For special celebrations and sweet occasions, this yellow cake recipe is what you need! This classic tastes better than boxed cake, pairs well with chocolate frosting and preps in 15 minutes.
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 30 minutesminutes
Cool Time: 2 hourshours
Total Time: 1 hourhour45 minutesminutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
Cake
1cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line bottom of 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray only the parchment with nonstick cooking spray. Do not spray the sides of the pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually mix in 1/3 flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl between additions.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until can hold a stiff peak.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just incorporated. Pour batter into pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes in the pans before transferring the cakes to a rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Frosting
In a large bowl , stir together the cocoa powder, 1 cup powdered sugar, and salt. Mix in the water and vanilla on medium speed, scraping the bowl if necessary.
Beat in the butter and remaining 2 cups powdered sugar on medium-high speed 1 to 2 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. If frosting is too stiff, beat in 1 teaspoon water until it's spreadable.
Assemble the Cake
Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup frosting, enough to make a 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick layer. Place the second cake bottom-side up over the frosted layer. Chill 30 minutes.
Using an offset spatula or rubber spatula, spread enough frosting to create a crumb coat around the entire cake. Chill 30 minutes.
Decorate the cake with the remaining frosting any way you like.
Notes
Vanilla: Use a really good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, since this cake relies heavily on its flavor. Variations: This batter is enough to make:
1 9x13-inch baking dish (bake 45 to 50 minutes)
24 cupcakes (bake 30 to 35 minutes)
3 8-inch round cake pans (25 to 30 minutes)
Frosting: Freezing cake layers makes it easy to frost without losing a lot of the crumb, but isn't necessary if time doesn't allow. I also love Classic buttercream frosting.Cocoa powder: For a more bittersweet chocolate flavor, use Dutch-process cocoa if you like.