Vanilla Bean Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grease and flour pans (or use cupcake tins with paper liners).

In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and vinegar. Add baking soda, set aside.

In a medium bowl, lightly combine egg whites, remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla. Set aside.

In your mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. To this,
add the butter and the buttermilk/vinegar mixture. Mix on low speed until combined then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and add a small amount of the egg mixture
and mix well, continuing to add the rest of the egg mixture in small increments, beating well after each addition.

Add boiling water and stir to combine. Beat on higher speed for 30 seconds.

Add to the prepared pans and bake about 35–50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool completely on wire racks, then frost.

For the frosting:

I make a white buttercream frosting with this cake, and this time added 1 vanilla bean to the buttercream.

Cream together all of the frosting ingredients until desired consistency is reached. If too thick, add a bit of milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. Use a spatula to frost onto the cooled cake.