Home-Made Wedding Cake

2 Cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1 teastoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

(One batch makes one 10" round)

1. Butter pans and line bottom with parchment. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set rack in middle of oven.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar together with mixer, about 5 minutes, until light. Beat in egg yolks, two at a time; add vanilla.
4. By hand, stir 1/2 flour mixture into batter; add milk, then remaining flour mixture.
5. Pour batter into pan; bake for about 45 minutes. Cool cake in the pan for about 5 minutes; then unmold and finish cooling on a rack.

Lemon Buttercream Filling

1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup strained lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine egg whites and sugar; whisk over a pan of simmering water until egg whites are hot and sugar is dissolved. Whip by machine until cooled (should look like meringue).
2. Switch to paddle and beat in butter until smooth. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla - SLOWLY. If it separates, just continue to beat until it comes together.