Preheat oven to 335°F / 170°C and grease two 8-inch cake pans.
Split the milk into two containers, one with ½ cup of milk (118g) and one with ¾ cup of milk (177g).
1 ¼ cups Milk
Mix the ½ cup of milk with the vegetable oil and set aside.
⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
Mix the ¾ cup of milk with the eggs and vanilla. Whisk together lightly and set aside.
3 Eggs, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your mixer and turn on low with your paddle attachment.
2 ¾ cups Cake Flour, 1 ¾ cups White Sugar, 1 ½ tablespoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
Slowly add the butter, one small chunk at a time, letting it mix for a few seconds in between additions. Once it's all in it should look kind of like chunky breadcrumbs
2 sticks Butter
Add the milk/oil mixture and slowly turn your mixer up to a medium speed, just so it doesn't splash. Beat for exactly two minutes.
Scrape the sides of your bowl to make sure there are no lumps, then turn the. mixer back on low.
Add the milk/egg mixture slowly and mix on low until just combined.
Divide into cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing and putting on a wire rack to cool.
Fill and frost with your favourite frosting. I used my Russian buttercream recipe for a silky smooth and sweet vanilla filling.
Notes
It's crucial that the milk, eggs, and butter are at room temperature before beginning otherwise the ingredients will not incorporate properly. I tend to remove my ingredients from the fridge about 1 hour before beginning to bake - but it will vary depending on the climate where you live. Note: For the photographed cake, I used a DOUBLE BATCH of this recipe to make an extra tall cake. I split the recipe into quarters and used three of those quarters to make cake layers, then used the remaining quarter for cupcakes. A single batch of this recipe can still have multiple layers depending on how you cut them, it just won't be quite as tall.