From Scratch Yellow Cake

Everyone needs a classic from scratch yellow cake recipe. It’s rich, buttery flavor and light texture pairs perfectly with chocolate buttercream. You’ll love our chocolate buttercream on this yellow cake!

From Scratch Yellow Cake

If there’s one cake combination I can’t resist, it’s homemade yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. This is a no-fail homemade butter cake recipe that is versatile. Although we’re partial to chocolate frosting, pair with any frosting you’d like. It’s a classic!

What is in yellow cake?

Have you ever wondered what gives a yellow cake its flavor? Put simply, it’s the butter. Butter and egg yolks give it a beautiful, golden yellow color and the buttermilk keeps the cake moist and rich.

What is the difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour?

We’ve written a whole article on the best flour for baking cakes. Click here to read that. But in short, the protein content is different in cake flour and all-purpose flour. Cake flour gives you a cake with a lighter crumb, so if a recipe calls for cake flour, you should use that instead of all-purpose.

9″ Round Cake or 9×13″ Cake

We baked this cake in two 9″ round cake pans, but you can also bake it as a 9×13″ sheet cake. Simply adjust the baking time…it will take a few minutes longer to bake in the 9×13 pan. Watch it closely!

Tools to Make Yellow Cake

• Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
• Cake Flour:A must-have for anyone who loves to bake from scratch.
• Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
• 9” Round Cake Pan: These are my favorite pans!
• Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
• Wire Cooling Racks: This will help your cakes cool more quickly.

From Scratch Yellow Cake

4.52 from 31 votes

Everyone needs a classic from scratch yellow cake recipe. It's rich, buttery flavor and light texture pairs perfectly with chocolate buttercream.

Servings 15

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes minutes

Total Time 47 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

• 3 large eggs (divided)
• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 teaspoons butter extract
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (270 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup thick buttermilk
• 3 cups Chocolate Buttercream

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Divide the egg yolks from the egg whites. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl. Place the egg yolks in another bowl and set aside.
• Use a hand mixer on high speed to beat the egg whites until the are frothy and can hold a peak.
• Transfer the egg whites to a smaller bowl and set aside.
• In the same mixing bowl that you beat the egg whites in, cream together the butter and sugar.
• Add the egg yolks, vanilla and butter extracts. Beat for 1 minute.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Add half the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Mix.
• Add half the buttermilk. Mix.
• Add the remaining flour mixture and then buttermilk to the cake batter, mixing between each addition.
• Beat until smooth, no more than 1 minute. Do not overbeat the cake batter.
• Fold the egg whites into the cake batter using a rubber spatula very gently. Be careful not to mix too quickly or harshly. Just fold gently just until the egg whites are completely folded in. This is what keeps your cake fluffy!
• Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
• Bake for 30-32 minutes, until the top of the cake bounces back when you touch it. Be careful not to open the oven door until you think your cake is done or the cakes may fall.
• Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges of the cake with a knife and turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cake is cool, frost with the chocolate frosting (or whatever frosting you'd like!).

Notes

The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of frosted cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 180mg | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Calories 428

Keyword cake, layer cake, yellow cake

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