White Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Cake - To a large bowl, add the milk, egg whites, vanilla extract, optional almond extract*, and whisk until combined; set aside.

To a separate large bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder, sea salt, and whisk until combined; set aside.

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, add the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Add half of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and beat momentarily until just incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Add half of the milk mixture to the mixing bowl and beat momentarily until just incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Add the remaining flour mixture and beat momentarily until just incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Add the remaining milk mixture to the mixing bowl and beat momentarily until just incorporated. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans. You can do this by weight or I like to use a large cookie scoop and scoop it evenly into each pan, one scoop by one scoop, to make sure the same amount of batter is in each pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until just done. The cakes are ready and done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs stuck to the toothpick is ideal. You do not want the cakes to brown too much because dark sides or tops will be evident when you slice into the cake, even after it's frosted the dark edges will be notable.

Place the pans onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out and allowing them to completely on the wire rack, at least 2 hours or more.

Buttercream Frosting - To the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or into a
     large bowl with an electric hand mixer, add the butter and whip on medium speed until completely
     smooth.

Turn the speed down to low and being adding spoonfuls of the powdered sugar to the mixing bowl, one spoonful at a time. You want to make sure the confectioners' sugar gets incorporated fully before adding the next spoonful. The overall process will take some time, but it is worth it to get super fluffy buttercream. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat momentarily on medium-low speed until combined.

Add the milk and beat momentarily on medium-low speed until combined.

Turn up the speed to medium-high and whip the frosting for 3 minutes. It will become super light and fluffy.

Cake Assembly - If there is any doming on the tops of the baked cakes, carefully cut any away so it is flat.

Take a cake stand, plate, or cake board and place a tablespoon dollop of buttercream in the center. This helps keep the cake from moving around.

Place one of the cakes, bottom side down onto the buttercream, centering the cake on your serving platter.

Place 1 cup of buttercream on top of the cake and smooth it out to the edge.

Invert the other cake and place it top-side down onto the buttercream. C

Crumb coat - Place about 1 cup of the buttercream into a separate dish. This ensures you don’t get any crumbs in your big batch of buttercream.

Carefully smooth out a layer of buttercream all over the cake. It doesn’t have to be thick but we want to make sure to coat the cake completely. I like to press in some of the buttercream into the sides where the two cakes meet where there can sometimes be a gap.

Place the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours so the crumb coat can set. I like to do this step overnight so I am not overwhelmed by the frosting and decorating process.

After at least two hours and your crumb coat has set, frost the outside of the cake. I like a rustic look so it appears homey, and ultimately is less stressful since I don't feel pressure to create perfectly as-smooth-as-glass frosting, but you can decorate your cake however you wish.

Optionally, add sprinkles as desired.

Serving/Storing - I recommend allowing the cake to come to room temp before serving it because it seems to taste a bit moister. An assembled two-layer cake will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week, although I find it tastes best in the first few days but take note, you can bake/assemble/frost this easily 24-36 hours before an event and store it at room temp since buttercream frosting is safe at room temp for up to 3 days because of the high sugar content.

Baked, but unfrosted, cakes will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months, and buttercream frosting will also keep for about 3 months in the freezer, so you may consider baking the cakes themselves, cooling them, freezing them, making the frosting, and then freezing everything separately. And then frosting/decorating the cakes if you need to be able to serve dozens and dozens of people all at once and can't possibly bake enough cakes all at once to serve everyone (such as an engagement party or even a wedding); and in situations like this the freezer therefore is a good plan-ahead option so you can prebake off some of the cakes and premake some frosting.

Recipe is inspired from Cook's Country however the assembly process of the cake is my own as well as the buttercream frosting recipe and technique.