It’s a satisfying thing, knowing how to make a classic buttery, delicate cake from scratch. A 1-2-3-4 cake is a version of a traditional recipe the name of which refers to the quantities of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs—the cake’s principal ingredients. The cake has wonderful flavor, and the texture is moist and tender, the two qualities that make a cake great. Unadorned, it makes a simple tea cake perfectly suited for a garnish of fresh fruit; decorated, it can be anything from a birthday cake to a wedding cake to individual cupcakes. Baking requires more precision than most other types of cooking and it is enormously helpful to gather and measure your ingredients carefully at the outset. The first steps to baking a cake are preparing the pan, preheating the oven, and assembling the ingredients. To prepare the cake pan, first butter the inside, spreading softened butter thinly and evenly with a butter wrapper, a brush, or your fingers. To ensure that the cake does not stick to the bottom, line it with parchment paper: trace the bottom of the pan on a piece of parchment paper, cut it out, and put it into the pan. Butter the piece of parchment paper as well. The recipe may also say to flour the pan. To do so, put a couple of tablespoons of flour (or cocoa, for chocolate cakes) into the pan and carefully rotate it to distribute the flour evenly over the butter. Once all the butter has been coated with flour, invert the pan and tap out all the excess. Bake cakes in a preheated oven. The first few minutes of baking determine how a cake will rise. When the oven is not up to temperature, the rising is inhibited. Preheat the oven for at least 15 minutes and check the temperature with an oven thermometer before putting the cake in to bake. Having all your ingredients measured and at room temperature before you start makes the whole process smoother and easier, and you’ll be less likely to make mistakes. Room-temperature ingredients are essential. Adding cold ingredients will cause the batter to “seize,” or shrink and deflate, which will compromise the cake’s texture, making it dense instead of light. Butter needs to be soft; take it out of the refrigerator to soften for at least 30 minutes. It will soften faster if you cut it up into small pieces. Measuring out the milk and separating the eggs ahead of time will give them time to warm up. The flour is mixed with salt and a chemical leavener, either baking powder or baking soda. For a lighter, more delicate cake, use cake flour; it is made from soft wheat, which has a lower protein content, and is milled very fine. Pastry flour is the next-best thing. All-purpose flour can be used, too, but the texture of the cake will be heavy and coarse; cake flour makes a big difference. The most accurate measure of flour is by weight, but most recipes in the United States use measurements in volume. The amount of flour added to a cake makes a big difference in its final texture so, for consistency, try to measure the flour exactly the same way every time. For delicate cakes I suggest sifting more flour than the recipe calls for before you measure it. Sifting aerates the flour and makes it easier to mix, which helps to keep the cake light. Scoop or spoon the flour into the measuring cup (use a dry measuring cup, with a flat rim and no pour spout) and scrape a spatula or knife across the top of the cup to level it. Don’t compact the flour by tapping the cup or smashing the flour down. After sifting and measuring, stir the other dry ingredients into the flour. Many recipes instruct you to sift the dry ingredients together, but stirring does a better job of mixing the ingredients. The first step of assembling the batter is to cream the softened butter with sugar. Beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is soft and fluffy and very light in color. If you do this with an electric mixer the butter and sugar can be beaten together from the start, but w...

　　

Ingredients

makes two 9-inch round cakes

　　4 eggs

　　1 cup milk

　　3 cups cake flour

　　4 teaspoons baking powder

　　1/2 teaspoon salt (use 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter)

　　1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

　　2 cups sugar

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Butter the cake pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess. Separate: 4 eggs.

　　

Step 3

Measure: 1 cup milk. Sift and then measure: 3 cups cake flour. Stir in: 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt (use 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter). In another bowl, beat until light and fluffy: 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened Add: 2 cups sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the 4 egg yolks, one at a time, and: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　

Step 4

When well mixed, 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 the 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.

　　

Variations

Step 5

This quantity of batter can be divided among 3 cake pans to make 3 layers; it also makes 24 cupcakes using buttered and floured muffin tins, or 30 cupcakes using paper liners; or it can be baked in a 12-by 18-inch half-sheet pan to make a sheet cake. Bake the cupcakes and the sheet cake for about 20 minutes.

　　

Step 6

For lemon cake, add 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to the batter. Frost with equal parts lemon curd and whipped cream folded together.

　　

Step 7

For orange cake, add 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest and 2 teaspoons orange juice to the batter. Fill with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

　　The Art of Simple Food