Let's have cake!

A funny question I often get asked on my birthday is about cake. Maybe not a question but a comment, "I hope someone makes you a great cake!" Since I make cakes for everyone else, there's this assumption that someone is going to make me a cake. Here's the secret... no one makes me a cake... no one offers or even suggests it. Weird right? Same this year... in fact I even had to pay for the ice cream when we went out for ice cream on my birthday. I was feeling fussy about it and realized I could make my own dang cake. Problem is, the kind of cake I like? My family isn't going to eat... Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I mean maybe the yellow part, but chocolate isn't always their jam. You know? too bad... so three weeks after my birthday, I decided to make myself a birthday cake! Now, I'm NOT one of those people who act like a princess all month "oh it's my birthday month" and all that... I'm 47, not 4. I did say it to be silly... but my family knew I was goofing around. I made this Yellow Cake from scratch, and it was delicious! The wild thing? I had it sitting on the table so the critters didn't find it - and after dinner, everyone said "Are we having cake?!" YES!!! Let's have cake!! SO next year? I’m just going to bake my own dang cake from the start. No fussiness, just make what I want and enjoy it!

Yellow Layer Cake
2 and 1/2 cups cake flour (spooned & leveled)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. I recommend using nonstick spray for greasing.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat for 1 minute until combined. Beat in the egg yolks until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla extract.
Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add 1/3 more of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The batter will be very thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.
In another large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high speed until fluffy, medium-stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the cake batter. Work slowly and gently, as you don’t want to deflate the egg whites. Pour/spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 27–31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The edges of the cakes can be crumbly; this is normal. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.