For my first trick..

This is a recipe that I've never, ever shared before. For a Very Long Time ™, I was a terrible cake baker. In fact, I was almost convinced that cakes were somehow unattainable for me. Then, I was given this cake recipe and my whole world changed! Okay, maybe not my whole world, but my cakes sure did.

The secret to a "proper" cake from scratch is that you have to do is buy cake & pastry flour. That's it. Even if you don't even sift it like those finicky old cake recipes say, just using cake flour is going to make an AMAZING difference. Trust me.

Perfect White Cake from scratch

Pre-heat oven to 375 F
Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans

Sift together:

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Beat until foamy, in a small bowl:

• 4 eggs whites

Gradually add in:

• 1/2 cup white sugar

until mixture forms soft peaks!

In a large bowl cream together gradually:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup white sugar

In a measuring cup, combine:

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract (also good with almond or coconut extracts)

Into the shortening mixture, beat in flour mixture 1/4 at a time alternated with milk mixture 1/3 at a time. Mix ONLY until just barely smooth. Gently beat egg whites into the batter; don't worry about folding them in, just beat them on slow speed until combined.

Turn into prepared pans and bake for 25 mins. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

I like to split the layers each in half horizontally to add more filling to it to keep it nice and moist. I HATE dry cake.

I made this cake last year for my yearly birthday extravaganza and filled it with a mixture of cream cheese, crushed pineapple, flaked coconut, and whipped cream, and then covered the top with big dollops of whipped cream.