1-Prepping Your Oven and Pans: First, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F for 20 minutes. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper to prevent sticking and make removal easy.

2-Mixing the Dry Ingredients: Next, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set it aside. This step helps distribute the leavening agent evenly for a fluffy result.

3-Beating the Eggs and Sugar: Beat the eggs on medium speed for 30 seconds, then add sugar gradually over 45 seconds while continuing to beat. Keep going at high speed for 7 minutes until the mixture triples in volume, becomes pale, and thick this is what gives the cake its light texture.

4-Heating the Milk and Butter: Heat the butter and milk together until the butter melts and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Once ready, mix in the vanilla extract and oil to blend the flavors.

5-Combining the Batter: Add one-third of the flour mixture to the eggs and beat on low speed for 5 seconds. Repeat with half of the remaining flour, then add the rest and beat just until combined. Temper the milk mixture by adding about 1 1/2 cups of the egg batter to it, whisking until smooth and foamy. Slowly pour this back into the egg batter while mixing on low speed, scrape the bowl sides, and mix briefly until smooth and pourable.

6-Baking and Cooling: Pour the batter into the prepared pans and tap them on the counter three times to release any large air bubbles. Bake for about 30 minutes until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto racks and cool completely; cool them upside down for flat layers.

7-Frosting the Cake: Once cooled, frost with vanilla buttercream. For the frosting, beat softened butter for 3 minutes until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar in three parts while beating slowly then on high for 3 minutes, mix in vanilla extract and milk, and beat for 30 seconds. Adjust milk as needed for the right consistency.