Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake Recipes

MY BEST VANILLA CAKE - STAYS MOIST 4 DAYS!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 20 minutes before starting the batter (Note 8). Place shelf in the middle of the oven.
• Grease 2 x 20cm / 8" cake pans with butter, then line with parchment / baking paper. (Note 9 more pan sizes) Best to use cake pan without loose base, if you can.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Beat eggs for 30 seconds on speed 6 of a Stand Mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or hand beater.
• With the beater still going, pour the sugar in over 45 seconds.
• Then beat for 7 minutes on speed 8, or until tripled in volume and white.
• Heat Milk-Butter: While egg is beating, place butter and milk in a heatproof jug and microwave 2 minutes on high to melt butter (or use stove). Do not let milk bubble and boil (foam ok). Don't do this ahead and let the milk cool (this affects rise).
• Gently add flour: When the egg is whipped, scatter 1/3 flour across surface, then beat on Speed 1 for 5 seconds. Add half remaining flour, then mix on Speed 1 for 5 sec. Add remaining flour, then mix on Speed 1 for 5 - 10 sec until the flour is just mixed in. Once you can't see flour, stop straight away.
• Lighten hot milk with some Egg Batter: Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl. Add about 1 1/2 cups (2 ladles or so) of the Egg Batter into the Milk-Butter (don't need to be 100% accurate with amount). Use a whisk to mix until smooth - you can be vigorous here. Will look foamy.
• Slowly add milk: Turn beater back on Speed 1 then pour the Milk mixture into the Egg Batter over 15 seconds, then turn beater off.
• Scrape and final mix: Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on Speed 1 for 10 seconds - batter should now be smooth and pourable.
• Pour batter into pans.
• Knock out bubbles: Bang each cake pan on the counter 3 times to knock out big bubbles (Note 10 for why)
• Bake 30 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.
• Remove from oven. Cool in cake pans for 15 minutes, then gently turn out onto cooling racks. If using as layer cakes, cool upside down - slight dome will flatten perfectly. Level cake = neat layers.
• Frost with frosting of choice, or cream and fresh berries or jam. See list of ideas in post!
• Beat butter with paddle attachment in stand mixer for 3 minutes on high until it changes from yellow to almost white, and it becomes fluffy and creamy.
• Add icing sugar / powdered sugar gradually in 3 lots, beating slowly (to avoid a powder storm) then once mostly incorporated, beat on high for a full 3 minutes until fluffy.
• Add vanilla and milk, then beat for a further 30 seconds. Use milk only if needed to make it lovely and soft but still holds it's form (eg for piping). Use immediately. (If you make ahead, refrigerate then beat to re-fluff).

YELLOW LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

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.

LIGHT AND FLUFFY YELLOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment. Butter parchment, then flour pans, tapping out excess. Set aside.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium-high speed until pale, 2 to 3 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix, scraping down sides of bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk. Fold in egg whites. Stir with a rubber spatula until the batter is evenly blended.
• Divide batter between pans. Smooth the top of each layer with a small offset spatula.
• Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool in pans on wire racks, 20 minutes. Run a knife around edges of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes from pans. Peel off parchment from cakes. Reinvert and let cool completely on racks.

FLUFFY YELLOW LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl.
• In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.
• In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds.
• With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to bowl and set aside.
• Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
• Stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.
• Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes.
• Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.