Yellow cake is a nostalgic birthday favorite, but you might be wondering—what makes this classic different from vanilla cake? It’s simple: yellow cake is essentially vanilla cake, but with added egg yolks. The result is a perfectly dense, easy-to-make cake with a super-rich flavor. It’s the perfect simple upgrade to classic vanilla cake, and goes perfectly with the fudgy chocolate frosting included here (it’s the greatest combo since peanut butter and jelly). Here’s what you need to know:
What People Are Saying:
“Made this 3 times so far! Really good with chocolate frosting!” – OliveFan
“Thanks for a great recipe that can easily be halved. Yellow cake is so hard to find and your recipe brought it back.” – GreenCocktail
How To Make Yellow Cake
INGREDIENTS
Cake
- Flour: All-purpose flour is a classic for a reason, and has enough protein to produce a tall, structured cake that still is tender and soft.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch contributes to the light, fluffy, and tender texture of this cake.
- Baking Powder: This will aid in helping our cake rise, creating that tall and fluffy texture.
- Butter: Before incorporating, make sure that you have softened your butter so that it is easy to combine with the rest of your ingredients. Use your favorite butter brand, or check out our taste test of the best butter brands for every baking project.
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar: I’m using a combination of granulated and brown sugar for this cake. Granulated sugar is wonderful on its own, but adding some brown sugar will also impart a warming, slight molasses flavor that makes this cake even more flavorful. Use light brown sugar; dark brown sugar will darken the cake too much.
- Eggs: As said before, yellow cake gets its color and signature flavor from more egg yolks. While our classic vanilla cake recipe requires 6 large eggs, this recipe uses 2 eggs and 6 egg yolks.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract will add that necessary floral and sweet vanilla flavor to our cake.
- Milk: Our batter will need some moisture, and I’m using regular milk here. You can use half-and-half, like we do in our vanilla cake recipe, but I opted for just milk in this recipe—it will still provide plenty of moisture.
Frosting
- Melted Butter: While we’re using softened butter in our cake, make sure the butter is melted for your frosting—it’s essential for the correct texture.
- Powdered Sugar: If you’ve run out of powdered sugar—good news! You can easily make powdered sugar at home using only two pantry-staple ingredients.
- Cocoa Powder: This is a recipe for chocolate frosting, so we’ll be incorporating unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream will make the frosting light, fluffy, and very rich in flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract won’t make this frosting vanilla flavored necessarily, but it will amplify our chocolate flavor and add more depth.
Recipe Tips
- The frosting. While I love this easy chocolate frosting, you can switch it up for whatever you prefer! Buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting would both be great options.
- Decorating your cake. Depending on the occasion, you can decorate this cake however you please. Top with sprinkles, make a design with your frosting, or even your favorite crushed candy or fruit.
Storage
Without the frosting, this cake can be stored at room temperature for 4-5 days. Once it has been frosted, place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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Ingredients
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- Step 1Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Line two 8″ round cake pans with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.
- Step 2In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time until well combined, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, then add vanilla.
- Step 3Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then add milk and mix until combined.
- Step 4Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Step 5Meanwhile, make frosting: In a large bowl, beat together melted butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. Add cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and beat until light and fluffy.
- Step 6Level cakes with a large serrated knife by holding knife horizontal to cake and slicing a thin layer off the tops until even. Add about half of icing to one layer of cake and spread into an even layer. Top with second cake layer and frost with remaining icing.
Made This?
Let us know how it went in the comments below!
