3 ¼cup14 oz by weight all purpose flour (See Note 1)
1Tablespoonbaking powder
1teaspoonfine sea salt
⅛teaspoonbaking soda
¾cup1 1/2 sticks or 6 oz by weight unsalted butter, soft but not melted
1 ¼cup10 oz by weight whole milk, room temperature, divided use
4large eggs
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
For the Butterscotch Icing
2sticks8 oz by weight unsalted butter
2cups16 oz by weight dark brown sugar, packed
3/4-1teaspoonfine sea saltdepending on how salty you like your butterscotch
2 ½cups20 oz by weight heavy cream
Instructions
For the Cake
Line 3 8" cake pans (See Note 2) with parchment paper and spray the sides of the pan with pan spray.
Set your oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.
In a large bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add all the dry ingredients and whisk together thoroughly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the milk, the eggs, and the vanilla.
Add the softened butter and the milk egg mixture to your mixing bowl. Mix on low speed to moisten the ingredients, then increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes to develop the structure of the batter.
Mix in the remainder of the milk just until smoothly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. If weighing, you should have about 17 oz of batter per cake pan. Smooth the top of the batter and bake until well risen, deeply golden brown and just barely starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. If you have an instant read thermometer, you're looking for an internal temperature of 195F-200F. This will take between 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Start checking at 20-22 minutes just to be safe.
Remove to racks to cool for 15 minutes.
Run a thin spatula around the inside of each cake pan and then turn the cakes out on cooling racks to cool completely.
Optional: You can wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap as soon as you turn them out. This makes sure that all the moisture that would otherwise evaporate out of the cake stays inside. This will give you the moistest possible cake.
For the Butterscotch Icing
Melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the dark brown sugar and salt. Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until the butterscotch is smooth and boiling.
Keep whisking. It will go through a phase where the butterscotch gets kind of sloppy looking. The butter will separate out and you will think something has Gone Wrong. Keep whisking and cooking.
The butterscotch will come back together. When it comes back together, continue whisking until you see some smoke coming off the butterscotch and you smell a caramelized sugar smell.
Carefully whisk in the cream, a bit at a time, until it's all in. The butterscotch will hiss and spit and may seize up. That's okay. continue whisking over medium-low heat until all of the butterscotch has melted back into to cream, and then cook, whisking frequently, until it reaches 237F.
Remove from the heat and strain into a large pitcher or bowl.
Allow to cool and thicken a bit for about 30 minutes before icing your cake.
To Ice the Cake
When ready to ice your cake, place a rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Use a long serrated knife to slice off the domes from your cake layers. Save for snacking or to make butterscotch cake pops.
Place one layer of cake on an 8" cake board (or a piece of cardboard you cut to 8" and wrap in foil) and put on the rack over the baking sheet.
Pour or ladle on about 2/3 cup of icing and spread to the edge with an offset spatula.
Add the second layer and repeat with another 2/3 cup of icing.
Place the last layer, bottom side up, on top and press gently so all the layers adhere.
Pour a generous amount of icing over the top of the cake, starting in the middle and then working out to the edges, allowing it to run down over the sides of the cake. Ideally you will get complete coverage doing this. If not, you can use an offset spatula to scoop up some excess from the tray and do any patching that is necessary. Do take care to cover the top completely and smoothly. The sides are not as important, especially once you slice it.
Allow the cake and icing to sit at room temperature until completely cool (remember, your icing is still warm when you pour it), at least two hours.
Use two large spatulas or a cake shovel to move the iced cake off the rack and onto your serving tray.
Cake will stay fresh for 2-3 days before cutting. Once you slice it, store the cake, covered, at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Video
Notes
If you are not using a scale, please measure your flour by whisking it well, lightly spooning it into your measuring cup and the sweeping off the excess with a straight edge. If you scoop the flour into the cup, it will be too much and you'll end up with a heavy cake.
If you only have 2 cake pans, you can bake 1/3 in one cake pan and 2/3 in an 8" x 3" pan. This is not ideal as one cake will bake more quickly. Once cooled, use a serrated blade to cut the thicker cake in half horizontally then proceed with the recipe.
The video for this post is not for making this cake, but it does very clearly show how to make the butterscotch, and that's the trickiest part of the recipe. Enjoy!