1-2-3-4 Cake By James Beard

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

James Beard's 1-2-3-4 Layer Cake; Uses three 9x1/2 inch deep cake
pans. Makes: One 3-layered cake; Serves 12 depending on thickness of
slices. Note:1. If you can't find cake flour, the same amount of
All-purpose flour can be substituted.  Directions * Preheat the oven
to 350dF. Using your hands, butter the bottom and sides of all 3
layer-cake pans with softened butter; sprinkle flour inside, then
shake pans so you get a thin coating on the butter. Tip out any
excess! Now to sift your flour. Lay a large piece of waxed paper on a
board, put a dry measuring cup in the center, hold a sifter directly
over it, scoop cake flour from the package into the sifter, and sift
the flour directly into the cup. When the cup is full, draw the back
of a knife blade lightly across the top of the cup (don't shake the
flour down, or it will become dense) and then tip the measured flour
into a mixing bowl. Repeat with the other 2 cups of flour (you can  put
any flour that spilled onto the waxed paper back in the sifter).  When
you have 3 cups of sifted flour in the bowl, put the baking  powder and
salt in the sifter, holding it over the mixing bowl, and  sift it over
the flour. Then, still using your hands, mix the baking  powder and
salt lightly with the flour. Next, put the butter into a  second, large
mixing bowl. If it is very firm (it shouldn't be, if  you have left it
out of the fridge), squeeze it through your fingers  until it softens
up. When it is soft enough to work, form your right  hand into a big
fork, as it were, and cream the butter. This means  that you beat it
firmly and quickly with your hand, beating and  aerating it, until it
becomes light, creamy and fluffy. Then whirl  your fingers around like
a whisk so the butter forms a circle in the  bowl. Gradually cream the
2 cups of sugar into the butter with the  same fork-like motion,
beating until the mixture is very light and  fluffy. As the sugar
blends in it will change the color of the butter  to a much lighter
color, almost white. Now wash and dry your hands  thoroughly. Separate
the eggs as you would for a souffle', letting  the whites slip though
slightly parted fingers into a small bowl and  dropping the yokes into
a second, larger bowl. Beat the yokes for a  few minutes with a whisk
until they are well blended. Then, again  with your hand, beat them
very thoroughly into the butter-sugar  mixture. Now beat in the milk
alternately with the sifted flour --  first one, then the other -- this
time keeping your fingers close  together as if your hand were a wooden
spatula. Beat, beat, beat  until the batter is well mixed, then add the
vanilla and beat that in  for 1 or 2 minutes. Put the egg whites in
your beating bowl and beat  them with a large whisk or and electric
hand beater until they mount  first to soft, drooping peaks and then to
firm, glossy peaks. Do not  over beat so that they are stiff and dry!
Tip the beaten whites onto  the cake batter and fold them in with your
hand. Slightly cup your  hand and use the side like a spatula to cut
down through the whites  and batter to the bottom of the bowl and then
flop them over with  your cupped hand, rotating the bowl with your
other hand as you do so  ~- exactly the technique used when folding egg
whites into a souffle  mixture with a rubber spatula. Repeat this very
lightly and quickly  until the whites and batter are thoroughly folded
and blended. Once  you have mastered this hand technique you can use it
for souffles.  Again using your hand like a spatula, pour and scrape
the batter into  three prepared pans, dividing it equally between them.
Give the  filled pans a little knock on the countertop to level the
batter. Put  the 3 pans in the center of the oven, or, if you have to
use more  than 1 rack, stagger them on the 2 middle racks of the oven
so they  do not overlap. Bake for 25 minutes, then touch the center of
each  cake lightly with your fingertip. If it springs back, it is done.
Remove the pans and put them on wire cake rakes to cool for a few
minutes, then loosen the layers by running the flat of a knife blade
around the sides of the pans, put a rack on top of each pan, and
invert so the cake comes out onto the rack, top side down. Then
reverse the layers so they are top side up. For filling and icing,
SEE: 1-2-3-4 Filling and Icing recipe.

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 360
Calories From Fat: 160
Total Fat: 18.1g
Cholesterol: 99.4mg
Sodium: 57.4mg
Potassium: 61.8mg
Carbohydrates: 48.3g
Fiber: <1g
Sugar: 47.1g
Protein: 2.8g