1-2-3-4 Cake

• 1 cup soft margarine (2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon each salt and vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup milk

Get out a nice big bowl. Use electric beaters to cream together the margarine and sugar. Beat them together until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Everything should be light, fluffy, and satiny smooth. Add the baking powder, salt and vanilla. Mix well with the beaters. Add the flour alternately with the milk, in about 3 batches. Beat the batter smooth. Turn the cake batter into a large well oiled 3-quart tube pan, or a 9 by 13-inch rectangular pan. Bake at 350F. The tube pan should bake about an hour, and the rectangle pan should bake about 40 minutes. The cake will shrink away from the sides of the pan when it is done. This is a large and dignified cake. It doesn’t need frosting because it is so rich. But if you insist on gilding the lily, a thin glaze is most appropriate. Slice it thinly and serve with cut up fruit, either fresh or canned.