There is a plethora of photos in this post — 18 to be precise, and that's a lot for a post on something as mundane as a cake layer. However as I've written before, it's the simple things that demand the most attention. Get your layers wrong and your cake will join the ever-growing heap of mediocre bakery churned out by the world each day. Get them right and the result will be a kind of edible poetry...for the taste of buttery, made-from-scratch layer cake touches a spot deep down inside those of us who grew up with them, bringing back feelings of childish comfort and joy we're only rarely able to get back in touch with. Good cake, therefore, is a momentary ticket right back to some of the happiest moments of our youth. Is that not something worth striving for? Let's do it!

Start with your liquid ingredients. Put your (warm) egg yolks in a bowl, adding most of your (warm) milk and vanilla (need not be warm).

Wreck'em.

Put the sugar in the bowl of your mixer.

Then add your sifted flour. Me, I put a strainer on top of my mixer bowl, which I place on a scale. This makes it easy to weigh out the flour, then sift it directly into the bowl.

Once the flour is weighed out, spoon your leavening right on top (it's always a good idea to sift your leavening with your flour, to make sure it gets evenly distributed). Stir it in a bit with your fingers, then push the mixture right on through the sieve (taking it off the scale first, of course).

Sprinkle in the salt afterward because the larger crystals will otherwise get hung up in your sieve/sifter.

Put on the beater attachment and turn the mixer on low, give the whole thing a good stir.

Add your very soft butter in large pieces (a spatula is better than a hand...this butter only held its shape for an instant [this photo] before it oozed all over the place).

Add the reserved portion of your (nice warm) milk...

...and beat on medium speed until it's well combined and you've got the basis of your emulsion started, like so:

Add a third of your egg mixture...

...beat it in...

...and scrape the bowl thoroughly (especially the very bottom by the dimple).

Keep going like that: add, beat, scrape...add, beat, scrape...until all your ingredients are in. Yes, this will take you a little while, but great cake can't be rushed. Be patient. In the end you want a nice, smooth and glossy batter that looks about like this:

Using your scale, divide it evenly into prepared pans (instructions on how to prepare your pans are also over there on the right). Even it out a bit with a spatula, but don't worry about getting it perfectly smooth.

Bake according to directions until the center doesn't "slosh" anymore and the top is golden. Let the layer cool in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes or so...

...then turn the layer out onto the rack to cool for at least an hour.

And your layers, they are done.

This recipe is based on Rose Levy Berenbaum's excellent All Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake, adapted to slightly to my own tastes and techniques.

Yellow Butter Cake

6 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
13 1/2 ounces (3 cups) cake flour, sifted
10 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Begin by preheating your oven to 350˚F. Combine the yolks, about 1/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla, beating them lightly to blend. Pour the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, then sift the flour and the leavening together into the bowl. Add the salt. Turn the mixer on low and blend the dry ingredients for about one minute. Add the soft butter, continuing to stir until it's mostly blended in, then add the rest of the milk. Slowly raise the mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes until the batter is smooth and uniform. Scrape down the bowl.

Now begin to add the yolk mixture. Pour in about 1/3 of it, beat the mixture at medium speed for 20 seconds, then thoroughly scrape the bowl, paying particular attention to the bottom by the dimple. Continue on in that fashion until the entire yolk mixture has been incorporated. Divide the mixture between the two pans. Bake for 25 minutes, then check the layers. If the middle seems slightly sunken and mushy to the touch, continue to bake for another 7-10 minutes.

When fully baked, place the layers, in the pan, on a wire rack to cool. After 15 minutes, turn them out onto the rack to cool completely, about another hour.