Three Egg Cake

from the Betty Crocker Cookbook copyright 1942-25c

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups sifted Gold Medal Flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup thin milk
1 tsp. flavoring (vanilla)

Grease two round 9" layers or an 8x12" oblong pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until very fluffy. Break eggs into a separate bowl and mix. Add eggs to shortening and sugar and beat them in well. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Add the flavoring. Beat batter just a few strokes to be sure it is smooth. Pour into prepared pans. Bake layers for 30-35 minutes and oblong pan for 40-45 minutes.

--When we lived in Orange, NJ, my mother would always keep two cakes on the counter in the butler's pantry. There was one that was currently being eaten and one in reserve. We lived one block from Orange High School and our house was the first stop for Walter and his friends on their way home. Our family and the extra teenage boys could eat through quite a few cakes. This recipe was one of several that kept the pantry stocked." -- Meredith Joy Sproul Friedman, 1948-