Golden Butter Cake

This classic layer cake is a good candidate for frosting, but it is so moist that it can also be baked in a tube pan, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoyed.

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks), softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Orange Butter Frosting

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper; grease and flour paper. Or grease and flour 9-inch fluted tube pan.
• In medium bowl, with wire whisk, stir flour, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until smooth, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
• Divide batter among prepared cake pans; spread evenly. Place two pans on upper oven rack and one pan on lower oven rack so that pans are not directly above one another. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes for 8-inch layers, or 50 to 55 minutes for tube pan. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Run thin knife around layers to loosen from sides of pans. Or, if using fluted tube pan, run tip of knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert onto racks. Remove waxed paper; cool completely.
• Prepare Orange Butter Frosting. Place one layer, rounded side down, on cake plate. With narrow metal spatula, spread 2⁄3 cup frosting over layer. Top with second layer, rounded side up, and spread with 2⁄3 cup frosting. Place remaining layer, rounded side up, on top. Spread remaining frosting over side and top of cake

Makes 16 servings.

Prep: 45 minutes plus cooling

Bake: 23 minutes