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]
My Mom wants me to bake her a yellow cake with Dulce De leche center and chocolate frosting.
I want to try your recipe for the cake and frosting; however I’m using 9 inch pans, and I’m not sure of the cook time or what temperature to use for the oven. Can you help me please?
Hi Yolanda, Keep the oven temperature the same, but decrease the baking time by 5-7 minutes (start checking early to be sure they don’t overcook).
This cake is perfect!! Okay, technically I made cupcakes, but they are perfect –light, soft, delicious. I took a risk and doubled the recipe and it fit perfectly in my 5 qt stand mixer bowl. I’ll never need to use store-bought yellow cake mix again.
After a disaster with a yellow cake recipe from another website (cake fell like there was no tomorrow), I came across this recipe and started again. My cake turned out perfectly! And the frosting, using semi-sweet chips, was absolutely delicious. Everyone who had a slice loved it. Next time, I’m going to slice the layers in half for a 4-layer cake and double the frosting recipe. I’m wondering if those who have ended up with a more cornbread-like cake are creaming the butter and sugar correctly (?) … King Arthur has a video about the correct way to do this. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
You’re welcome, Shannon! So glad you enjoyed the cake!
I want to make three 8 in cakes. Should I double the recipe or just add half to it?
Everything is true, down to the frosting gliding on so easily. Not one crumb came up, not one drop dripped down.
Hi there, would the frosting hold up covered at room temp if I baked the cake and frosted it a day in advance? Also, I’m wondering why some vanilla cakes have you incorporate the wet and dry by alternating vs. This recipe where you add all the dry and then the wet ingredients? Just curious. Thanks!
Hi Erin, Yes you could definitely make and frost this a day in advance without any issues. As for adding the wet ingredients into the dry, it helps minimize gluten development in cake batter, and it also helps to prevent flour clumps from forming. Hope that helps!
For the frosting, what if I don’t have Dutch processed cocoa and instead use regular cocoa?
Hi Amy, Regular cocoa will okay in the frosting; the flavor will just be a bit less rich.
I think I put the chocolate in the frosting while it was to hot and the butter melted what can I do to fix it? It became really greasy and I hope it will taste good. Thanks
I love this yellow cake.it’s easy even better it’s delicious. I made the chocolate buttercream instead perfecto
Hi
Can we turn this into a chocolate cake? If so, how many grams of cocoa powder would I put in? And it there anything else that would need changing?
Thank you
Hi Tania, This would not easily convert to a chocolate cake. If you’d like to make a chocolate cake, I suggest this recipe (I use that base chocolate cake recipe for everything!): https://www.browneyedbaker.com/peanut-butter-cup-overload-cake/
Can I use real milk instead of buttermilk
You’ll need to use buttermilk because of the reaction it has with the baking soda, which helps to create rise in the cake.
you left eggs out of recipe?
Hi Ann, No, they’re in there… 3 eggs.
I just used this recipe for a 9×13 cake and mmmmm!!!! Soooo tasty! I didn’t have any buttermilk, and like someone below said, I put 2 tbsp vinegar into a 2 cup measuring cup and poured milk until it reached 1 and 1/4 cup, and followed the rest of the recipe. We all loved it! We’re almost half way done. I have a favorite chocolate frosting recipe that I used that went perfectly with the cake! Thank you so much!!! This will be my go-to yellow cake recipe!
cake batter is made going to try it as a bunt cake, I’ll keep you posted.
I feel like my sister., she complains that there are only 2% women in her field. Well I just baked this cake and wanted to leave a comment and I feel like I am only one of two men here. Anyhow, this was my first cake, turned out great. Not too sweet, though I do hope to find a sweeter variation. I went with semisweet chocolate, may try dark later, but I doubt I will want to try milk chocolate as that is too sweet.
My only complaint is that my mixer kept kicking out cocoa and flour during mixing, much worse than when making cookies.
Also, I’d like a more fudge like icing to try as well.
Hi Chris, So happy to have you here! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cake. I’m also working on a great fudge icing, so stay tuned!
Hello! Could you please tell me why yellow cakes get over brown from the bottom?
Hi Marium, They get a little brown just from the baking process, but shouldn’t be too dark. If you use non-stick pans, then reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees.
Hi! I’m wondering about adding sprinkles to the batter to make this a yellow funfetti cake? My twins will turn 2 next week and I want to make them something fun & delicious!
Hi Joey, You could definitely do that! Happy birthday to your twins!! :)
Hi. First, I made this cake and it was delicious!
Most of the yellow cake recipes I’ve looked at use 1 cup of butter for this amount of flour. Can you tell me how using less butter (1/2 cup) affects the texture and flavor of this cake? Thank you!
Hi Peter, I’m glad you enjoyed the cake!
As to your question, a higher fat ratio in the cake can oftentimes cause a cake to be too doughy or crumbly once baked and cooled.
Hi! I made this as a lemon cake by adding 2 Tbs lemon juice and the zest of two lemons to the batter. I then frosted it with lemon cream cheese frosting. Truly delicious cake recipe; thank you for posting.
I must say, Michelle, I really enjoyed this cake recipe.
Instead of doing a two layer 8-inch cake, I made a 6 layer cake, I decided to make it really tall as a 6 inch cake. Reduced the baking time to 17 minutes. Perfect. The flavor and texture were both excellent and it held up exceptionally well to both funfetti buttercream and fondant in the rainbow unicorn cake that I practiced a few weeks ago for my friend’s birthday. It was nice and sturdy, but not super dense, which was lovely. Plus, the batter didn’t freak out when I added food coloring to it.
I can’t speak as to the chocolate frosting because I used the Wilton American Buttercream recipe, instead (the birthday girl doesn’t like chocolate). The real cake gets made this weekend, so I’ll be sure to tag you when I post pictures on my blog and social media pages!
Thanks for sharing!
Your cake sounds amazing! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop back and leave a review!
Hi! I have made this recipe twice. It’s great! But every time I make the frosting it’s pretty dark. Could it be because of the type of cocoa powder I used? I used Hershey’s dark chocolate, and semi sweet chips. Still delicious but very dark.
Hi Chynna, The type of cocoa powder and chocolate could definitely play a role in how dark a chocolate frosting turns out.
Hello! Do you know if you could substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour? I love the texture of cake flour.
Hi Meagan, You could try it! I haven’t done it, so let me know how it turns out!
I’ve been reading the comments hoping to find the answer to my question….. I wanted to know how this cake tastes using Cake Flour…I see the question and was wondering how her’s turned out…. I always use all organic ingredients and every recipe I have ever tried and they always turn out dry and crumbly….. more like a cornbread…. every single time. : (
Do you think its because of the organic ingredients?
Hi Nora, I don’t think organic ingredients have anything to do with it; that’s actually the most common complaint about butter-based vanilla cakes and cupcakes. If you overmix the batter or don’t have the ingredients at room temperature, it can cause that issue.
This cake works perfectly using cake flour. You just need to add 2 Tbsp extra cake flour for every cup of all purpose flour in the recipe. So, an extra 4 1/2 Tbsps.
I have been looking for a stellar yellow cake recipe and was so glad to find this one! It worked perfectly for 24 cupcakes for my son’s school birthday treat and they were a hit. Moist, great texture and a perfect balance with the chocolate almond frosting I made for them. Delicious and something I can easily add to and use again and again.
This cake is the best cake, like…ever. It’s dense, yet moist and bouncy, chewey but soft. I love the cake as is, no frosting. But the frosting is amazing too! This frosting also makes excellent fudge.
Also want to point out to people complaining it tastes like cornbread, you really need to go the full amount of time with the mixer and at the correct speed. The air is what makes the cake as well as the brand and quality of flour.
Can i use salted butter for the frosting? I have one stick unsalted and then the rest woupd ve salted, could this work?
Hi Julianna, Yes, that would be okay.
Great recipe and flexible! Used only 2 eggs and was out of buttermilk, so mixed some plain yogurt and almond milk together. Turned out great! I am at 6100′ so I decreased the baking powder by a smidgen and same with the sugar. Moist yet light and airy. Thank you BEB!
I find a cake has a better turnout when the ratio of flour and sugar is 1:1. And you separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the creamed flour and sugar mixture and folding the soft whipped egg whites in as last step.
This recipe is horrible! My cake came out tasting like cornbread! Ugh. Birthday cake ruined.
Made this cake using 2 8 inch pans as stated in recipe. Batter overflowed all over oven making a huge mess.
Hi Jane, Were they standard 2-inch high pans? There’s no way they should overflow standard cake pans.
How could I adapt this yellow cake recipe for a Pig Pickin cake with mandarin oranges and the juice from the can of oranges so the cake batter won’t be too wet?
Hi Lisa, I’ve never heard of that kind of cake, so I’m really not sure, but you would need to reduce the buttermilk to account for the extra liquid, but I’m not sure how much?