CLASSIC BUTTER CAKE

A few days ago, my cooking buddy Katy, at Food For a Hungry Soul, posted a great classic cake recipe. It immediately caught my eye, not only because it looked so moist and delicious, but it looked quick, easy and used all standard pantry ingredients (my idea of a great recipe).

The recipe is all I hoped it would be. We had company for the weekend and the cake was a big hit. As a matter of fact, it was gone in about a day and a half (and it makes a nice big cake!!).  I hope you try it, it is delicious, thank you Katy!!

OLD FASHIONED BUTTER CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease and flour two 8" x 2" baking pans and set aside. (see note)

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat on high speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl once in a while). Add the eggs and beat two more minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally between the pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven.

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Katy frosted her butter cake with a delicious looking chocolate frosting, which I planned on repeating until I discovered I didn’t have enough powdered sugar, so I opted for a cooked frosting that uses granulated sugar, you can find my recipe here.

NOTE: The first time, I made this cake, I made the mistake of not measuring  the depth of my 8” cake pans. Katy’s directions said 8” x 2” and I found out (all too late) that my pans were 8” by 1½”. The cake baked beautifully, but got so tall that it came over the top and flowed over the edges (and down the sides) of the pan (thank goodness I had them on a cookie sheet!!) The next time I made the cake, I used a 9” x 2” pan and it worked beautifully (baked in 30 minutes).