely versatile, this cake could be your new dessert standby.

Makes two 8-in cake layers

Time: 40 minutes, plus 45 minutes to cool

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup milk

Details

Servings 16

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. I the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and ½ cup butter until creamy. Crack eggs into a small dish (do not beat)and add vanilla. Add eggs to the butter mixture 1 at a time, scraping down the inside of the bowl as needed. Beat in flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and making sure each addition is full incorporated before adding the next.

2. Butter and flour 2 round 8-in cake pans. Divide batter evenly between pans.

3. Bake until gold brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Invert onto a rack, at least 40 minutes.


Make ahead: up to 2 days, wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled.