Buttery Rich Yellow Cake Recipes

CLASSIC YELLOW BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round baking pans. Set aside.
• Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Set aside.
• Beat sugar and butter in bowl at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating at low speed after each addition just until mixed.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake 30-34 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on cooling racks.
• Loosen edge of cake by running knife around inside edge. Carefully remove cake from pan; cool completely.

YELLOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds (see #6 in Cake Baking Tips), then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. I recommend using nonstick spray for greasing.
• Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed for 3 full minutes. The creamed butter and sugar will be extra creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Turn the mixer down to medium-high speed and beat in the 4 egg yolks one at a time, letting each egg yolk fully mix into the batter before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract until combined.
• Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add 1/3 more of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. The batter is very thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high speed until fluffy peaks form, about 3 minutes. See photo and video above for a visual. Slowly and gently fold the egg whites into the thick cake batter. Avoid over-mixing as you don't want to deflate the egg whites.
• Pour/spoon batter evenly into cake pans.
• Bake for around 27-31 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. After about 18 minutes, tent the cakes with aluminum foil to prevent the tops and sides from over-browning. To test the cakes for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. The cakes may look a little spongey on top as a result of the whipped egg whites. (That's normal!)
• Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, 3 Tablespoons heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Do not over-whip. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin or 1-2 more Tablespoons of cream if frosting is too thick. (I usually add 1 more.) Taste. Add another pinch of salt if desired.
• If cooled cakes are domed on top, use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops to create a flat surface. This is called "leveling" the cakes. Discard or crumble over finished cake (or on ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer. (If desired, if the edges seem extra crumbly, apply a crumb coat which is a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. You can see I did this in the video tutorial above. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 15 minutes before adding the rest of the frosting.) Spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I always use an icing spatula and/or a bench scraper for the frosting. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.
• For extra neat slices, refrigerate cake for 30-60 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
• Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

YELLOW BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.
• Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Reinvert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.

BUTTERY RICH YELLOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter one 10-inch tube pan. Dust the bottom and sides of pan with flour, and tap out any excess. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated, occasionally scraping down the sides of bowl.
• Mix together buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly add the sifted flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not overbeat.
• Pour batter into prepared tube pan, and until cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cake can be stored in freezer, double wrapped with aluminum foil, for up to 1 month.

SUPER-MOIST YELLOW CAKE WITH RICH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Butter two 9"-diameter cake pans and line each bottom with a parchment paper round; butter parchment. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix 3 cups (345 g) cake flour, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl until combined, about 30 seconds.
• With the motor running, add ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, then increase speed to medium and beat until butter is in small pieces and mixture looks sandy, about 3 minutes.
• Turn off mixer and add 4 large eggs, room temperature, 2 large egg yolks, room temperature, 1½ cups buttermilk, room temperature, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until pale yellow and fluffy, about 1 minute (be careful not to overmix batter). Divide batter between prepared pans and smooth tops with an offset spatula.
• Bake cakes until tops are golden and spring back when gently pressed, 30-35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cakes cool in pans 15 minutes. Run a small knife or offset spatula around inside of pans to loosen cakes, then turn out onto rack. Remove parchment and let cakes cool completely, about 1 hour.
• While the cakes are cooling, sift 4 cups (440 g) powdered sugar and 1½ cups (126 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer with clean beaters (or paddle) on medium speed, beat 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, and ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add half of dry ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated. Add remaining dry ingredients and ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. buttermilk, room temperature, and beat until thoroughly combined. If frosting is too stiff, thin with more buttermilk (1-2 Tbsp.) until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
• Using a large serrated knife, slice domed tops from cakes. Place 1 layer on a large plate or cake stand and spread a thick layer of frosting on top with an offset spatula. Place second cake layer on top and generously frost top and sides of cake with remaining buttercream. Smooth sides and create decorative swoops and swirls on the top.

ALL-OCCASION DOWNY YELLOW BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a medium bowl lightly combine the yolks, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup milk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans will be about 1/2 full. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cakes should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after removal from the oven.
• Let the cakes cool in the pan on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto greased wire racks. To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the tops are up and cool completely before wrapping airtight.