Moist yellow cake recipe that gives you ideal results on every occasion! No extra questioning how your cake will flip out — this recipe is easy and savory! And that you just may well additionally spend it for a layer cake or cupcakes.

For years I weak my Granny’s Feather Cake recipe when baking a yellow birthday cake, however I repeatedly chanced on it to be a little bit of dry. The recipe labored huge as a snide for Granny’s Pineapple Cake due to pineapple juices soaked into the cake layers.
Nonetheless if you wanted to provide a easy yellow cake with chocolate frosting, that recipe wasn’t so huge. So I started playing around and after tweaking the recipe MANY instances over time, I now have what I judge is the BEST and consistently moist yellow cake recipe!
What’s the adaptation between white and yellow cake?
It all comes all the tactic down to eggs! White cakes depend completely on egg whites and generally even sure vanilla so there’s no tint from the vanilla. Some white cakes additionally sub in shortening or oil for some or all of the butter to handle the cake essential extra white.
Wedding cakes are generally white cakes and are a lighter, extra ethereal cake.
I lift a ethical, moist yellow cake myself. Yellow cakes are made with complete eggs and some (like this one) a mixture of complete eggs and some egg yolks. And that you just may well additionally spend pure vanilla extract as successfully.
So what’s vanilla cake? Since each and each white and yellow cake recipes demand vanilla, then if the recipe calls for ideal egg whites (presumably one or two complete eggs) it’s generally a white cake. And if it calls for complete eggs then it’s a yellow cake. Also, a vanilla cake recipe generally calls for additional vanilla so the flavour is stronger.
Birthday cake
Our family loves classic yellow cake for a birthday cake, generally with easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, well-liked white Buttercream Frosting, or Cream Cheese Frosting.
This recipe is so versatile due to that you just may well additionally spend it for cupcakes or a sheet cake. And I’ve remodeled the recipe to a smaller quantity in my One Layer Cake recipe if you’d lift to provide a smaller cake.
- Stand mixer – the reverse creaming reach weak on this yellow cake recipe is essential more uncomplicated if you’ve got a ethical stand mixer. My well-liked is that this one from Kitchen Motivate. This thing gets a exercise in my kitchen due to it’s ethical for SO MANY THINGS!
- Ultimate quality cake pans – there’s no must journey to strong point food stores for ethical cooking tools–that you just may well additionally score all the pieces you need exact on Amazon. Loyal produce definite you score the genuine quality. I admire these pans from Nordic Ware due to they’re aluminum and consistently ethical quality.
- Spherical parchment paper liners – score your self a pack of these babies and you’ll surprise what took you goodbye…no extra measuring and cutting!
- Silicone cake pan strips – I supplied these Rose Levy Beranbaum’s High-quality Cake Strips about a years ago and now I never bake a cake without them. The strips help your cakes bake up extra evenly.
Ingredients
- Cake flour
- Butter
- Vegetable oil
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Complete fat buttermilk
- Vanilla extract (I spend a mixture of pure vanilla extract and additionally this sure imitation vanilla due to it gives a little bit of of that cake mix flavor).
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
Pointers on how to provide yellow cake
Existing: This moist yellow cake recipe uses the two-stage reach of blending, akin to my Supreme Chocolate Cake recipe. Here’s a huge explanation of The Two-Stage Mixing Scheme from The Pastry Chef On-line.
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
Step 2. Butter and flour 3 cake pans or one half-sheet pan (12×18). (Which that you just may well presumably spend butter or cooking spray.)
Expert Tip: I butter and flour my pans, then add a round of parchment paper and spray and flour that as successfully appropriate to be definite nothing sticks. These more cost effective round parchment paper liners from Amazon produce this job so essential more uncomplicated!
Step 3. In a huge measuring cup or a pourable mixing bowl, mix the buttermilk, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat with a fork. Put of abode aside.
Expert Tip: Allow the buttermilk, eggs, and butter to return to room temperature, on the very least half-hour.
Expert Tip: While you happen to sift flour onto a share of parchment paper, it’s essential more uncomplicated to pour into the mixing bowl!
Step 4. Sift cake flour and build it within the bowl of a stand mixer or huge bowl. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar and spend the mixer on low to blend for approximately 30 seconds.
Step 5. With the mixer working on low, add the butter, one share at a time after which pour within the vegetable oil. Mix unless the flour and butter originate as much as clump collectively and appear pebbly, about 30 seconds after the vegetable oil has been added.
Step 6. Pour in a cramped extra than half of the buttermilk-egg mixture and mix on the lowest velocity unless blended, about 10 seconds. Enhance the velocity to medium-excessive and mix unless initiating to appear mild and fluffy, about 1 minute. With out turning off the mixer, add the rest buttermilk mixture in a slack movement.
This reach is what gives the moist yellow cake its gentle crumb and retains it from getting dry!
Step 7. End the mixer and rep 22 situation the sides and bottom of the bowl, then beat at medium-excessive velocity for approximately 15 seconds unless successfully-blended.

Step 8. Pour batter evenly into the intriguing cake pans.
Expert tip: Descend the cake pans filled with batter on the counter a complete lot of instances, a trick which releases the air bubbles within the batter, and helps pause the cake from cracking.
Step 9. Bake the layers for 20-25 minutes. Defend an understand on them due to you don’t must overcook. Layers are performed when they flip mild golden brown and are springy to the contact, and naturally that you just may well additionally repeatedly consult with a toothpick, which I recommend doing at 20 minutes.
Existing: If baking in a half-sheet pan, you’ll must bake 25-half-hour.
Step 10. Bewitch the layers from the oven and frigid on racks for 10 minutes. Escape a knife around the sides, then flip layers out of the pans and onto a plate and peel off the parchment. Conceal the wire racks with a sheet of parchment paper after which re-flip the layers from the plate help to the rack.
Allow to frigid utterly after which frost. Easy and ideal on every occasion!

Pointers
- Don’t spend darkish or non-stick pans. Aluminum cake pans like these from Nordic Ware are the genuine for baking cakes!
- Maintain your complete substances measured and ready. Allow butter, eggs, and buttermilk time to return to room temperature.
Storing your moist yellow cake:
- Which that you just may well presumably produce this cake days and even weeks earlier than time and freeze the unfrosted layers. Wrap each and each layer in plastic wrap, then tightly with foil. Store within the freezer for as much as some months.
- While you happen to appropriate must produce the cake 1-2 days forward, wrap the unfrosted layers in plastic wrap and on the alternative hand with foil and recede on the counter unless ready to spend.
- 4 complete huge eggs, room temperature
- 2 huge egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, softened
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
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Preheat oven to 350°.
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Butter and flour three 9-waddle cake pans, then line each and each pan with parchment paper. Spray and flour the parchment paper, shaking out the surplus flour.
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In a huge measuring cup or pourable bowl, add the buttermilk, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat with a fork unless blended. Put of abode aside.
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Put the sifted cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar within the bowl of a stand mixer and blend on low for approximately 30 seconds.
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With the mixer working on low, add the butter, one share at a time. Pour within the vegetable oil. Mix unless the flour and butter clump collectively and appear pebbly, about 30 seconds after the vegetable oil has been added.
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Pour in a little bit of extra than half of the buttermilk-egg mixture and mix on the lowest velocity unless blended, about 10 seconds. Enhance the velocity to medium-excessive and mix unless initiating to appear mild and fluffy, about 1 minute. With out turning off the mixer, add the rest buttermilk mixture in a slack movement.
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End the mixer and rep 22 situation the sides and bottom of the bowl, then beat at medium-excessive velocity for approximately 15 seconds unless successfully-blended.
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Pour batter evenly into the intriguing cake pans and bake unless golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
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Frigid pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then recede a knife around the sides to loosen. Invert each and each layer onto a plate, peel off the parchment, then invert help onto the wire rack. Allow to frigid utterly sooner than frosting.
Pointers for Making the Supreme Yellow Cake:
- Ensure your butter is room temperature however no longer too relaxed. It is going to no longer be squishy.
- Don’t overcook the cake layers. Defend a shut scrutinize.
- Spend ethical quality butter on this recipe. Cheap retailer-tag butter will affect the taste and texture.
Serving: 10servings, Energy: 529kcal, Carbohydrates: 69g, Protein: 8g, Saturated Rotund: 16g, Ldl cholesterol: 143mg, Sodium: 341mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 41g
Update Notes: This post used to be on the initiating build printed December 3, 2012, and on August 7, 2019, used to be updated with one or extra of the next: step-by-step photos, video, updated recipe, recent pointers.
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Cake mixing reach adapted from Baking Illustrated: The Helpful Kitchen Companion for the Residence Baker by Cook’s Illustrated.

About the creator
Hello, I’m Lucy! I’m a home cook, creator, food and wine fanatic, and recipe developer. I’ve created and examined hundreds of recipes in express that I’m in a position to grunt you the genuine tried and true favorites.