Soft and buttery with an extra moist crumb, this is the best yellow cake I’ve ever had. After several rounds of recipe testing, I found the secret to the most delicious yellow birthday cake is a combination of cake flour, extra egg yolks, whipped egg whites, and buttermilk. Cover this cake with my rich and creamy chocolate buttercream for the ultimate celebratory birthday cake!
I originally published this recipe in 2020 and have since made a few small changes to the recipe, including a little extra cake flour and baking soda to help prevent the cake from sinking and tasting gummy; and replaced some of the butter with oil, for an extra moist crumb.
This Is the Best Yellow Cake I’ve Ever Had
After zebra cake, 9×13-inch yellow cake, white cake, vanilla cake, and all of the other recipes in between, I’ve been trying to perfect this quintessential layer cake for years on end. I’ve tasted cakes from a box mix and restaurant-quality yellow cakes, bakery cakes and professionals’ homemade variations, and I can honestly say that this is the best yellow cake I’ve ever had.
Using a careful mix of cake flour, fluffy egg whites, extra egg yolks, and buttermilk, as well as starting with a base of creamed butter and sugar plus a touch of oil, this yellow cake is soft and buttery with an extra moist crumb. If cakes could talk, this one would brag.
Why This Recipe Works
This yellow layer cake has undergone many, many rounds of testing, so you can be sure that there are reasons for each and every step and ingredient.
I don’t recommend making any substitutions for this recipe.
If baking could withstand shortcuts, I’d take them, but we don’t want to mess around here. Remember, baking is a science!
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is almost 30x finer than all-purpose flour. Using it is a surefire way to achieve a delicate, soft-as-a-pillow texture. All-purpose flour, even when combined with cornstarch to make a cake flour substitute, is simply too heavy for this recipe. You need real cake flour for this yellow cake.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: This balanced combination provides the right amount of lift. It even inspired me to change/improve the leaveners in the 9×13-inch yellow cake, too.
- Butter: You can’t have a buttery yellow cake without real butter! The base of this batter starts with creamed room-temperature butter and sugar.
- Oil: This is a more recent addition to this recipe, and it’s in direct response to some reader reviews. (We appreciate your feedback, always!) To prevent this butter and egg–heavy cake from being overly dense or dry, vegetable oil now takes the place of *some* of the butter. The butter is essential for flavor in a yellow cake, but oil adds moisture and keeps the crumb a bit lighter.
- Extra Egg Yolks: Eggs play a big role in today’s recipe. You need 4 eggs total—2 whole eggs plus an additional 2 egg yolks. This equals 4 egg yolks and 2 egg whites. Additional egg yolks add richness, tenderness, and flavor… plus natural yellow color for this yellow cake! You’ll need to separate 4 eggs, and you’ll have 2 egg whites left over (make an egg white omelette, or here are some recipes using only egg whites).
- Whipped Egg Whites: For the 2 egg whites going into the cake, we need to take them a step further to help fluff up the cake’s structure. After all, this is a butter and egg yolk–heavy cake. Whip the egg whites separately, then fold them in.
- Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar, a dry acid, is whipped egg whites’ best friend. It helps with stability, volume, and keeps the air in the egg whites suspended so they hold shape when mixed into the heavy cake batter.
- Buttermilk: I tried a mix of sour cream and whole milk, but taste testers enjoyed the buttermilk version much, much better. Adding flavor and moisture, buttermilk is used in many baking recipes including this confetti cake. See recipe Note about a DIY buttermilk substitute.
Granulated sugar, salt, and pure vanilla extract round out the ingredient list. Feel free to use vanilla bean paste if you have it.
Let’s Make a Perfect Yellow Cake
Whisk together your dry ingredients, as instructed below. Then, make sure the butter and sugar are properly creamed. If you need a refresher, here is my tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.
Then add in the remaining wet ingredients (except for the egg whites).
Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together, then fold them into the cake batter. The cake batter will be thick, but the fluffy egg whites lighten it up.
Divide the batter between two round cake pans. For this recipe, you need 2 9-inch cake pans. Grease them, line with a parchment round, then grease the parchment round. Bake the cakes, and then cool for 1 hour in the pans set on a cooling rack.
Chocolate Frosting for Yellow Birthday Cake
I use my favorite chocolate buttercream but slightly scaled up. Because there is no leavening occurring, you can use either Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder in the buttercream. Heavy cream provides an extra creamy frosting, but milk can be substituted if needed.
This frosting is a little fluffier than the chocolate fudge frosting on the yellow sheet cake. Feel free to swap frostings, or use the the vanilla buttercream from this white cake recipe!
How to Assemble & Frost a Layer Cake
After your cakes are cool, run a knife around the edges of the cake to help release them from the pans.
If your cakes are domed on top, level them after they cool. I use a serrated knife.
To ensure the layer cake is stable, it’s important to apply a crumb coat. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting on the exterior of the cake that locks in any loose crumbs and helps stabilize the layers. The edges of today’s cake layers are crumbly, so a crumb cake is especially useful.
If you need more guidance and some handy visuals, here’s my how to assemble a layer cake video.
After you stack the 2 layers with frosting in between, cover the top and sides of the 2-layer cake with a very thin layer of frosting (about 1 cup). If desired, run a bench scraper around the cake to help smooth out the frosting.
Refrigerate the uncovered cake for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour to “set” the crumb coat. Then cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Yellow Cake Success Tips
- Use Room-Temperature Ingredients: Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. When ingredients are the same temperature, they bind together more readily than if you had some cold and some warmer ingredients. Separating eggs is easier when the eggs are cold, so separate them first, then let them come to room temperature before you begin.
- Prep Your Pans: Grease and line your cake pans with parchment paper rounds, to help the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. If you need recommendations for round cake pans, I really like Fat Daddio’s pans and these Wilton cake pans.
- Apply a Crumb Coat: The edges of this cake can be a bit crumbly, so taking the time to do a crumb coat is extra important!
Other Size Yellow Cakes
This cake batter is best for a 2-layer 9-inch cake (I use and love these 9-inch round cake pans). This recipe yields about 5–6 cups of batter, which is helpful if you need it for different Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions.
Other Sizes:
- 9×13-Inch Cake: You can bake this yellow cake in a 9×13-inch baking pan (bake time will be a bit longer), but I found it tasted on the heavier side. Instead, I recommend my recipe for yellow sheet cake.
- Cupcakes: Here is my favorite yellow cupcakes recipe, which includes directions for mini cupcakes too. Same unbelievable texture as this cake!
- 6-Inch Layer Cake: The yellow cupcakes recipe also makes the right amount of batter for a 3-layer 6-inch cake.
Yellow Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
After years of recipe testing, this is the best yellow cake I’ve ever had. Soft, buttery, and incredibly moist, it’s made with cake flour, whipped egg whites, extra egg yolks, and buttermilk for the ultimate homemade birthday cake. See above for different pan options. For best success, follow this recipe closely and don’t make any ingredient substitutions.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)*
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature*
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g/80ml) vegetable oil
- 4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240g/ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar*
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (76g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- 4–6 Tablespoons (60–90g/ml) heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- optional for decoration: sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.) I recommend using nonstick spray for greasing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the oil and beat for 1 minute until combined. Beat in the egg yolks until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla extract.
- 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 will be very thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.
- In another large 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, medium-stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Fold the whipped egg whites into the cake batter. Work slowly and gently, as you don’t want to deflate the egg whites. Pour/spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 27–31 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The edges of the cakes can be crumbly; this is normal. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl 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, 4 Tablespoons of 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 (30g) more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or 1–2 more Tablespoons of cream if frosting is too thick. Taste. Add another pinch of salt if desired.
- Assemble and frost: (For additional help with this step, see this how to assemble a layer cake video & post.) First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place one cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Spread about 3/4–1 cup (180–240g) of frosting in an even layer on top. Top with the second cake layer and spread about 1 cup (240g) of buttercream in a very thin layer over the top and sides to make the crumb coat. If desired, run a bench scraper around the cake to help smooth out the frosting on the sides. Refrigerate the cake until the crumb coat has set, about 20 minutes. Finish by spreading the top and sides with the remaining buttercream. Decorate the cake with sprinkles, if desired. For extra neat slices, refrigerate the 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. If the cake has been stored in the refrigerator, let the cake sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to soften up again before serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 8. Wrap the individual baked and cooled cake layers tightly and keep at room temperature for 1 day or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature (if frozen), then continue with step 9. Frosting can also be made 1 day ahead of time. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring frosting to room temperature, then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. Adding a splash of cream or milk will help thin the frosting out, if needed. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving. See How to Freeze Cakes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Update in 2026: The original recipe called for 1 cup (226g) of butter and no oil. We reduced the butter and added a little oil to lighten the crumb and help prevent the cake from becoming overly dense.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is key in this recipe. Do not use any cake flour substitutes.
- Eggs: You need 4 egg yolks and 2 egg whites in this cake batter, which means you’ll start with 4 whole eggs and have 2 egg whites leftover for another use. It’s easiest to separate eggs when they’re cold. The eggs must be at room temperature to whip properly, so after you separate the eggs, cover the yolks and egg whites separately and let them sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before beginning the recipe.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute by measuring 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring glass. Add enough milk (whole milk is best—lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich) in the same measuring glass to reach 1 cup. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The soured milk will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in your recipe.
- Cream of Tartar: This is an important ingredient that helps the egg whites whip into lofty, fluffy peaks and hold their shape when folded into the heavy cake batter. You can skip it if needed and whip the egg whites by themselves, but the cake will be a little denser.
- Amount of Cake Batter: This recipe yields about 5–6 cups of batter, which is helpful if you need it for different Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions. This recipe is too large for two 8-inch round cake pans.
- 9×13-Inch Pan: You can bake this batter in a 9×13-inch baking pan (bake time will be longer, around 30–35 minutes), but we recommend this similar recipe for yellow sheet cake, which uses mostly the same ingredients.
- 3-Layer Cake: You can also prepare this cake as a 3-layer cake. Divide the batter between three 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans and bake for 22–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The frosting recipe written will be enough for thin layers of frosting; you can double my chocolate buttercream recipe (simply double each ingredient) if you want a lot of frosting.
- Yellow Cupcakes: Here is my favorite yellow cupcakes recipe, which includes directions for mini cupcakes too. Same unbelievable texture as this cake! If you need more than 1 dozen yellow cupcakes, use this yellow cake recipe for between 2–3 dozen and follow the same baking instructions as my yellow cupcakes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hello, I made this cake a few weeks ago and really want to try again but am looking for some suggestions. First, let me say that I have never been a fan of yellow cake but this cake, fresh from the oven, totally changed my mind and I absolutely loved it. Everything was perfect fresh from the oven but once I placed them in the refrigerator overnight it became hard and dry, even after warming up to room temperature. Do you have any advice for me?!
Hi Fern, it sounds like extended refrigeration could have been the problem here. Though we haven’t had that issue with this particular cake before, refrigerating cakes tends to dry them out. Were the cakes wrapped up tight enough? The cakes may also have been over-baked, too. If you try the recipe again, a minute or 2 shorter should help too. You may also find this post helpful: How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake.
Fantastic recipe! Moist, rich, flavorful, The only thing I’d change is increasing the amount of frosting. It may be that the people I know are frosting hounds, but this was a big sparse.
I made this cake over the weekend for my birthday and we are still eating the leftovers of it three days later! I have been told multiple times this is the best yellow cake they have ever had!!!
Thanks Sally for the great recipe!
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes? I noticed there were a few different ingredients in the cupcake recipe. So I’m curious on why the difference? Which would be the best route to take?
Hi Tiffany, to bake as cupcakes, see recipe note #10. In this layered cake, buttermilk creates a slightly lighter texture which is desirable for layer cakes since you’re stacking cakes on top of one another, weighing them down. Because there’s a lot of fat present (egg yolks), using buttermilk helps keep it slightly lighter. For the yellow cupcakes, we skip whipping the egg whites. Whipping the egg whites helps produce an extra fluffy texture in layer cakes that can otherwise become dense from being squished down. I don’t find that added step necessary for these cupcakes. Either way, you can’t go wrong! If you want a smaller batch of cupcakes, make the yellow cupcakes recipe, and for a larger batch (2-3 dozen), make this layered cake into cupcakes.
Hi Sally. I made this cake last week with Steve’s GF Cake Flour. It was, literally, the best yellow cake my family and I ever had. It was moist and beautiful, and if you didn’t know it was GF, you never would have guessed it. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I made this recipe for Father’s day and received so many compliments. I did not have one problem with this cake. It was the moistest cake I have ever made and eaten! So delicious!!
I made this recipe this week for my birthday. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting was always my birthday cake request when I was younger and I’ve never been able to make a version from scratch that tasted good AT ALL. This one is just as your title says: The BEST Yellow Cake I’ve Ever Had! Thank you for this! 🙂
Made this last week and it was unbelievable- the perfect balance of flavors! Your site has become my go-to place for baking recipes. Thank you!
Made this today with Sally’s chocolate cream cheese frosting and it was absolutely perfect! The cake was light, airy, and moist with beautiful caramelized edges that reminded us of crème brûlée. I replaced the milk in the frosting with buttermilk and reduced the amount of powdered sugar to 2 cups. The cake was very sweet but the tang of the cream cheese frosting balanced it out perfectly. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
Hello! I recently bought four of those cute 6-inch cake pans. Do you think I would need to adjust baking time or temp?
Hoping to make this tomorrow for my birthday:) Thanks so much for sharing your talent and knowledge!
Hi Carson, You can find all of my tips for 6 inch pans in my post 6 Inch Cakes. Enjoy!
Hi Sally! I have a question- how much buttercream does this recipe yield? I want to make this cake, but use your swiss meringue buttercream recipe. Would I have enough to cover this cake if I used a single batch of your meringue? Thanks so much!!!
Hi Ashley, My Swiss Meringue recipe is enough to fill and frost a three layer 9-inch cake with just enough frosting (see recipe notes!).
Wanna make this for my son’s 4th bday – sounds amazing!
Can I add sprinkles into the cake? If so, what amount would be best for this recipe? Thanks, Sally!
Sure can! Add 1/2 – 2/3 cup rainbow sprinkles.
Absolutely loved this cake recipe. Followed exactly and was a hit! The video was indeed helpful, thank you for that. Daughter loved it as her birthday cake and I’m happy to have a great recipe to use for more birthdays coming up!
Hi Sally,
I have loved so many of your recipes. I appreciate very much your detailed instructions and explanations as to why we need to do certain things. Because of you, I truly enjoy baking and it’s come to be a very cathartic and relaxing hobby.
I can’t wait to make this recipe for my husband’s birthday on June 29th. He requested a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (from Sally, of course) so am thrilled to find this post.
I also wanted to say ‘thank you’ for including the UK equivalents for certain ingredients, as we moved to London 4 years ago and can’t always find what we need.
Cheers,
Elyssa
Absolutely delicious!
Hi Sally!
I adore all your recipes and appreciate them you so much for the work you put into them!
My question for you is a friend wants me to make them a 3 layer 9 inch birthday cake and I wanted to know how I could make this recipe work for 3 layers?
I also noticed you had a 3 layer vanilla cake recipe, what’s the difference in taste between those two and which do you think I should go with?
Thank you sooooo much
Hi Nir, you can make this cake as a 3 layer cake. See recipe note.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow. I know you spent a lot of time developing this to make it just right so I don’t question the results. But, I’m curious why it’s better to not just use 4 eggs. Does leaving out the 2 egg whites change the texture somehow?
BTW~ my grandkids loved your strawberry icing!
Hi Carol, using extra egg yolks helps produce that signature buttery/dense yellow cake taste and texture.
I just made this cake but I forgot the vanilla. Will it be ok?
I never leave comments but this was the best cake recipe I’ve ever tried. I have been searching for a yellow cake recipe for years. It has the perfect flavor and the perfect crumb. I used White Lilly all purpose flour and ran it through my sifter since I did not have cake flour. Everyone enjoyed the cake! Thank you for this recipe!
FINALLY!! The perfect yellow cake! I always get a little bummed when people order yellow cakes because they cake itself is just so fickle! Not anymore!!! Perfect texture. Great taste. Slap that chocolate icing on there and you’ve got a real winner!! Thanks for the recipe, and the guidance behind baking over the years.
I made this cake yesterday. Best cake I have ever had and certainly the best I have ever made. I’m not a huge cake lover but love frosting. Haha. But this cake is beyond good even without frosting. Question tho. My frosting looked lighter (in color) than yours. I liked the look of yours better.I used 4 cups of powder sugar and the rest of the frosting ingredients as your wrote. I’m guessing coco powder is the reason. Just add more? I used regular not dutch. Thanks so much for all the recipes and tips. Most importantly HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it was a good one.
Thank you, Leisa! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe so much.
Over-whipping adds more air to the buttercream which lightens up the color. Feel free to add more cocoa powder to darken (and milk/heavy cream to offset that dry ingredient). Or try one of my favorite tricks– place the frosting in a microwave safe bowl and heat for a quick 10 seconds. Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. This helps pop any air bubbles and the warmer butter creates a darker looking frosting.
Hi Sally, could I add walnuts to the batter? If so, about how much would you recommend and would this change the cooking time?
I can’t see why not! You can try folding in 3/4 – 1 cup of chopped walnuts into the batter after you fold in the egg whites. I’m unsure of the exact results though. The bake time will be similar.
And it’s the best yellow cake I’ve ever had too! A hit for my son’s birthday. Very moist and the frosting is delicious. Perfect timing posting this recipe Sally. Everyone loved it.
TERRIFIC! I have baked MANY CAKES in my 74 years but this yellow cake is a winner and the buttercream chocolate frosting rates a 10!!!!!!
I’m looking for your most chocolaty frosting, in my book, there is no such thing as too much chocolate. I prefer dark chocolate over milk and don’t usually want it too sweet. I’ll be making your upgraded German Chocolate cake for my anniversary. I’ve looked at your dark chocolate, triple chocolate and buttercream chocolate frostings. There are subtle difference, which would taste the most deep chocolate?
Hi Ele, you may enjoy the chocolate fudge frosting on my Tuxedo Cake the most.
What’s the difference between White cake, Yellow cake and Vanilla cake?
Are they all just vanilla-flavoured cakes with slightly different ingredients? Do you have a favourite?
Thanks and happy birthday!
Hi Aimee, happy to clarify! White Cake is supremely fluffy and soft with a pristine white crumb (made from egg whites), Vanilla Cake is heavy on vanilla flavor and super soft and moist– a bit denser than white cake, and Yellow Cake is denser than both with rich buttery flavor.
Hi Sally!
Can I know why buttermilk for yellow cake and and sour cream and milk for yellow sheet?
Hi Jenna, buttermilk creates a slightly lighter texture which is desirable for layer cakes since you’re stacking cakes on top of one another, weighing them down. Because there’s a lot of fat present (egg yolks), using buttermilk helps keep it slightly lighter.
I saw this recipe the day it was posted and immediately knew I needed to try it. I made it that night for our family’s Memorial Day gathering, and it did not disappoint! It has the perfect texture and flavor and this chocolate icing is DIVINE. I bake a lot and have a few standby chocolate icing recipes, but this one is outstanding and an instant favorite.
Our whole family says this is an A+ recipe, and we’ll be enjoying it again soon!
What is the difference between this and the yellow sheet cake? I am looking for a fluffy textured yellow sheet cake (9×13 or jelly roll pan) with Nutella frosting. Should I try this in a jelly roll pan? I understand that it will be a thin cake … any other thoughts? Thank you!
Hi Faye! You can read about the differences above and in the yellow sheet cake recipe (and in the recipe notes, too!). Either would be wonderful with Nutella frosting. For a jelly roll style cake, I recommend the yellow sheet cake.
Hi Sally, happy birthday! You mentioned that this could be a 3-layer cake. Would it also work to make a 3-layer cake using 1-1/2 X the recipe? I like lots of cake!
I haven’t tested it! Let me know what you try. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes.
Alyssa, I did this exact thing and it turned out great!! It made a nice and tall three layer which is what I was going for! I baked it for 29 minutes total.
Oh, thank you, Debra! I was hoping to hear confirmation of success in doing that. Tell me about the texture and crumb of the cake, if you don’t mind. I made a really excellent yellow cake from America’s Test Kitchen, but I’m always looking to improve–and I feel you can’t go wrong with Sally!
To me it is more buttery and denser than Sally’s vanilla cake (if you’ve ever made that). It’s almost like a pound cake texture. Holds the chocolate frosting really well. I hope this helps!! I’m never the best at differentiating all of the different types of crumbs!! I just know that I thought it was delicious and has a beautiful color contrast with the chocolate buttercream!
This is great Sally!! Although now I am torn! I was planning to make your white cake with your chocolate buttercream for a three layer birthday cake. Now you posted this!! Do you think the yellow or white cake pairs better with chocolate frosting? That is probably a trick question but I can’t make decisions when it comes to your recipes because they all look and turn out amazing
Hi Debra! It depends on what you want– a pristine white, soft, and fluffy cake or a richer buttery yellow cake. Let me know which you choose!
I made the yellow and my goodness it is delicious and perfect with the chocolate butter cream!