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For the cake:
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Preheat oven to 350 F with a rack in the center. Butter and flour your cake pans. (This recipe yields about 6 cups of batter which is enough for a 2-layer 8-inch or 9-inch cake, or a 9x13-inch cake, or 2 small bundt cakes.)
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In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater to make sure all is mixed before next addition.
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With mixer on the lowest speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and beat until thoroughly incorporated.
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Divide mixture into pans, smooth the tops and bake for 30-40 minutes (will take less time if using white all-purpose flour in place of whole wheat) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert cakes out of the pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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For the buttercream frosting:
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In a large bowl using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, cream butter. Add vanilla and mix well. With mixer on medium speed, slowly add the confectioners' sugar. After all of the sugar has been incorporated, add the milk. Check for desired consistency and add a bit more milk as needed.
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To assemble the cake:
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Place one cake layer on a flat plate. Slide strips of wax paper under the bottom of the cake to protect the plate during frosting. Spread the top of the first layer with buttercream, top it with the second cake layer, and adjust the cake sides to align neatly. Spread frosting over the cake sides and then the top. In hot weather, refrigerate the cake.
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Recipe adapted from the book The Family Baker:150 Never-Let-You-Down Basic Recipes.
