The Best Yellow Cake Recipe, Homemade from Scratch
The Best Yellow Cake Recipe, Homemade from Scratch. A moist, delicious, beautifully textured cake, paired in a classic combination with chocolate frosting.
Originally published April 2015.
A great yellow cake recipe is one of the most searched for among dedicated baking enthusiasts. I'm no different and have been experimenting with different recipes that I've found online for years.
For some reason that's probably stuck in my psyche since childhood, I always envision yellow cake as in an impressive three layers that just looks like one of the simplest but most inviting cakes ever.
It's part of the reason that I was never quite satisfied with a lot of recipes I'd tried. Many of the firmer textured cakes that were suitable for stacking were too dry.
A couple of the moister recipes were too soft and became too compressed under the weight. In developing this recipe I believe that I have finally struck the proper balance.
What makes a great yellow cake?
Butter and egg yolks are what gives a good yellow cake it's colour. The fresher your eggs the better the colour.
If you can buy free range organic eggs, you will see that the colour of the yolks is quite different. They are much more intense than commercially produced eggs from chickens that are raised indoors.
Finally, you should note that although it is shown in 3 layers in the photo, this recipe is written for a two layer cake, baked in 8 inch round pans.
If you want a 3 layer 8 inch cake, multiply the ingredients by 1 ½. If you want a 3 layer nine inch cake, which is a perfect birthday cake for large parties, double the recipe.
Frosting the cake.
Use your favourite fudge frosting on the cake or you can use the silky smooth chocolate buttercream frosting from this recipe or a simpler icing sugar based chocolate frosting found here.
Larger cakes will need about 1 ½ to 2 times times the frosting.
Love Scratch Cake Recipes?
If you love homemade cakes from scratch we have a great selection of soft textured, moist cakes ion our Velvet Cake Collection.
Note:
My son Noah, makes this cake all the time but his favourite is to make these as cupcakes with chocolate frosting. That's a great idea for parties and get togethers. Everyone loves homemade cupcakes!
In paper lined cupcake pans, thes should take 13-15 minutes to bake at 325 degrees F. Again, always let the toothpick test be your guide.
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The Best Yellow Cake Recipe, Homemade from Scratch
The Best Yellow Cake Recipe, Homemade from Scratch - a moist, delicious, beautifully textured cake, paired in a classic combination with chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 1½ cups cake flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, good quality
- 2 extra large eggs
- 2 extra large egg yolks
- 1½ cups buttermilk, or soured milk
Instructions
- Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Grease and flour 2 eight inch round cake pans and line the bottom with 2 circles of parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the sugar, vegetable oil, butter and vanilla. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy
- Beat the eggs in one at a time, then beat in the 2 egg yolks.
- Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
- I always add dry ingredients in three divisions and liquid ingredients in 2 divisions. It is very important to begin and end the additions with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 8 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
NOTE that although it is shown in 3 layers in the photo, this recipe is written for a two layer cake, baked in 8 inch round pans. If you want a 3 layer 8 inch cake, multiply the ingredients by 1 ½ and if you want a 3 layer nine inch cake (which is a perfect birthday cake for large parties) double the recipe.
NOTE: If you don't have buttermilk and want to use soured milk instead, just add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice or white vinegar to the measuring cup and top up to the 1 ½ cups mark with regular milk.
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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 303Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 81mgSodium 349mgCarbohydrates 38gFiber 0gSugar 20gProtein 5g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Cake is an excellent example of old school baking! This recipe came straight out of my grum mum's kitchen!
Such a nice thing to say Susan. So glad you enjoyed it.
So only 2 eggs total....... Right????
No, 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks.
Hi, just a question, you mentioned eggs twice, 2 whole eggs and 2 whole egg yolks. Do you add them seperately? I'm definitely going to try this but want to be exact. Thank you
Have a great day!
Ruby
I've updated the recipe to reflect that you beat in the 2 eggs and then the egg yolks.
Thank you. This recipe is perfect.
So glad you liked it.
Since the recipe calls for salt, is butter you use in this recipe unsalted?
As a general rule, I leave the salt out of any baking recipe of you use salted butter. It's completely your choice.
Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe. This is the best yellow cake I have had. So moist with a great flavor. I don't just want to taste the flavor of the icing/frosting. I look for the flavor of the cake itself, first. Then I taste the cake with the icing. This way I can appreciate the flavors of each together. I made a rule for me to always bake cakes from scratch. I love to challenge myself, and I feel very confident in my cake baking skills when everything turns out right. I will use this as my 'go to' for yellow cakes. Thanks for educating us about what we're doing while we are going through the process of baking. God bless
Can I use this recipe for cupcake?
Yes
Do I need to change recipe for high altitude, as I live at 5480 feet above sea level? Thank you,
I have no experience with high altitude baking. I live by the ocean.
I live in a very small town and i cannot find cake flour without ordering it. Is it possible to use all ap flour? I use King Arthur's. Thank you
You can use all purpose but it will likely be a bit heavier in texture. The cake flour does lighten the texture.
Can I only use cake flour will it mess up the recipe?
You can but I sometimes find all cake flour can be too crumbly ion some recipes. I like that regular flour + cake lour blends structure and softness together.
I don't have extra large eggs how many large would I need?
Large are fine but add an extra egg if using medium...2 if using small.
Great cake, but if you opt to double the recipe and use 9-inch cake pans, use 4 pans (not 3). I used 3 and ended up with a horrible mess on the bottom of the oven, not to mention a smokey house. Otherwise, it's a good cake.
I also meant to add that I cracked all the eggs & yolks in one bowl then added them individually.
Perhaps your pans were shallower than mine. I use the Wilton pans and never have that issue with 9 inch pans. In any case, never fill a pan more than 3/4 full.
Extend sides of pans with parchment, problems, will also give you cleaner edges to work with. I doubled recipe and used 3-9in pans it works. Hope you don't mind Mr. Parsons
Can I use all butter instead of the vegetable oil?
You could try but be careful not to overtake. The oil does add moisture and keeps the cake from being too dry.
How much longer should you bake if you're using the 9" pan?
Just test it with the wooden toothpick as directed.
I would like to bake in a 13x9 inch pan or two square pans. Will this work and how should the baking time be adjusted for oblong pan, please?
Two 8x8 pans should be ok. 9x9 pans ill be too large. The baking time may be a little less. Always check early and rely on the toothpick test to see when a cake os fully balked.
I did it ! and got thumbs up from my wife. Look out pattie L. Now for some cake and vanilla ice cream.
I'm looking forward to this recipe , also I wanted to know if I can use all purpose flour but get the same texture as I would with the cake flour
Should I add more baking powder or what ? What should I do to get the same texture as I would for the cake flour
Please replyy
Unfortunately the unique texture of this cake relies on using part cake flour. The cake will taste the same but the the texture will be denser.