You make a cake from scratch by whisking together all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl while creaming butter and sugar separately until light and fluffy. Beat eggs and vanilla extract into the butter mixture before alternating additions of the dry ingredients and milk until a smooth batter forms. Divide the batter into greased cake pans and bake at three hundred and fifty degrees until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the layers cool completely before frosting them with homemade buttercream.