Cupcake Cafe Vanilla Cake

Vanilla cake from the Cupcake Cafe. *NOTE* After some of my finer stints as a sleuth I found out this was originally posted by Mean Chef, and adopted by me in September 2006.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Yields: 2 rounds

Ingredients

• 9  eggs, separated
• 3⁄4 lb unsalted butter
• 3  cups sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3  cups  pastry flour (can substitute 2/3 all-purpose flour and 1/3 cake flour)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk

Directions

1. Butter or spray two 8 or 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Cream butter and sugar together; beat in yolks; add vanilla and set aside.
3. Sift dry ingredients together.
4. Beat egg whites to soft peaks.
5. Mix dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately (in three increments starting with the dry ingredients) into the egg/butter mixture - do not overbeat.
6. Fold in the egg whites.
7. Fill pans about 2/3 full and bake for about 35-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean - cakes should feel slightly springy when pressed in the middle.