Step 1

Preheat oven to 170 °Celsius.

Step 2

Beat butter and sugar till soft and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.

Step 4

Finally, add in vanilla extract and combine well. Pour batter into two greased and floured cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the top of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. The cakes are done when a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes come out without any wet batter.

Step 5

Remove the cakes from oven and let them cool completely before icing and decorating.

Step 6

Baking time may vary slightly for larger cakes.

Step 7

To make the buttercream frosting, place butter in a large bowl. Beat until creamy.

Step 8

Add the sifted powdered sugar and continue to beat until the icing turns light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again until the vanilla is well incorporated. If the icing is too stiff, add some milk and beat again.

Step 9

To decorate the cake, fill the cake layers with buttercream. Transfer remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe small rosettes all over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with the gold dragees.