Anna's Swedish Butter Cream Cake

Prepare pans by greasing and flouring. For larger cakes, grease and flour the sides of the pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. This recipe fill a 9-inch tube pan or two 9-inch cake pans. Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

Sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

With a wooden spoon in a mixing bowl or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Add the vanilla.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s), level the top, then spread the batter toward the pan edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes for the tube pan, 30-35 minutes for layers, or until the top is golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake. Top with another rack or plate, invert, and lift off the pan. Cool the cake completely before sifting on confectioner’s sugar or decorating as desired.