Yellow Butter Cake

I'm always trying to find the perfect butter cake.  One that's moist and fluffy and just feels and tastes right in the mouth.  I hate a dry cake and I suppose everyone does, too.  I've had a recipe for a 2-Egg Butter Cake in my box for years but it's not that perfect blend of everything that's right with cake.  After some research I changed the recipe some and this is what I came up with.  I don't know if it's a perfect cake but it's a better cake. 

Last week I made the new and improved cake and it mixed up beautifully.  I put it in the oven, put on the timer and went about cleaning up the kitchen.  A few minutes later I put a couple of eggs on to boil for a salad and turned the timer back to 10 minutes.  When the eggs were boiled I took them off and continued on with the dishes.  About another 15 minutes went by and I realized I hadn't reset the timer but I thought the cake would be about finished baking so I took a peek in the oven.  To my dismay the cake was pasty white and still quite wet and the oven was only warm!  I was aghast as this was not a good day for my oven to break down.  I rushed downstairs and turned on the oven in the basement (yes, I have a stove in the basement) to finish baking the cake. I raced back upstairs flung open the oven door and stopped in my tracks.  I suddenly realized why the oven wasn't working.  I had turned it off when I turned off the timer when the eggs were finished boiling.  I could have given myself a slap. I turned the oven back on and let the cake finish baking an extra 15 minutes.  Needless to say, the cake was not a resounding success but I'm glad to say it wasn't a complete failure either and I was able to use it.  I've made the cake again since that awful day and everything turned out great.

I've included the weights for the flour, sugar and eggs. If you have a kitchen scale use it for the flour, if nothing else.  Flour volume/weight can vary from cup to cup depending on how you scoop or spoon it into the measuring cup. Weighing is so much more accurate and your finished product will be the same each time you make the cake, barring other unforeseeable and unfortunate problems.  

When making a cake the ingredients should be at room temperature.  Do not microwave your butter because the butter will more than likely melt a little and that will inhibit the successful creaming of the butter and sugar.  If your eggs are cold from the refrigerator you can warm them up in a bowl of hot tap water.  

Yellow Butter Cake
2 cups sifted cake flour or 7 ounces
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk or just over 4 ounces altogether
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar or 7 ounces
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and line with waxed or parchment paper two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans or grease or line 12 cupcake pans.

Weigh the flour and sift with baking powder and salt or if not weighing sift the flour before you measure and then sift or mix in the baking powder and salt.

In mixer bowl cream butter adding sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs and yolk one at a time and then add vanilla.  Beat until thick and creamy.

Add flour mixture one-third at a time alternately with the milk, mixing until well blended but do not over mix.  Over mixing will produce a tough crumbed cake.  

Bake at 350 degrees checking for doneness at the shortest time given.  Use a cake tester or toothpick in the middle of the cake.  There should be no wet crumbs or stickiness on the tester. 

8- or 9-inch pans--25-30 minutes
Cupcakes--18-20 minutes

Cool cakes in pans for 5 minutes.  Turn out on cake rack; peel off paper and cool completely before filling and frosting. 

I filled the cake with lemon filling and covered it with sweetened whipped cream. You can find the lemon filling here with the Lemon Squares recipe.  Keep any left-over cake in the refrigerator because of the cream frosting.

A lovely dessert for any occasion.