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!
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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]
What a nice recipe, thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Can’t wait to try this one!
Turned out tasting more like a sweet cornbread. The kitchen smelled great and the cakes looked beautiful but the taste wasn’t for me.
I made this cake for my son’s birthday and it was absolutely delicious! I did a different frosting, so I cannot comment on that, but the cake itself was awesome and perfectly moist. I will be using this recipe again for sure! Thank you!
Its was very easy to use the steps,i baked a fantastic cake, thank for a recipe.
Hi! I LOVE your blog. Have been following it for many years and have loved every recipe that I’ve tried. This one however, was not one of my favorites. Made it for my 13 year old daughters birthday and I must have done something wrong. I cooked it for less time than suggested and the cake was dry and the frosting was different. Not sure if I was just having an off day in baking, but if there is any insight as to what you think I could do differently next time, it would be appreciated. The frosting came out oily too. Not use to using corn syrup in frosting. Love your ultimate oreo cookie cake. Have made that one 3 times in the last month and that one is always a show stopper. I guess compared to that cake, this one had big shoes to fill. LOL
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes! Love your work!
Sincerely,
Alexandria
I followed this recipe to a T and it came out dense, heavy and kind of like a lighter, finer cornbread. No light and fluffy here at all! I can’t even imagine what I did wrong, as I don’t see where I would have done wrong? ! Unfortunately it was for a birthday and thankfully I had a back up. Exact measurements, exact ingredients, directions followed…maybe I’m used to cakes from a box.
Wow, this cake recipe is so good and delicious, thank you for sharing your blog
I usually have to resort to a box cake mix whenever I want to make a yellow cake, but no more! This turned out light and fluffy! Will use from now on! Thanks for the great recipe!
Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes? using paper liners? Also for the frosting… i’ve made simple syrup (2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, boiled for 5 mins, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice) for many desserts, can that be used in place of the corn syrup?
This is actually my favorite recipe for yellow cupcakes: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/classic-yellow-cupcakes-with-chocolate-frosting/. I haven’t tried a simple syrup in place of corn syrup, but if you’ve done so successfully, then go for it!
I love your yellow cake recipe, and would like to make a 2-layer, 6-inch version for my daughter’s 16th birthday. Can you advise on adjusting the ingredients’ measures? Many thanks.
Hi Glynis, You would want to use 2/3 of the ingredient amounts. I hope that helps!!
This yellow cake is amazing! Soft and fluffy while melting in your mouth. I actually halved the recipe and used 3 separate 6inch round pans (I like smaller cakes). It took a little longer than a half hour to bake, but turned out great! I used my own chocolate frosting and it was truly delicious. This was also pretty simple to make. Look no further for a yellow cake recipe—this is it!
I was really craving something simple and basic today, and this hit the spot. I really love the frosting recipe! It’s not as intense as the one I use, more to my liking. Thank you for sharing!!!
You’re welcome, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I did something worng with the frosting. I ended up throwing it away and used the one you recommended for cupcakes but still had to add milk to get it creamy. It’s good but I did something wrong. Maybe I used have used 4 oz bar of chocolate
I am out of buttermilk is there something else that can be used in recipe
Hi Diana, You can use a simple substitute for buttermilk, found here: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/substitutions/
This recipe looks great. Can I make the cake two weeks ahead of time and freeze it? Of course I wouldn’t make the frosting ahead of time.
Thank you!
Yes, you can definitely do that!
This is the best moist cake I have found
The recipe says 2 and 1/4 cups of AP flour is 319 grams – however on the bags of both White Lily and King Arthur flour 30 grams is equivalent to 1/4 cup thus 2 and 1/4 cups would be 270 grams so why the discrepancy? I measure in grams when baking so I am confused. Thank You
Hi Pam, I use Cook’s Illustrated’s standard measure of 5 ounces = 1 cup of AP flour; many different sources use different measurements ranging from 4.25 to 5 ounces.
What brand of cocoa powder do you use?
Hi Lauryn, I like using either Valrhona or Bensdorp from King Arthur Flour.
Made this for my daughter’s birthday, very moist and yummy thanks.
Hi, I made this recipe for my husbands birthday. The cake seems to be good but the icing has a very flubber-like consistency. It stuck to the cake okay but I was only able to get a thin layer on, and now I have a ton left over. Do you have any idea what might have caused this so I can avoid it next time?
Hi Rachel, I’m not sure what you mean by flubber-like? Could you explain a little better and I can try to help troubleshoot?
I made this for my son’s birthday/Mother’s Day brunch. Great texture and perfect crumb. I made a different chocolate buttercream (I was out of dutch precess cocoa) and the not very sweet cake was the perfect vehicle for the frosting. I gave the last two pieces of the cake to my son to take home and was a bit sorry about that later when I wanted a second piece. This wonderful recipe is now a goto for me. Thanks!!
I made this for my husband’s birthday. I’ve made many yellow cakes over the years, but I’ve never been able to replicate the soft texture you get from a box mix, which is what he actually would prefer I make. :) This one comes pretty close! I subbed out the buttermilk (which I never have in the fridge) for an equal amount of plain (non-greek) whole milk yogurt, and because I used 9-inch pans, they were done at 25 minutes. Thanks!
Loved the texture – it was light and fluffy; however, there was not a lot of taste. Could the vanilla be increased? Or other ideas?
Hi Ann, Absolutely you could add more vanilla!
I don’t have a food processor. (This is a problem for me with many Cook’s recipes; they assume everyone has one.) How can I make the frosting without it, please? I do have a hand mixer. Thank you –
Hi Lee, I think a hand mixer would be okay. It might not be as silky smooth, but will still work!
Thank you! And congratulations on your beautiful new child and healthy other two!
I don’t have a food processor either and have made the icing (and cake) a number of times. The icing always comes out perfectly (I cannot compare to using a food processor, but it seems quite silky smooth to me).
I would give zero stars if I could! Please no one EVER EVER try this recipe! You’ll be WASTING time, effort and ingredients! The cake was very squishy and gritty…. the sides were burnt to a crisp and the middle was practically still batter. Also, they never even rose…. I didn’t even try the icing because if you can’t even make a good cake recipe you sure in the heck can’t make a good icing recipe! Worst cake recipe I’ve ever tried! 😡
Just made this cake. It is moist, delicate, buttery. It’s simple to make and delicious. Will definitely make this again.
This cake was so good! I don’t really like yellow cake (or any cake that is not chocolate) but this was so delicious! It is very moist and fluffy and it was just great! I will always make this recipe! Thank you so much!
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday and it was delicious! The cake was not dry at all and the frosting was perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe, a keeper for sure!
I’ve baked this yellow cake and chocolate frosting recipe mulitiple times. I’m about to bake it again in the next couple of minutes and thought I should let everyone know how great this cake is. One of my favorite yellow cake recipes out there. Perfectly moist and buttery sponge, rich and creamy chocolate frosting.
If you’re looking for a yellow cake/chocolate frosting recipe, look no further. This is it. I highly recommend browneyedbaker’s cake recipes. Very talented baker. I also made her Boston Cream Pie cake. Just started following on Pinterest. Really looking forward to trying out most of her recipes.
Thanks again for sharing.