Yellow Cake

I can come up with more excuses to eat cake than anyone else I know.  There are the usual cake occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers and weddings and then there are the less popular cake worthy celebrations like first day of summer, no cavity dental appointments, because it's a Monday... you get the idea.  Let's face it - I can make any day into a cake worthy day.  

Sometimes I have to get creative when I'm trying to come up with reasons to make a cake but lately - I've had plenty of cake orders to satisfy my need for cake baking without any crazy excuses.  And for me - it's all about the baking and not so much the eating.  I'm perfectly content to bake cakes and then pass them off to other people to enjoy.  It makes me even happier to know that someone else is enjoying one of my cakes than it does if I were to eat it all myself. 

Even though I don't eat all of the cake that I bake (because I would weigh 500 pounds) I still make it my goal to make them as delicious as I possibly can.  One of the most popular flavors that I get asked to make is a classic yellow cake.  I came across a new recipe for yellow cake on Browneyedbaker.com and decided to give it a try.  It was so good that it has now become my go-to yellow cake recipe.  So good in fact that I used them in my two latest graduation cakes. 

Yellow Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour , plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk , room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks , room temperature
3 large egg whites , room temperature

Separate egg whites from yolks. 

Add egg whites to a mixing bowl and whisk 30 seconds.  Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  Transfer whipped egg whites to a separate bowl.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in bowl of standing mixer.

Whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.

Add wet ingredients to dry while mixer is running on low.  Beat until just combined.

Fold in egg whites with a rubber spatula.

Pour batter into a parchment paper lined, greased cake pan.  (One recipe will fill 2 - 9" cake pans.)

Bake 23 - 28 minutes at 350. 

Cool cakes on wire racks.  By the way - I made 4 recipes of this delicious cake batter and filled 5 ten inch cake pans. 

Just in case you're more of a cupcake person than a cake person, these also translate really well into cupcakes. 

You can turn this yellow cake recipe into anything that you like.  Let your imagination run wild.  Just be sure and send me the pictures of your beautiful cupcake and cake creations when you're finished.  

Ciao! 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe