Vanilla Butter Cake

By charlotteh371

Ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray for the pan
• 10 1/2 oz (2 3/4 cups) cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 6 oz (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, cut into tbsp. size pieces at room temp
• 3/4 cup whole or low fat milk, at room temp
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temp

Preparation

Step 1

position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350. lightly coat two 9x2 inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment. sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. mix on low speed until the ingredients are well combined.

add the softened butter pieces and mix on low speed for 20 to 30 seconds to mix the butter into the dry ingredients - the mixture should look a little lumpy, with the largest lumps being about the size of a hazelnut. add the milk and vanilla extract. mix on medium speed for 1 min to thoroughly blend the ingredients and aerate the batter. scrape the sides of the bowl after the second egg.

divide the batter equally between the two prepared pans. use a small off set spatula or spoon to spread the batter evenly in each pan. bake until the cakes are golden brown and the tops feel firm but spring back a little when tapped lightly with a finger, and a pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 mins. set the pans on a rack, run a table knife around the edge of each cake and let cool in the pans for 30mins. invert the cakes onto the rack, lift the pans, peel off the parchment, and let the cakes cool completely. if baking ahead, wrap the cakes tightly in plastic after cooling.