1-2-3-4 Cake with Caramel Icing

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. 2

   Grease three 9-inch-round cake pans.

3. 3

   Line bottoms with waxed paper. Grease paper, and flour insides of pans.

4. 4

   Combine flour and baking powder in bowl.

5. 5

   Beat butter and sugar in another bowl at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, beating until smooth.

6. 6

   At low speed, alternately beat in four mixture and milk.

7. 7

   Beat in vanilla.

8. 8

   Scrape into prepared pans, dividing evenly.

9. 9

   Bake in 350-degree oven 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.

10. 10

    Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on racks.

11. 11

    Meanwhile, prepare icing. *NOTE: The recipe states that "although the amount of icing seems small, it is enough to frost the cake. If you wish, the recipe may be doubled." I've found this to be true, but I recommend that you either double it or make a batch & a half, which is what I do.

12. 12

    Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and milk Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.

13. 13

    Remove from heat. Cool.

14. 14

    Beat confectioners' sugar into milk mixture until smooth.

15. 15

    Frost and stack cake layers on cake plate, spreading 1/3 cup icing between each layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining icing.