I made two double batches of this cake, and one additional batch. It seems fine to make up double batches of batter, but I’d hesitate to do it in thirds. The recipe called for cake flour but I used all-purpose flour and it was just fine. The recipe is adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters (Clarkson Potter 2007).
Makes 1 nine-inch, two-layer cake
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour (sift and then measure)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch baking pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
Stir baking powder and salt into cake flour.
In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla to the mixture.
Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with one third of the flour. Stir just until the flour is incorporated.
In another bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
The recipe can be divided among 3 cake pans for a 3-layer cake. It also makes 24 to 30 cupcakes or it can be baked in a 12-by-18-inch sheet cake pan. Bake cupcakes or sheet cake for about 20 minutes.
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