Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake pan and dust with flour.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup, zest, vanilla, and milk until completely combined and smooth.
  5. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just smooth. Do not overmix, which will make the cake tough. The batter should not be runny.
  6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake on center rack of oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  7. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes before delicately removing from pan. Cool completely before icing.