Although the recipe on which this one is based was called Rich Golden Cake in the old Betty Crocker Cookbook, it's known in our family simply as Birthday Cake. Regardless of what other cakes (blueberry, angel food, etc.) might also be served at a family birthday party, it's not a birthday without Birthday Cake. Mom Whiting changed the original recipe with the addition of lemon extract.
INGREDIENTS
1 c milk, measured slightly over the line
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 1/8 c flour (or 2 1/4 c cake flour)
1 1/2 c sugar
3+ tsp baking powder (see note below)
1 tsp salt
2/3 c shortening
3 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Grease and flour two 8" or 9" cake pans.
Mix the milk and two extracts in a measuring cup.
Sift the dry ingredients into a mixer bowl.
Add the shortening and a little over half of the milk mixture to the dry ingredients.
Beat 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
Add the remaining milk and the eggs.
Beat 2 minutes.
Bake 30+ minutes or until they test done.
Remove from tins and cool on racks.
Frost with a simple confectioners sugar butter cream frosting.
This is a very delicate cake due to the amount of shortening, and the baking powder must be fresh. When in doubt, open a new can of baking powder! (Mom Whiting uses a real teaspoon--not a measuring spoon--to measure the baking powder, so I use just a bit more than the 3 tsp that the recipe calls for.) But, don't think it's impossible to make this "from scratch" cake... just measure everything carefully. Dorinda won a fifth-grade baking contest with this recipe, and now years later, Liz makes it regularly. (Liz says she uses a bit more than a cup of milk or the cakes comes out a little drier than Grandma's.)