Buttery Pound Cake

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
4 cups flour
1 cup whole or 2% milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Make cake in one 10" bundt, two 9x5 loaf pans, or four 8x4 inch loaf cakes. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Generously grease and flour the pans. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl before each addition. Add 2 cups of flour and beat well.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the milk and vanilla, continuing to beat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the baking powder, salt and remaining 2 cups flour. Beat well. Pour into the prepared pans. If you are using more than one pan, be sure the batter comes to the halfway point.

Transfer to the oven and bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour for the bundt pan, 50 minutes for the 9x5 inch loaf pan, and 45 minutes for the smaller pans. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, and then invert on a rack. Cool to room temperature and cut into 12-16 pieces.