Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream: Tender yellow cake layers with chocolate buttercream.
Classic Yellow Cake
Is there anything more classic than a yellow cake with chocolate frosting? I continue to hear that it’s a favorite for so many people, especially the box mix. And while I said goodbye to box mixes years ago, I’ll admit, there’s something pretty alluring about the flavor and texture of a yellow cake mix: rich butter and vanilla extracts in a moist and fluffy cake… you just can’t go wrong (except for the fact that it’s not homemade).
I’ve tried a couple of yellow cake recipes in the past but was never impressed enough to save them or send myself on a mission to find the best yellow cake recipe – until now, that is. This new mission started when I offered to make my friend, Brooke from FemaleFoodie.com, a cake for her review. I told her she could pick any cake she wanted, and without hesitation, she said a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
Trial and Error
Of course, I immediately threw out every yellow cake recipe I had, knowing they weren’t nearly good enough and started my research from scratch. I scoured Pinterest, cookbooks, and my go-to cake blogs selected a handful of recipes and started comparing ingredients. I wanted something that screamed flavorful and moist, so when I saw Grandbaby Cakes recipe with a full cup of sour cream, seven whole eggs and butter extract, I knew I had to give it a try. (Taste of the South Magazine also loved this cake.)
I had high hopes that it would meet my expectations for flavor and texture, but I have to admit, I was slightly let down. It’s a good cake but it was a little too dense for my taste and didn’t resemble any of the flavors from a box mix that I was looking for.
I was about to try a completely new recipe, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this recipe could be a keeper… with a few tweaks. Since I was going from a slightly artificial flavor, I decided to substitute clear vanilla extract with pure vanilla extract. I also liked Sweetapolita’s idea of using egg yolks in addition to the whole eggs, so instead of seven whole eggs, I used five whole eggs and two yolks the second time around, hoping to get a slightly more yellow color and richer flavor. (The color didn’t change but I was happy with the flavor.) The other change I made was adding more baking powder to get the cakes to raise a little more and feel a bit more fluffy.
After making my revisions, I gave the first slice to my toughest critic, Westin. I literally sat next to him as he ate, staring at his face for a glimpse of his first, initial, most honest reaction. Luckily, it was a good one. Two thumbs up. (Phew!)
As for the frosting, I first tried the recipe Grandbaby Cakes provided with her yellow cake, but I found it hard to spread and didn’t love the dense texture, so I’ve included my favorite chocolate frosting recipe below.
The real test will be tomorrow night (11/17) when Brooke and I get together for a live Periscope broadcast about this cake, some tips and tricks, and her taste test. Brooke will also be showing us how to make one of my favorite desserts: peanut butter ice cream. I’m so excited! I hope you’ll join us. Check my Instagram for reminders about when we’ll broadcast.
I hope you enjoy this classic yellow cake with chocolate buttercream!
Photography by Brooke Liason, Female Foodie
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Classic Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
- For the Cake
- 1 cup 226 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup 72.6 g canola oil
- 1 teaspoon 5.6 g salt
- 1 3/4 cups 350 g granulated sugar
- 5 whole eggs room temperature
- 2 eggs yolks room temperature
- 3 cups 345 g cake flour
- 2 teaspoons 8 g baking powder
- 1 cup 240 g sour cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon 4.2 g clear vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon 4.2 g butter extract
- For the Chocolate Frosting
- 2 cups 452 g unsalted butter, slightly cold
- 5 cups 625 g powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
- 1 tablespoon 13 g pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 8 oz. 150 g good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup 57.75 g heavy whipping cream
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.
Instructions
- For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, add parchment and another coat of spray. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, canola oil, salt and sugar on high until fluffy and smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time to the bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated. The mixture should look smooth and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer on low and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Then add half of the sour cream and blend well, followed by another ⅓ of the flour mixture, the second half of the sour cream and lastly, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Add the clear vanilla extract and butter extract and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
- Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Make sure not to over bake.
- Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.
- Once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer or refrigerator to chill before frosting.
- For the Frosting
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the cream and then pour it over the chocolate to melt. Stir until the mixture is smooth and silky. If needed heat the mixture for another 20 to 30 seconds and stir until the chips are melted. Set aside.
- In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, combine beat the butter on medium-high until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer to medium-low and gradually add the melted chocolate ganache. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat again for about one minute.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Stir by hand to push out air pockets.
- Assembly
- After leveling each cake layer, place the first cake layer (top side/crumbly side up) on a cake board that has a little frosting on it (which acts like glue to hold the cake in place).
- Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top and add another cup of frosting. Make sure to get eye level with the cake to check that your frosting is spread evenly across each cake layer.
- When you get the final cake layer, place it top side down on the second layer of frosting. Spread a thin coat of frosting around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Continue to frost and decorate the cake with the remaining frosting.
Hello! Just wanted to let you know – you don’t ever say to include the last half of the sour cream. I assume it’s after the 2nd half of the flour mixture.
I actually just add all of the sour cream between the two flour additions.
I was hoping you can help me out. I’ve attempted this cake a few times and it keeps falling and I fallow your recipe to a tee. Any suggestions?
Help!!! I’ve attempted this cake a few times, fallowing the recipe perfectly, and it keeps falling. I’m mixing everything on low after step 3, everything is room temp… I cant figure out what I’m doing wrong. I also live not to far from you so altitude shouldn’t be a problem.
You may want to check the internal temperature of your oven to make sure it’s reading inside what the outside tells you. I’m actually using the yellow cake as a base for a new cake and I took out half cup of sugar and added 3 tablespoons flour and it’s rising beautifully. Sugar often weighs cakes down, so it may have been too much originally on my part.
Thank you so much! I fallowed your advice and checked the temp of my oven and it was 15 degrees off! I also changed the sugar and flour amounts and the cakes turned out beautiful. Thanks again!
Hi Courtney! I saw this comment about adding flour and taking out sugar. I’m wondering if you changed this recipe to take that into account, or if I should try adding 3 Tbsp. flour and taking out 1/2 c. sugar for a total of 3 c. + 3 Tbsp. flour and 1 1/4 c. sugar. Thanks for your help. You and your cakes are beautiful!
Can u know exactly how many grams of butter u used in the cake recipe, please !
226 grams of butter
Hi! This is the prettiest cake! For the frosting dollops on the top of the cake what tip are you using?
It’s the Wilton 1M
is this batter supposed to be so thick?!? Really hope this turns out good!!
Yes it is.
I am making this for Mother’s Day! Would I be okay to bake the layers Saturday and freeze, and then frost on Sunday with room temp frosting?
Yes, absolutely. I do that all the time. Just take the cake layers out of the freezer about an hour before you frost so they aren’t completely frozen but they’re still chilled and easy to work with.
I am looking for a yellow cake with tall fluffy layers & this one looks perfect. I read a comment about the layers not rising & you suggested amending the ingredients. Do you recommend this as a permanent amendment to the original recipe? Don’t want to waste my time making another thin layer cake.
I think you need to try it the way it’s written first and see if you have any problems with it. You shouldn’t, unless you’re at much higher altitude than me (I’m in Salt Lake).
This cake tasted fine but it wasn’t very yellow in color and it was quite dense. My taste testers said it was more like a pound cake. It was not fluffy at all. I am moving on in my search for a great yellow cake!
I’m sorry to hear that. It’s definitely not supposed to be a dense cake. It’s supposed to be light and fluffy. Maybe you packed in too much flour into your measuring cup or your oven temperature is off and it didn’t bake correctly? Just some variables that create a dense cake.
Hi, can I know which sprinkles did you use- brand n the exact name please. Thanks .
These are just the mixed sprinkles from the grocery store 🙂
Hello Courtney,
Does this cake hold well under fondant?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried. I’m sorry.
Is this cake moist? could I add pudding packet to this recipe?
This cake is totally moist on it’s own. No pudding needed.
Hi Courtney. If I wanted to make enough batter for three 6″ pans instead of three 8″ pans, would you suggest making 2/3 of the recipe? Thanks!
Yes, that will work great.
I’m looking to make a pretty tall stacked cake, probably four-six 8inch layers and four 6inch layers stacked. Do you think this recipe would be too light to stack that much, or would it hold (with proper support of dowels, etc)?
I think it’s ok for a tall one tier cake, but I wouldn’t use it for the base of a multi tier cake
Thanks for the recipe! Is there a substitute for the butter extract that I could use? Thank you!
You can just leave it out.
How long can cakes stay in freezer? How many days in advance can I make this cake?
If wrapped and protected well, cake layers and completed cakes hold up great in the freezer. I have a post about it on here “How to Freeze, Thaw and Transport Cakes”
Hi! If I wanted to make a pineapple cake with this as the base, would it be ok to substitute the oil and 1/2 cup of sour cream for a large can of crushed pineapple? Just trying to figure out how to change out enough liquid for the liquid of the pineapple 😉 Thank you!
Yes I think it would.
Hi, how would I make this for three 9″ rounds?
I would make another 1/2 batch of the recipe.
hi!
Can I add sprinkles to the mix for a funfetti cake? Thanks!
Yes!
Hi Courtney,
I followed your recipe and had an amazing classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe! Its a keeper 🙂
So glad you liked it!
This looks delicious! I was wondering if you had a bake time suggestion if I made these in 6in pans instead?
Bake time and temperature don’t change for four 6-inch pans.
Hi!
Wondering how many this cake serves?
Depends on how you cut it! I can get 16-20 pieces from a cake this size.
Just saw this on your Instagram stories, and I’ve seen most cake bakers do the double non-stick spray methods and I was wondering what brand of spray you use? I tried one years ago and found it left a horrible taste on the cake! So I swore them off for good but now I’m starting to reconsider. (It’s also the only one I could find here at the time but with online ordering and a stock-up trip soon I’m hoping to find a good one)
Pam is totally fine.
Hi I made this yesterday the frosting was amazing but my cake was dry and kind of bland. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
You might have overbaked it! That could be why it’s dry!
I love this recipe and don’t wanna let it go😂 how can I make this recipe into a coconut cream cake??
i have a coconut cream cake on here
Hi! First time I made a cake from scratch! The little pieces I tasted turned out lovely! It did dome (I have fat daddio pans) I googled how to help this, but wondering what you do? Excited to make the frosting and assemble.
I use a cake leveler to cut off the tops to make them flat.
I made this and it tasted great. Although, the cake was quite dense and not as fluffy as I hoped, it definitely needed a few more minutes in the oven. I was so worried about overcooking it though, that I took it out. I’ll try again, thanks so much for the recipe!
HELLO! I CANT WAIT TO TRY THIS CAKE! DO YOU ALLOW THE LAYERS TO THAW A BIT BEFORE FROSTING FROM THE FREEZER? THANK YOU!
Like 20 minutes.
Do I need to make high altitude adjustments? I live in Utah also.
No all of my cakes are already adjusted for high altitude.
I love all your wonderful cooking tips to make beautiful cakes! I have purchased several of your tools to help make it easier. I’m loving the results! I consider myself an excellent baker and have become quite confident with pies, cookies and several bread recipes. Mastering cakes has become my new quest. I have a question regarding your instructions for the yellow cake recipe. Your directions said to beat the sugar and butter for five minutes on high. I feel this is way too long. I think it whips up the batter too much so when it cooks in the oven, it settles and becomes too dense. At least that was my experience. But I loved your tip to put all the refrigerated ingredients at room temperature. That made a real difference and all my layers were super even. I love what you do! It is inspiring!
You should not be mixing the batter for that long. Only the sugar and butter as your first step before any other ingredients are added.
Can you do cupcakes with this recipe? How long would you bake them?
yes! About the same time. Maybe a little less. Keep your eye on them!
Can you replace canola oil with another? Vegetable?
Yes
hi! I made this cake and something tasted off, I think it might have been the extracts. I used a Kroger imitation vanilla extract and a Loranns butter emulsion. What do you suggest? Should I get a butter extract instead of emulsion? And what type of clear vanilla extract? Thank you!
Yes butter extract is better!
Hi Courtney! I made this cake yesterday, following your instructions to the T, and it turned out fluffy and so pretty! But now I need to know which butter extract you use? I used McCormick brand and I was definitely not a fan of that flavor in the cake. :/
Oh shoot. That’s usually the one I use.
Hi, i noticed you said all of your recipes are already adjusted for high altitude. I am not at high altitude. Do i have to make any adjustments to any of your cake recipes or do i make them as is? All of your cakes look amazing and i really want to try making some of them. Thanks!
Just make it as is! It will be great!
This looks delicious! I was thinking of making a mini cake out of this. Like 4” possibly. Would you suggest baking in a 9×13? And for how long?
Sure! It might take a little longer! Keep your eye on it.
Thank you!
This recipe is a keeper! The cake turned out moist and fluffy and the frosting was yummy and easy to spread on my cake. Your site is my go to for cake recipes – I bake an average of two cakes a month for an organization I volunteer for. Thank you for such reliably good recipes
Yay I love that!
I love making cakes!! For a while I was in a slump. Thank you for giving me new excitement and motivation! Loves your training class at the pinners conference! file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/98/08/E07700CE-DD7D-4742-B522-2CAC2AA27E29/IMG_1081.HEIC
Thank you!!
Hi Courtney! Where do you get your sprinkles from?
Hi! I usually get them from Orson Gygi.
Hi, I am hoping to make cupcakes for my son’s upcoming birthday. How would you adjust the recipe and baking technique for cupcakes rather than cake? Thanks! -Emily
pretty! 💜✨
I live in the Netherlands and we don’t really use butter extract here. I was wondering if I could leave it out or replace it with real butter? If I can replace it with real butter (or something else), how do I do this?
Thanks, Perihan!
No need to replace butter extract. Just leave it out.
Hi! I am making a taco cake for my best friend and I’m going to be cutting the cake in half (after being baked) so it’s looks like a shell and the middle filling. Since it will but upright and not stacked like a regular cake layer (flats) do you think this recipe will hold? Thank you
Its worth a try! My yellow cake is a better option than my chocolate for this!
Hello! How can I make this with regular flour ? I do not have cake flour and I am making a cake due tomorrow :/
https://cakebycourtney.com/easy-baking-substitutions/ look here
Hi!!
How many layers does it make?
What is a good substitute for sour cream? I live in Brazil and they don’t sell it here
Thank you!!!
Courtney says plain yogurt can be used 1:1 as a substitute for sour cream
Hi Courtney,
Do you happen to know if this cake would work if I added crushed Oreo’s to the batter for an Oreo drip cake?
Sincerely,
Renee
I am making this today, but my nephew really wants salted caramel somewhere in the cake. Would it work to add a little between the layers with the frosting? Or just drizzle on top? I don’t want to ruin the cake by adding something that will weigh it down.
Thanks!!!
I think the salted caramel would be delish drizzled between the layers.
I made this as a cake before and it was perfect! I made recently into cupcakes and my cupcakes looked so fluffy, until I took them out of the oven and as they cooled they shrunk so much in size and were no longer fluffy. Any tips on reason for this and how to avoid?!
They may have been overbaked a tad if they shrank. It may also be from too much moisture so depending on where you live you may need to add a tad bit more flour.
Would one batch of this work for a 11” x 15” x 2” sheet cake?
Hi Courtney! What frosting tip did you use to create the swirls on top of the cake in the pic?
the Wilton 1m
The cake was moist and delicious. I will
make it again. Thank you.
I made two batches but ran out of sour cream. To make it up I added a half cup of vanilla flavored greek yogurt. Still turned out great.
I just made this recipe and the fluffiness and taste is on point! But my cakes had spots in them that would not cook, which made it impossible to stack and use. What could have gone wrong? Thanks!
Hmmm, that’s interesting… I wish I could see a picture. Sounds like it could be an oven issue or the ingredients didn’t mix evenly. Feel free to email me a picture and I’ll try to dissect it a bit more. [email protected]
Made cupcakes with the yellow cake recipe and using a 1/4 c scoop, got 32 cupcakes. Perfect for the two dozen order I had and allowed for some taste testing extras. ❤️
I think this will be my go-to cake from now on. It is perfect in every way! I made it with gluten-free flour and the texture was beautiful; not a bit dry or grainy. Thank you, Courtney, for another excellent recipe.
This chocolate frosting recipe is my absolute favorite! If I wanted to do a 10″ Milk Bar style cake, should I double the recipe?
Can you make this cake GF? If so, what’s the measurements and best flour for that? It’s my husbands birthday and he’s GF and yellow cake is his fav!!
I use the same measurements and just sub the flour for “Cup4cup” gf flour.
I would like to make this cake as a 2 tier for a special birthday. Would 1 batch make 2 9’ cake for a base? Or can just double the recipe for the whole 2 tier cake, ?
Yes one batch for 2 9 inch layers.
Made this cake and frosting yesterday. It was the bomb!!! I have been looking for a great yellow cake/chocolate frosting recipe. My search is over! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
This makes me so happy!
Is it better to use an extract over an emulsion? We love yellow cake with chocolate frosting but I was curious if using one over the other would change the flavor?
They just have different bases! But it does give a different taste.
I made this recipe exactly as is except in 3 9” cake rounds. I measured my ingredients by weight. It turned out delicious and beautiful. My husband and kids loved it! He has an obsession with boxed yellow cake and this gave all of us exactly what we wanted! So much better than from a box though! Thank you. I’ll be making the PB&J cake next and my kiddos can’t wait.
So happy you loved it!
How would I need to change this recipe to make it into a dozen cupcakes instead?
You’ll use half the recipe for cupcakes and bake for a little less time.