Tag: yellow cake

Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Everyone knows this classic birthday cake combination – two layers of yellow cake covered in chocolate frosting. It’s timeless, and there are many recipes for it out there. This one is a hybrid from a cake I found at Shugary Sweets and my own chocolate buttercream frosting. I added more vanilla extract to the original cake recipe, as I always do. Measure vanilla extract with your heart, bakers. If you feel a recipe needs more, follow your instincts.

This recipe includes both buttermilk and sour cream for a lovely spongy, springy texture. My cake had a few air pockets in it as you can see from the photo, so next time I want to take greater with my mixing for less of a chance of that. I’ll also add more frosting on the tops and sides; I had a great layer of frosting in the middle, but not as much coverage on the tops and sides of the cake as I would have liked. It was a hit regardless though, which is one of the great joys of baking. Even when it’s not perfect, you can still please a crowd with whatever you’ve made.

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs, plus one egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

For the frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 24 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Dash of salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 x 2 round cake tins.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla extract, then add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape down your bowl, then beat in the sour cream.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beating for about 30 seconds after each; once everything is added, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Divide batter evenly between the two cake tins; bake for 32-38 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tins for about 10-15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely; I place parchment paper on my racks to avoid grid lines in the the cakes.

Once the cakes are completely cool, make your frosting. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Sift in powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then cover your mixer with a kitchen towel and beat the mixture on low until all the sugar and cocoa is incorporated into the butter; this takes several minutes. Add salt, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream; beat for 1-2 minutes. Check your texture; you want your buttercream to be smooth and easy to spread, so add more cream if you need to, but so so sparingly. You can always add more liquid, but you can’t take it back out.

To frost your cake, place one cake on your cake stand and spread about 1 cup frosting over the top; place the second cake on top and frost the top and sides with remaining buttercream, creating whatever pattern you like. My cake was fairly basic-looking, as you can see below. Store tightly covered at at room temperature for 2-3 days; makes about 12 slices.

Streamer Cake

streamer cakeMy mom, Genny, just turned 70. I intended to make a butterscotch cake for her party this weekend, but it turned out to be a disaster: burnt on the edges and gooey in the middle. I blame the recipe, of course, so I’ll go in search of another one. In the meantime, I baked this yellow cake and paired it with vanilla almond buttercream for a classic, birthday-cake type of cake.

Frosting-wise, I took inspiration from the Better Homes & Gardens Baking book, which featured a similar cake with different colors of icing as “streamers.” I’ve been practicing my piping skills for the past few months, though to make this cake you need very basic ones. A ribbon tip is helpful for the bottom piping, but you could use a plain one and make a bead design if you preferred. Color-wise, you can choose whatever you like to match your party theme; I went with colors that remind me of my mom and her love of the outdoors: yellow for sunshine, green for grass, and blue for the sky.

Yellow Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 10 2/3 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, then line with parchment and grease the parchment. Lightly dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for one minute.

Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each.

Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beating until combined.

Divide batter evenly between pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Almond Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons almond extract
  • Yellow, green, and blue food coloring

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, beat butter for about 1 minute.

Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until all of the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter; this will take a few minutes.

Add vanilla extract and almond extract, beating well to combine. Taste; add more extract if desired.

Reserve about 3/4 cup of frosting for tinting; leave the remainder of the frosting white.

Place the bottom layer of cake on platter and frost the top, then place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides, creating as even a surface as you can.

Fit a piping bag with a ribbon tip and pipe a ribbon around the bottom edge of the cake.

Divide reserved frosting into three bowls and tint to your desired shade. Fit three piping bags with small plain tips and place one color in each bag.

Pipe colors, one at a time, to resemble birthday streamers.

Store cake at room temperature for up to three days.