Place A Rack In The Center Of The Oven, And Preheat The Oven To 350°F.
Grease A 10″ Tube Pan With Vegetable Shortening Or Soft Butter, And Dust With Flour.
Shake Out The Excess Flour And Set The Pan Aside.
Cut The Sticks Of Butter Into 6 To 8 Tablespoons Each, And Place All The Butter In The Bowl Of An Electric Mixer.
Beat On Medium-High Until The Butter Is In One Mass, 1 Minute.
Stop The Mixer And Add The Confectioners’ Sugar.
Drape A Kitchen Towel Over The Top Of The Mixer So You Don’t Get Showered With Sugar.
Start On Low Speed And Blend The Sugar To Incorporate.
Then Increase The Speed To Medium And Let The Mixture Beat Until Creamy, 2 To 3 Minutes.
Crack 1 Egg And Add To The Butter Mixture, Beating On Medium-Low Until Blended.
Add Another Egg, Beating Again.
Stop The Machine After Every 2 Eggs Are Added, And Scrape Down The Sides Of The Bowl With A Rubber Spatula.
Repeat With The Remaining Eggs.
With The Machine Off, Add The Flour To The Mixture.
Add Salt, If Desired.
Mix On Low Speed To Incorporate The Flour, 30 Seconds.
Add The Vanilla, And Blend On Low Speed For 15 Seconds More.
Scrape Down The Sides Of The Bowl With The Spatula, And Turn The Batter Into The Prepared Pan, Smoothing The Top.
Place The Pan In The Oven.
Bake Until The Cake Is Well Browned And The Center Springs Back To The Touch, 58 To 62 Minutes.
A Toothpick Inserted Should Come Out Clean.
Remove The Cake From The Oven, And Let It Cool In The Pan For 20 Minutes.
Then Run A Knife Around The Edges, Shake The Pan Gently To Loosen The Cake, And Turn It Out Once And Then Again Onto A Wire Rack To Cool Right Side Up.
Let Cool For 30 Minutes To 1 Hour Before Slicing.
