Recipe: Buttermilk Vanilla Bean Cake

Sunny Hintze, the winner of Cake Wars, shares her winning recipe with us.

Buttermilk Vanilla Bean Cake

Cake:
2 cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
4 eggs, room temperature
3 vanilla beans
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
Combine the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl; cream together until light and fluffy, using an electric mixer on medium to high speed, about 2 minutes. One at a time, add the eggs, making sure to mix well between each addition. Split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a knife; add to the batter and mix until well incorporated.
In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Pour half of the flour mixture into the batter and mix on low to medium speed until well incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the buttermilk to the batter and continue mixing until well incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture; mix until all ingredients are well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, making sure it is evenly distributed. Bake until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool and put them in the refrigerator over night.

American Buttercream Frosting

4 sticks sweet cream unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 bag of powdered sugar (2 pounds)

2 Tablespoons vanilla

Whip until smooth