Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting (From Scratch!)
This fluffy vanilla cake recipe is the absolute best yellow cake from scratch and paired with the silky smooth chocolate frosting, you can’t beat it for a classic birthday cake or any other celebration!
Are you a box mix yellow cake person? Or a from-scratch yellow cake person?
Truth be told, it’s REALLY hard to replicate that always-moist-and-fluffy texture that everyone loves about a box cake mix, but at the same time, we also love homemade, right?!
It took me a LONG time to find a homemade yellow cake that I really, really loved. Box cake mixes seem to always bake up perfectly fluffy and moist yellow cakes, and the ones I’ve had from bakeries have been great as well, but I just couldn’t seem to replicate it at home no matter how many recipes I tried. (Consequently, I haven’t had the same issue with chocolate cakes! See: Snickers Cake – the base recipe for all of my chocolate cakes!)
Many were too dense, too dry, too chiffon-like, too fussy in their preparation. I just wanted a fantastic yellow cake recipe I could use for birthday cakes that was easy to make and turned out delicious. I came across this recipe from Joy while I was on the hunt for yet another recipe to test out for Joseph’s birthday.
This was IT. The recipe that had eluded me for years!
I love that this can easily be mixed together in one bowl using my hand mixer; there’s nothing fussy about the ingredients or preparation, and it produces an absolutely perfect yellow cake. The layers are light but sturdy, buttery and moist, and the ideal base for your very favorite chocolate frosting.
I used the chocolate frosting recipe from my ultimate chocolate cupcakes, and it was a wonderful companion to this cake. The frosting is more buttery than sugary, satiny smooth and full of rich chocolate flavor. It glides on like a dream!
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
Yellow cake tends to be the elusive unicorn of homemade baking; so many cakes can turn out too dry, too crumbly, too dense, too cornbread-like, and I have one major piece of advice for ensuring yellow cake perfection:
Make sure all of the ingredients listed “at room temperature” ARE ACTUALLY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.
I’ve totally been there and have used still-cool butter, eggs or dairy in a recipe when I’m in a hurry, but it’s actually vitally important here. Having all of those ingredients at room temperature ensures that they emulsify, which traps air in the batter and, once in the oven, that air expands and produces a fluffy cake.
Room temperature ingredients also ensure that the batter comes together well and is ultra-smooth, which keeps the resulting cake from being crumbly or cornbread-like.
Every recipe binder needs a fabulous recipe to make yellow cake from scratch; a recipe that can be transformed into the most special birthday cake, and this is definitely the recipe. It got rave reviews at Joseph’s party, and I’ve since made it again and again to countless rounds of huge applause.
This is the only yellow cake recipe you need!
Five years ago: Morning Buns
Six years ago: Greek Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting (From Scratch!)
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2¼ cups (281.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Frosting:
- 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) Dutch-processed cocoa
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup (255.75 ml) light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (226.8 ml) milk or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
Equipment Used:
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the buttermilk and beat on low for 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 additional minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 33 to 38 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks and cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: In a food processor, process the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powdered, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of bowl, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter and spread 1 cup of the frosting evenly over the surface. Place the second cake layer on top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. The cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 day before serving. Once cut, leftovers should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- You can make this cake in 9-inch pans, you will just need to reduce the baking time slightly. It can also be made in a 9x13-inch pan (again, reduce baking time).
- The only substitution I'm aware of for the corn syrup is Lyle's golden syrup, which has a more pronounced flavor. If you cannot find (or do not want to use) corn syrup, I would recommend using The Best Chocolate Frosting.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in February 2016; updated in September 2019 with new photos and extra recipe tips.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
I’ve never made a yellow cake from scratch before, so I was a bit nervous it might be dry. I made it yesterday for a family bday gathering. It was DELICIOUS. The texture was amazing…a little more dense than a box cake but so moist. The flavor was wonderful. (I did use organic, grass-fed, unsalted butter…which I’ve never baked with before so I don’t know how much that would impact the flavor.) I used two 8″ round (light metal) Wilton cake pans. Mine were done at the min time of 33 minutes…baked up very nicely and didn’t sink. This wasn’t that much more time-consuming than a box cake and the taste was 100 times better. I’ll never go back to the box!! :) Thank you for this recipe!
I too have been searching for a great yellow cake recipe. Why is it so difficult to find a good recipe for such a food staple. I just made my second batch of cupcakes using this recipe and they are fantastic! Thank you so much!!!
I made this cake yesterday and it is moist and delicious! I quit using box cake mixes years ago and I have been looking for a good yellow cake recipe. Now I’ve found it! It is moist and tender. I baked it in a 13 x 9 pan at 350 F and it took approx. 35-38 minutes. I also had to “make” my own buttermilk because I didn’t want to go the store. I put 1 T. of white vinegar in my 2-cup liquid measure and then added milk to equal 1 and 1/4 cups. I let the “buttermilk” sit out out with the eggs and butter to come to room temp. I did not make the frosting recipe included here as I did not have bittersweet chocolate on hand, only squares of Baker’s unsweetened chocolate. Instead I used the old Betty Crocker French Silk Frosting recipe. I am very particular when it comes to cake texture and flavor. This one is a keeper! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I needed a birthday cake for a co-worker and didn’t know her favourite flavour (I’m new), so went with this (I trusted you that it is an American classic – I’m new to the US). I made it in a Bundt pan (I recently moved and, apparently, didn’t bring my normal round cake pans) and it would out amazingly (I did have too much icing, but solved that by eating it on bananas, banana bread, from a spoon, etc.).
I do have two questions:
1) My cocoa powder is clearly much denser than yours (3/4 cup would be way more than 63g). Should I go with volume or weight? I kind of went in between.
2) Do you think (if baked in a Bundt pan), the batter would support a tunnel of dulce de leche? I have another co-worker’s birthday coming up (and quickly became the unofficial birthday cake maker) and I know she loves dulce de leche (on a work trip to South America, she had a dulce de leche pastry daily). Rather than making a caramel cake or somesuch, I was thinking of making this cake but adding some homemade dulce de leche (i.e. putting in some of the cake batter, layering in the dulce de leche, covering with the remaining batter). I’m worried though that the dulce de leche sinking to the bottom.
Hi Julie, I always go by weight when available, but if the amount you used worked, then that’s okay! I’m not sure about the tunnel of dulce de leche. It’s a much softer cake than, say, a pound cake so I don’t know how it would hold up. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!
I’ll give it a try – worst is I end up with a caramel cake! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply even with all that is going on.
Can you help me make into 3 layers? Do you just 1.5 times everything?
Hi Dee, Yes, that’s what I would do, or you could straight double it (might be easier) and bake up cupcakes with the leftover batter.
I made this last night and while I like the cake fine the icing is not my favorite. I believe the corn syrup gave this a strange texture and maybe didn’t need the semisweet chocolate.
I made this the other day, made them into cupcakes. It was so good, so much better than box cake. I didn’t have buttermilk so I used milk with some vinegar. Thank you so much!
Looks so great!!! Curious, can I make this two days in advance? What are your suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Tamara, Yes, you could! I would store it in a cake saver (airtight) at room temperature.
Could this be made for a 1/2 sheet cake
Hi Michelle, This amount of batter could be used for a 9×13-inch pan. If you want to use a different size, you can see how they would compare and if you need to scale the batter up or down using this chart:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
This cake is amazing!! My husband is a fan of boxed yellow cake but I think I’ve officially converted him to scratch cakes now! I can’t comment on the frosting as I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used a different recipe, but this cake will absolutely be my go-to recipe for all future cake-worthy events. The only substitutions I made were using Butter-Vanilla Arome (I’m in Germany and couldn’t find plain old vanilla extract), and mixing everything by hand instead of using a mixer. The cake did fall a bit in the middle but I’m sure that was due to taking it out of the oven a few minutes too early…I was excited, ok?? Thanks for the wonderful recipe! :)
Is there a significance to using the food processor for the frosting? Mine seems to destroy and liquefy everything I put in it but my kitchen aide always turns out beautiful frosting with the whip. I am super excited to try this, I have also been on the on going search for the perfect vanilla cake!
Hi Sara, It really makes it silky smooth! I love it, but I know others have used a mixer to make with decent results if you’d rather go that route.
OMG! This cake is the bomb! Found my new go-to yellow cake. Made it for a birthday here at work – gone in about 3 seconds. Thank you. Great recipe. Love the frosting. I have never made frosting in a food processor before, but this turn out great – nice and smooth, easy to spread. All around great recipe.
My cake turned out heavy and dense. Tasted great but was more like a pound cake with lots of holes. I’m thinking maybe the butter and sugar were not whipped long enough but I’m not sure. I love recipes with buttermilk in them so if you have any suggestions I would be most grateful. I use mostly all your recipes with great results. Thanks for the inspirations
Hi Janet, Oh no! Yes, be sure that the butter and sugar have been whipped until they are truly light and fluffy – don’t skimp this step! Also be sure to give the eggs a full 1 minute beating in between each addition – this also helps to give rise to the cake.
Could I use the same measurements for a 12X16 sheet cake?
Hi Jocelin, Yes, a 12×16 pan has almost the same exact amount volume as two 8-inch rounds.
I only have salted butter on hand. Think it will still turn out?
Hi Debra, Yes, you could just cut the amount of salt called for in the recipe in half.
Hello, this cake and frositing looks delicious. Tomorrow is my birthday and I plan on making cupcakes for work so I was wondering, can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
Best,
-Blanca
Just made this, it looks wonderful, the frosting was easy and really nice to work with. I scaled down the whole recipe for the frosting a little because I only had 200g of chocolate and I still had quite a bit left over.
I’m planning on using this cake and icing recipe to make a birds nest cake for Easter. Will this icing be stii enough to hold the shape of the grass pastry tip or should I use regular chocolate buttercream instead?
Birds nest cake
http://cdn.diycozyhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/easter-bird-nest-cake.jpg
Hi Brianne, Yes, I think it would be just fine!
My daughter requested a Barbie cake for her birthday today (you know, the kind that look like Barbie’s skirt… :-)) and I made this yellow cake recipe. I made 1 1/2 times the recipe to fit in a couple of Pyrex bowls. I had a bit of extra batter after filling the bowls where I wanted them, so I made a few cupcakes too. I tried one of the cupcakes already, and I gotta say that this is one of the very best homemade cake recipes I’ve ever made. I make more homemade cakes than I do with mixes, and I have always had my yellow cakes (no matter which recipe I use) turn out with a really big crumb, almost like a cornbread texture. This one was SO light and fluffy and delicious! It will be my new go-to cake recipe, no more searching required! Thank you!
I had to make the same kind of cake for my daughter with an Elsa doll, and the cake as a skirt, and I used this yellow cake recipe…it was by far the best yellow cake I have ever had. My husband and I prefer chocolate, but we both raved about this cake for days…moist, delicious flavor, easy to mix up…it is a keeper for sure!
Hi, I am wondering if I can create this cake into a fire truck cake (Betty Crocker idea) using 3 8.5 bread pans?
Hi Dylan, I don’t see why not!
Hi Michelle, one question please.Can I doubt this recipe ? Thanks,
Hi Carol, I think you mean double? I haven’t tried scaling it so I can’t give a definitive answer, but if you try it let me know how it turns out!
I doubled the cake and frosting and they both turned out beautifully! I got 2 10″ and 1 6″ rounds from the doubled batter. I frosted both of those and had some leftover, but I’d always rather have too much frosting than not enough and you can just put the extra in the freezer! My mixer (5 quart) and food processor (4 qt, I think?) were both full but could handle the task. I have a go-to yellow cake recipe that’s more dense and crumb-y, but I really like how fluffy this one is. I might like my regular chocolate frosting better but I love how silky and easy to spread this one is! I used semi-sweet chocolate but I think I’ll try it with milk next time and see if I like that better.
I made this cake over the weekend for our anniversary. It turned out great. I shared it with several people and got wonderful comments. Thanks for the great recipe. I will definitely make it again!
This classic yellow cake is the ultimate comfort food. It’s delicious and moist, and the chocolate frosting is the perfect thing to complement it. It can be fun to garnish the top of the cake with chocolate chips or coconut shavings to give it a little something extra.
Looks Great!!! Could this make cupcakes as well?
Hi Amber, I haven’t tried to make cupcakes with this particular recipe, but if you give it a try, let me know how they turn out!
I have tried making cupcakes with this recipe. It makes wonderful cupcakes. Be sure not to over full the liners.
I use this for cupcakes too. Be real serious about the 2/3 full cake liner. These suckers grow! I bake for 16 minutes and switch racks halfway through.
I’ve now made this cake twice. The first time I did no high altitude adjustments and cooked for 30 minutes. It was dry and I believe over cooked. The second time I added an egg and reduced the sugar by a 1/4 cup and I cooked it for 25 minutes. Although it was better, it still was dry. If I were to make it again, I would likely reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes, which seems crazy since the recipe says 33-38. I would also like to adjust the frosting so that it is more of a milk chocate frosting perhaps by switching out the Dutch cocoa for milk? I’d love to hear other high altitude experiences with this recipe.
I did make this cake and it came out dry. I am at 6800 feet though, so I will try again with the high altitude adjustment listed. The frosting was amazing, but mine was quite a bit darker. It was smooth like the inside of a chocolate truffle!
This recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it, I haven’t really made a lot of yellow cakes but this one sounds perfect.
I love your recipes, but have recently move from SE PA to Utah and I am now at over 5,000 feet in elevation. Can you make any recommendations for high altitude modifications? I am really having a difficult time learning to adjust my baking here!
Hi Alicia, I have a page with tips for high altitude baking that might help:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/high-altitude-baking/
Michelle, can this recipe be adapted for cupcakes? And if so, would anything but cooking time be reduced do you think??
Hi Amy, I haven’t tried this particular recipe for cupcakes, but I think it should work well. I would start with just adjusting the baking time.
One question please Michelle..Can too much liquid cause a cake to collapse after it is removed from the oven? Thanks.
That is one of the reasons why a cake can collapse after coming out of the oven, but it’s not one of the most common. If the recipe is tested and you’ve had success with it before, the most common reason is underbaking.