Yellow Birthday Cake With Fluffy Pink Frosting Recipes

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.

FLUFFY CLASSIC YELLOW CAKE

Steps:

• Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Prepare two 9" (22 cm) round cake pans by greasing them and then adding some flour and tapping it around the pan to coat. Tap the excess flour out of the pan. Measure out all of your ingredients for each section of the recipe and keep each grouping together to help with the workflow of the recipe
• MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS: Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and then whisk together to combine. Set aside.
• MIX THE WET INGREDIENTS: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients and set aside.
• MAKE THE MERINGUE: In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium/high speed until they start forming medium peaks. With the mixer still running, slowly stream in the sugar and keep beating until you reach stiff peaks.
• COMBINE THE COMPONENTS: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and stir together with a rubber spatula. Once the dry ingredients are saturated, add about 1/2 cup of the egg whites into the mixture and stir it in completely to lighten the batter. Next add in 1/2 of the rest of the egg whites and gently fold them in being careful not to deflate them. Add in the rest of the egg whites and fold them in gently until completely combined.
• Bake the cake at 350 F (177 C) for 20-23 minutes until the cake is set and a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
• Store uneaten cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

YELLOW CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13x9-in. baking pan., Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and 1 egg at a time, beating well. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; beat into creamed mixture alternately with milk. Transfer to prepared pan., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Place on a wire rack; cool completely., For frosting, beat butter until creamy; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth and light in color, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and 3 tablespoons cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes; thin with additional cream if desired. Spread over cake.

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.