Basic Yellow Cake or 1-2-3-4 Cake

Basic Yellow Cake or 1-2-3-4 Cake
MAKES THREE 8- OR 9-INCH LAYERS

This old-fashioned cake appeared in church cookbooks through
many decades. The name makes the formula for the cake easy to
remember: 1 cup shortening, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs
is the basic recipe. Originally it was a pound cake that contained no
liquid. But, over the generations, with the addition of baking powder,
salt, milk, and vanilla, it has evolved into a basic yellow layer cake,
more typical of American tastes.

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
l/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Rich Custard Filling (see following recipe)
Whipped Cream Frosting (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8- or 9-inch-round
cake pans.
Cream butter and sugar until blended. Add the eggs and beat
until light. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour
mixture alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture, mixing until
smooth and creamy. Blend in the vanilla.
Divide the batter among the cake pans and smooth to even. Bake
25 to 30 minutes, or until cakes shrink away from the sides of the pans
and are golden. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes before turning
out of pans. Spread 2 layers with Rich Custard Filling; stack, placing
the layer without filling on top. Frost the cake with Whipped Cream
Frosting.

Rich Custard Filling
MAKES ABOUT 21/2 CUPS
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups half-and-half or light cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, combine the egg yolks, butter, cornstarch,
sugar, and half-and-half. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium to
low heat, whisking constantly; cook until thickened, about 1 minute.
Remove from heat and cool, covered. Stir in the vanilla.

Whipped Cream Frosting
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

By adding a little gelatin to the whipped cream, the cream will
hold up for several hours when refrigerated and at least 2 hours at
room temperature once the cake is being served.

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water
2 cups heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small metal bowl, soften the gelatin in the water. Place over
a pan of hot water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved and clear. In
a large chilled bowl, beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. Beat in
the powdered sugar and dissolved gelatin. Flavor with the vanilla.