AUNT MARGE’S BIRTHDAY CAKE

Serves 15 to 20

WHEN I SCOURED FAMILY RECIPE FILES AND POLLED SECOND AND THIRD COUSINS for their family favorites, Aunt Marge’s buttermilk-based yellow cake came up again and again. She was my grandmother’s oldest sister, a mother of six, and an obvious bearer of classic all-American tastes, always pairing this yellow cake with a fudgy milk chocolate frosting.

If you like your yellow cake fluffy yet sturdy, like a cake from a box mix, then this is the recipe for you. For best results, measure the cake flour carefully: if you’re measuring by volume, spoon it lightly into the cup and level it with a knife, making for a feather-light cup of flour.

Nonstick cooking spray for pan

3 cups/360 g cake flour, spooned and leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup/225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups/400 g granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup/225 g well-shaken buttermilk, at room temperature

1 recipe Silky, Creamy Chocolate Frosting (here)

Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F/180°C. Spray a 9 × 13-inch/23 × 33 cm light-colored metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift the cake flour into a large bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, giving each about 10 seconds to blend into the batter before adding the next. Reduce the mixer speed to low. In 5 alternating batches, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Finish folding the batter by hand until smooth.

In a medium bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Fold about a third of the egg whites into the batter to slacken it a bit. Fold in the remaining egg whites carefully. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking and tenting with foil if it’s browning too quickly.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. When cool, slather with Silky, Creamy Chocolate Frosting.