Buttery Vanilla Layer Cake with Banana Frosting
Instructions:
This is the simplest layer cake, best for birthdays. 12 tablespoons (11â„2 sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pans 2 cups cake fl our, plus additional for dusting the pans 1â„2 teaspoon baking powder 1â„4 teaspoon baking soda 1â„4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 4 large eggs, at room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Banana Frosting
Makes an 8-inch two-layer cake
- Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly butter two 8- inch round cake pans; dust them with fl our, shaking out the excess but making sure the pans are well coated.
- Whisk the fl our, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy and light, about 4 minutes. If you rub a small bit of the mixture between your fi ngers, you should feel almost no sugar granules.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding another only after the former has been incorporated. Beat in the vanilla until smooth.
- Turn off the beaters, add the fl our mixture, and beat at low speed only a few turns, just until the fl our is moistened and evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Remove the beaters and turn the batter a few times with a rubber spatula to make sure all the fl our has been incorporated off the bowl’s bottom. Pour and scrape evenly into the prepared pans; rap them against the counter to knock out any air pockets.
- Bake until lightly browned and a little puffed, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool completely before icing with Banana Frosting.
- To cool and unmold: Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then unmold the cakes by running a knife around the inner edge of the layers, inverting them onto a cutting board, removing the pans, and reinverting them onto the wire rack.
- To store: Do not ice. Wrap the cooled layers in plastic and set aside at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- To ice: Frost up to 4 hours before serving; store at room temperature.