Best Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe Ever
A tried-and-true recipe for a classic yellow cake recipe that really is the best yellow cake! Made from scratch, it is tender and so fluffy and moist!
Well, the day is finally here. As many of you know, I’ve been on a quest to perfect the best yellow cake on the planet.
And this is it.
While this post is a bit involved (I couldn’t help but share the testing results with you!), the truth is, the actual best yellow cake recipe is super simple so don’t let the explanations scare you.
If you follow the recommendations thoroughly, you’ll end up with the fluffiest, most delicious yellow cake ever.
The Evolution of Testing the Perfect Yellow Cake
When I first set out to perfect the best yellow cake, I started with three recipes popular online (David’s Yellow Cake from allrecipes.com, Deb’s yellow birthday cake from smittenkitchen.com and Cook’s Illustrated Yellow Layer Cake).
I made each of them as is. While I am a fan of each of these sites and resources, respectively, the cakes were all lacking to me.
David’s Yellow Cake was a little dry with kind of a weird, spongy texture, the cake from Smitten Kitchen was reminiscent of cornbread and the Cook’s Illustrated yellow cake was by far the driest of them all.
I set about modifying ingredients and amounts and methods and while someone smarter than I probably could have pared the testing down to just a couple of cakes, what can I say, it took me a while.
Ok, let’s talk…
I’ve jotted down all the details of why the type of ingredients/method matters for this cake. Read on, read on!
The Butter
- I’ve mentioned it before, but I rarely use unsalted butter.
- I tested this cake with both unsalted and salted and adjusted the salt amount accordingly. In the end, there wasn’t a difference in outcome, so I stuck with my go-to: salted butter.
- I use the Land o’ Lakes brand mostly (sometimes the Sam’s Club brand). If you want to use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
- Also, butter temperature really matters. It should be soft enough to gently slide a finger through with a bit of pressure but not sludgy, greasy or overly soft.
- The time I accidentally used overly soft butter (uh, it somehow stayed on the counter for, like, 12 hours because even though I love baking, my five kids still take precedence over making a yellow cake), it resulted in a greasy, weirdly spongy cake.
- I did not test this cake with margarine, coconut oil, shortening or the like so you’ll have to experiment with those if desired.
- Also, whipping that butter for a good 1-2 minutes is extra important. And beating the heck out of it and the sugar for another 4-5 is non-negotiable. Doing this creates air which helps create fluffiness in the baked cake.
- The cake(s) that I tested where the butter was minimally whipped were not nearly as fluffy. And fluffy = greatness.
The Eggs
I know, I know. Using room temperature eggs is a total pain in the behind.
I’m right there with you! I hate recipes that require it. And so when I first started testing cakes, I refused to do it.
And my cakes were looking like this:
- So I crumbled, no pun intended, and used room temperature eggs the next time I made a cake and the difference was remarkable.
- Light and fluffy…where before the cake was slightly dense and a bit crumbly.
- There may have been other factors at play, but as I messed around with the recipe, it was very, very clear that room temperature eggs are important.
- If you are like me and often forget to plan in advance, don’t fret – place those chilled eggs in a bowl or liquid measure filled with very slightly warm water for 15-ish minutes and you’ll be good to go.
- Speaking of the eggs, in my testing, I ended up scaling down the whole eggs from four to three and adding an egg yolk or two to replace the missing whole egg – two egg yolks managed to be the perfect answer.
- Egg whites add structure but can take away moisture from baked goods, hence the three whole eggs + two egg yolks in the recipe.
- Don’t be like me and get tempted to sub a whole egg for the two egg yolks. You’ll get a pretty decent cake but not a fantastic, best-ever cake.
- However, when I used all egg yolks and no whites, the cake was slightly gummy and not as fluffer-fluffy as I wanted.
The Milk + Sour Cream
- I was sure that plain old milk was the only liquid I needed in my cake.
- At about cake #10, I was fairly positive it needed to be one cup of whole milk, even though the thought made me cringe since I never have whole milk on hand.
- I was befuddled why I was getting a really, really good cake that was still just so, very slightly dry.
- In the end, it wasn’t necessarily dryness but a lack of tenderness I was noticing.
- And the adjustment of sour cream to compensate for the reduced milk did just the trick (plus adding baking soda in for the acidity in combination with the already present baking powder, which took a couple rounds because I misjudged the amount of baking soda at first and there was so much leavening power in the cake that it sank in the middle…badly…however, once the baking powder and soda were adjusted accordingly, the cake was magnificent).
- The real plus was that after I added sour cream, I used 1% milk instead of whole without sacrificing any moisture or tenderness.
The Flour
- As much as my heart wanted a fabulous yellow cake without having to use cake flour, it didn’t happen.
- The cakes I made with all-purpose flour were dry and dense with a much coarser crumb, slightly reminiscent of dry cornbread.
- Cake flour is lower protein than all-purpose flour and also has a finer texture (thanks to the starch in it) which results in a much finer crumb in a baked cake. The good news is that even though the recipe requires cake flour, you can make your own (my kitchen tip from yesterday gives you two super easy methods).
- If you have a kitchen scale, use it. You’ll get very precise results.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, buy one. Ok, just joking. Kind of. I know not everyone can do that (but you should really put it on your wish list). If you are measuring using cups, measure with a light hand. Spoon the cake flour into the cup and gently level off with a flat edge.
- For this recipe, if you are making your own cake flour, don’t mess with making one cup at a time, instead, I’ve done the math for you: you’ll need 210 grams of all-purpose flour and 45 grams of cornstarch. Sift it twice. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sift once more. Make sense?
- Also, for high altitude, I’ve got your back. Ok, actually, my friend, Lisa, has your back. She tested this recipe for me – she lives at 5,400 feet elevation.
- She made the cake twice, the first time it fell significantly. She added an additional 2 1/2 tablespoons cake flour (if using a homemade cake flour substitute, that would be about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch) and the cake baked up perfectly (along with a slight increase in baking time and buttering the heck out of the pans).
Sifting
- This sifting action, called for in the recipe, is in addition to any sifting you may have done if you are making your own cake flour.
- You don’t need to sift twice, just give the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda a quick sift through a fine mesh strainer.
- This was one of the last variables to add to the best yellow cake recipe. The last few cakes I made were so good. But just not quite there.
- Once I sifted the dry ingredients prior to incorporating into the batter, the results were far superior – lighter and fluffier (let’s see how many times I can use those two descriptors in this post).
The Batter
- Ah, the gorgeous batter. It may look just slightly curdled and that’s ok.
- Spread it evenly in the pan, and give it a quick tap or light drop on the counter.
- When I didn’t do this, there were significant air bubbles in the baked cake. You don’t want to drop it from the rooftop like a crazy egg-drop challenge and you don’t need to tap more than once, just a quick light drop will suffice.
- I only ever baked the cake in two 9-inch pans to keep testing criteria similar, however, I think it could also be made in three 8-inch pans.
- Cupcakes and sheet cakes will have to be an experiment until someone reports back. I have them on my radar also, but it may be a little while before I actually try them.
- As for the cake pans, significant greasing (with butter and cooking spray and possibly flour, too) is needed for the cake not to stick. I also line the bottom of the greased pan with a parchment round that I’ve cut out and then grease the top of it.
- My magic number for baking was right at 27 minutes; however, keep in mind that all ovens vary slightly.
- Lisa, my awesome friend who tested high altitude baking for me, needed more like 30 minutes for her cakes (she made the recipe twice).
One Year Ago: Six Recipes the World Forgot {Part 3}
Two Years Ago: Paprika Chicken Stroganoff
Three Years Ago: Naan – Indian Flatbread
Perfected Yellow Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (371 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups (255 g) cake flour, lightly measured, see note for high altitude adjustments
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda, see note
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk, 1% or above, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, light or regular, room temperature
Instructions
- To prep, whisk together the milk and sour cream together in a liquid measure and let come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make sure an oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven.
- In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, whip the butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Mix in the vanilla.
- One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing just until combined in between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift them together through a fine mesh strainer.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add the last 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and beat until just combined. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Give the batter one good, final stir with the rubber spatula.
- Grease the cake pans and line the bottoms with a parchment round. Grease the parchment and sides of the pan again very well. I use regular cooking spray but you can also use butter or cooking spray with flour. If your cake pans tend to cause sticking, consider also flouring the pans.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Drop each pan from about 3-inches onto the counter to minimize air bubbles while baking.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes (high altitude: 28-30 minutes) until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Resist the urge to open and close the oven to check on the cake – this can cause the center of the cake to fall and never recover. And as with all cakes, don’t overbake or the cake will be dry.
- Let the cakes rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before gently turning them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Special Thanks To…
A special, super, huge thank you to two very important people (I kind of feel like I’m giving an acceptance speech at The National Convention for Best Yellow Cakes here):
Nicole, a wonderful friend of mine, was the one who finally gave me the insight I needed for the last step in perfecting this cake (a huge blessing because I didn’t know if I honestly had another yellow cake in me and her advice resulted in the.perfect.cake) and Lisa, sweetest sweetie ever, who willingly tested this cake for me (multiple times) in order to provide all you high altitude dwellers with essential tips for success.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you for posting this! I have been trying to find the perfect yellow cake for a long time and yours is by far the best! I made it in a 9×13 pan for 38mins and it came out great. I used a cream cheese/whipped cream frosting and topped with strawberries. My family devoured it!!
Just tried to make this cake and now I am on a mission to figure out how to make it well. It was a disaster. It sank horribly and had that sponginess you mentioned. I added extra cake flour for altitude and added extra baking soda as suggested. I was so frustrated! But I did my best to laugh and salvage it. Oh well.
Carlie – so sorry about the disaster! It sounds as if the altitude is a problem for people even after the high altitude adjustments in the directions; since I don’t live at high altitude I can’t troubleshoot for you guys, unfortunately. Seriously, I’m so bummed it’s not working out since I really want this cake to be perfect for everyone! I think I know the exact texture/issue you are talking about because I had several turn out like that during my trials. I’d almost suggest adding a bit more flour and instead of increasing the baking soda, I wonder about leaving the baking soda at 1/4 teaspoon and increasing baking powder to 2 teaspoons. Just take care with the leavening since I had several cakes sink because of too much leavening.
I made this cake today…the taste is amazing BUT I baked them for 25 min, they did not seem done so I gave them 3 more minutes and tested with a toothpick, they were done. They looked beautiful, even etc. Left the pans on the cooling rack and came back 5 or 10 min later to turn them out and they were sunk in the middle. I followed your directions exactly…even bought a kitchen scale etc. Any ideas? My baking powder is not old…I just used it the other day with success. We loved the taste and texture and the chocolate frosting was to die for 😉 Just not pretty layers like I would like.
Hi Kathy and others who have checked back in on this cake. The flat/sunk layers baffles me considering I dedicated my life to this cake for months. But I really, really, really want this to turn out perfectly for you like it does for me. I’m guessing it is a leavening issue. Here’s the update I just put in the recipe:
I’ve heard from several of you that while the cake tastes amazing, it is sinking in the middle or is baking flat. When I had too much leavening in the cake during my experimenting (2 teaspoons baking powder + 1 1/2 teaspoons soda), the cake rose too much in the oven and then deflated so I scaled it back to what worked perfectly for me. But here’s the deal, if you are worried about sunken layers, increase the baking soda. My suggestion would be 1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon.
Be sure to check back in!
Nope. I didn’t forget. Would it help to add a little more soda or more powder? Or maybe both? I’m going to try it again this week! Determined to get it perfect.
Laurel – definitely worth a try. In one of my variations, I think I had 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon soda and my cake had so much leavening that it “popped” in the oven and deflated. So I scaled it back to the measurements in the recipe. So you might google some high altitude help about leavening to see whether to scale it up or down. Good luck. Keep me posted!
Perfect name for this perfect cake. Thanks for your hard work.
Tried your newest recipe last night. I tried making them into cupcakes, and I’m not sure what happened, but they all sunk in the middle! Shoot! I WILL be trying them again because the batter is delicious! The cupcakes are actually still edible, just not pretty, and they are delicious! The flavor is perfect. I am a high altitude baker (6800 ft!), so recipes are always a little finicky for me. I’m probably going to try it with a scale next time to make sure I get enough flour to support the cake’s structure, and I’ll be trying that 15-degrees-higher oven tip mentioned earlier too! Thank you for your many trials and for succeeding in finding such a great final product!!
Dear Mel….I made the cake yesterday and, after so many attempts at perfect yellow cake, including the ones you mentioned in your post as well as many others that I tinkered with to try to achieve greatness…. I think, quite possibly this is really it!!! The flavor and texture are spot on. It is moist and fluffy with not too fine a crumb. It’s not eggy, it not cornbready, it’s not pound cake but also it’s not too fragile…. I agree that it didn’t dome as much as other recipes, but that did not detract from the texture. My husband declared after dessert last night that this is “the one.” As obsessed as I am with perfection, I will need to make it one or two more times just to make sure….but, with deep gratitude for your efforts, let me say thank you one more time for persevering and sharing your success with all of us! (now, fingers crossed that it works well for cupcakes and can also scale up for larger cakes for special occasions….if anyone tries doubling or tripling, please share what proportions work)
Of all the cooking blogs I have used, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe is the best out there! In my many years of trying new recipes from this blog they have all turned out…. unless I’ve made a mistake! I cook from it daily and I appreciate all the time and effort Mel puts into perfecting each recipe.
What a timely post!! I had just spend two days testing several different yellow/white cupcake recipes. I do live at high altitude, so there’s always that to contend with 🙂 I thought I had found THE yellow cupcake, but then I came across your post. So I figured I would give yours a try since I LOVE so many of your recipes!!! I followed all the high altitude directions as written. The first batch of cupcakes I made, I baked at 350 for 18 mins, as directed…the cupcakes didn’t fall but did spread a bit and were quite flat. I decided to raise the temp to 375 for 15 mins for the next batch. That batch didn’t spread quite as much but were still pretty flat. They weren’t bad by any means! However, they were a bit gummy or something. The texture was just a tad bit off. I thought I’d share my high altitude cupcake trial with you. Thanks so much for all of your hard work!!
Hi, so I was on my phone sitting in my car in the 3rd grocery store parking lot when I posted that last (incomplete) message! It somehow posted before I finished, I’m sure it was some error of mine:) So anyways I just got home got on my computer and came to your blog to see right there on your home page your solution to make my own cake flour!! YAY! So happy now, you’re the best and I can’t wait to make this recipe for my husbands birthday tomorrow. THANK YOU!!
I can’t find cake flour, we have 3 grocery stores in my town and no one has it. Is it worth trying to make it with all purpose? Or is there a substitute? Self rising? I really wanted to make it tonight d
How about perfecting crepes?
Perfect a cookbook? Ha! What do they think this blog is?
Made the cake last night. I’m at a HA so I added the extra flour and it didn’t rise. Came out already sunk in the middle. I only cooked it for 25 min but it was super dark and dry too. I was sad. I weighed everything. Followed directions perfectly. Never fear! I’m attempting it again until it comes out perfect or until my newly purchased cake flour is all gone 😉
Oh shoot, Laurel! That’s not what I like to hear. Darn! I’m sorry this cake didn’t work out for you. I can’t imagine what went wrong. This is a dumb question but you’re sure you didn’t leave out the baking powder/soda, right?
Oh, and you asked about what to perfect next? I would to have a perfect moist and light fresh strawberry cake or cupcake recipe with a strawberry frosting. Often they are too dense or the recipes call for packets of instant pudding or strawberry jello. You would be my hero if you could give us the recipe for a delicious, moist and fluffy/light fresh strawberry cake/cupcake!!
Hi Stephanie – the cupcakes, while delicious, aren’t quite as light as this cake. Either are delicious but hopefully this batter translates well into cupcakes, too (I’m guessing it will). Good luck if you try it!
So excited to try this! Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is one of my all-time favorite desserts. Ever. Thanks for all of your hard work to perfect this recipe! Some have asked about turning this into cupcakes. I have only ever made your Ultimate Chocolate Cake as cupcakes and they are AMAZING! The most moist homemade chocolate cucpake i have ever had (i frost them with one of your cream cheese frostings). I the recipe exactly, only adjusting the bake time since they are cupcakes. 13 minutes in my oven (it’s gas) is the perfect amout of time. Given how well that recipe works as cupcakes, I bet this one would too. I was all set to use your Light and Fluffy Yellow Cupcakes recipe, but I may try this one. What would you say is the difference in this cake’s texture from your yellow cupcakes?
While I haven’t tried 16 recipes in the past two months… I definitely have in the past 2 years, including all the ones you mentioned! I had given up, even though yellow is my favorite cake. Thank you so much for persevering for us! I am so excited to try this. MUAH! Kisses to you!
wow. that is all I can say. wow!
Yellow cake is so difficult! I haven’t made a decent one yet, so I can’t wait to try your method.
Thanks Mel! You have done the world a great service by perfecting this cake! Can’t wait to try!!!
Perfect Cake? Perfect timing! Thank you for your experiments!
Dad’s got a birthday coming up, and I’ve had the same reservations about the cake recipes I’ve tried in the past, but wasn’t sure what to do when I saw a Martha Stewart birthday cake with an orange curd filling and a ganache icing. Dad likes that idea, but I wanted a tried and true recipe to try. (online reviews can be a bit limited without the details you’ve provided.) I’m thinking this cake will be a good place to start.
Here’s hoping it’s not too delicate and fluffy to handle the filling. I’m making it in an 9×13 for simplicity, with only one layer to split.
I’ll be trying the chocolate version of the frosting too. Per your experiments, I’ll be adding extra chocolate.
I have a cake idea that I’d love for someone to figure out! Maybe you’d want to try it. When I was in graduate school I ran wedding receptions as my part time job. There was one baker who was very popular for her chocolate groom’s cake. It was ah.maz.ing! Of course, she kept her recipe secret. I have looked and looked at chocolate cake recipes and have never come across anything that seems similar. It was very different from your description of your yellow cake above. It was VERY chocolate (I remember hearing from somewhere that she used multiple kinds of chocolate in it, but I don’t know if that is true or not). It was also very moist and very dense. It was so good! All my reception helpers would be so eager for the reception to be over so they could snag a piece of leftover cake. The frosting on it was very chocolate too and was almost like fudge in texture. The cake was intensely chocolate but not overly sweet. I would love to have someone figure out how to make a cake like this – or even point me to a recipe that would be similar. I’ve dreamed about it for years now. =)
Thank you!!! I have forever been on the search for the perfect yellow cake and I have come pretty close, but can’t wait to give your recipe a try. I wish it wasn’t so late so that I could make it right now!
This is awesome! I was craving a yellow cake the last time I was pregnant and I tried the cook’s illustrated one since they have never let me down. It was good, but not exactly what I had hoped for. I was wondering if I had done something wrong. I’m glad I’m not the only one who was looking for more!
As for perfecting, I would love a perfected deep dish pizza. I’ve tried a few recipes (including CI) but they are either incredibly complicated or incredibly tasteless.
Wow. This cake is SO GOOD. I’ve tried a few other from-scratch yellow cakes and they have been dry even when they tasted good. But this is light and moist and the taste is amazing!!!!! I didn’t even ice it. (I’m pregnant and I just wanted cake, gosh.) I didn’t have the right pans, so I used a 9×13 and baked it for 38 min, which was maybe 1 or 2 too long. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!!!!
Thanks again for the high altitude directions. There aren’t many of us but we really appreciate it when we’re not forgotten! At 6200 feet, homemade cakes are tough.
Thank you so much for including high altitude directions!
Hi Mel, the cake was still fluffy and moist ,just not as high as I thought it would be. It had great flavor and it was delicious. I definitely think I was too light with the flour but I will be making it again for sure. I made it last night and it’s already gone! Thanks for all the great recipes. I make several of your recipes every week and we always love them.
Mel, if ever you need a recipe tested at 7605 ft, im your gal (southern colorado). anxious to try this one out. thanks for your extensive testing!
I am making this today for my son’s 18th birthday. I’m going to try it in a sheet cake pan and hope it works. Thanks for all the work. I check in regularly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Love it!
Me again…I forgot to add that I think cake pops would be a fun way to use up some of your frozen yellow research cake! 🙂
Wow, Mel…the research you did to perfect this cake is very impressive! I have been waiting for you to post this recipe since you first hinted that you were working on it. I have never found a from scratch yellow cake recipe that I have loved. Like you, even my beloved CI recipe let me down. I am co-hosting a big party in two weeks, and I am going to make your yellow cake. I don’t even feel the need to test before making it, because I trust that this will be the best homemade yellow cake! As you know, I like to prepare as much as I can before the party. I am going to bake the cake layers this weekend and freeze them (well wrapped). I’ll frost them before the party. Thanks so much for devoting so much time to perfect recipes to share with us!
Mel! I know what you need to perfect next. Or, if you already have, and know the answer, please send it my way. 😉 EVERY time I make a bundt cake, it sticks to the pan when I try to get it out. EVERY time. Seriously, it is going to make me crazy. Maybe I just need to conduct my own experiment. Do you have an exact science for it? Spray the pan? Spray and flour? Butter? I would use parchment paper, but it doesn’t work great with the grooves. Am I not letting the cake cool enough, or maybe too much?
Thanks! 🙂
I might just have to make a cake today…I was going to make your French bread dinner rolls, I might have to make both 🙂 I am always looking for the perfect cakes. Always trying new ones, I am right there with ya being a nerd about this stuff. Havn’t read through the entire post but WILL before I go ahead and bake this thing! Thanks for posting and I will come back and give you my thoughts 🙂
I can’t wait to try this cake as soon as Lent ends. I love every recipe I have made from your site. Thanks for all your effort to perfecting each recipe and providing helpful tips for us.
My husband has been the cook in our family lately. (Joys of morning sickness…) And I’ve sent him to your site on many occasions. He made our 2 year olds birthday cake a few weeks ago–but the recipe wasn’t great and it turned out amazingly dense. Knowing that you had this on the horizon, I’ve been checking occasionally. Tonight he asked if it was posted–and we were so happy to see it was! He’s looking forward to redeeming his previous attempt. Thanks for your experimentation! You’ve saved us years of development on our own. 🙂
I couldn’t resist trying this today. It is exactly how you described – light, fluffy and perfect! I pulled out my scale which I hardly use and even though I think weighing ingredients can be a pain, it totally paid off. It truly is the best yellow cake ever!
Thank you do much for going through all the effort AND for sharing it!! I have the perfect occasion to make this for next weekend!
PS ~ I love my kitchen scale. I’d be lost without it. I live in Australia where sticks of butter don’t exist so a scale is a lifesaver just for that alone. But I use it for so much more!
Amazing!!! And I can’t wait to try this cake. Every time I have tried a yellow cake I have been disappointed and I think I’ve tried a different recipe every time. So glad you tested and tested this one. What a ton of work! and cake!
You made my whole day – thank you! If you wrote a cookbook, I would buy a copy for everyone I know (including those people I hate). I love your blog!!!
I just took this cake out of the oven and it’s not very fluffy. I’m not sure what I did wrong but it looks kind of flat. It smells great so I’m sure it will still taste good. I followed all the instructions except I didn’t have a scale so maybe my flour measurements were off? I just ordered a scale and I will try again.
Nita – you can see from my pictures that the cake layers aren’t ultra-thick. Just pretty standard, I’d say. Was it still fluffy and moist? Weighing the ingredients definitely helps with precision…do you think you may have measured the flour with too light of touch?
Dang woman! I can’t wait to try this out since earlier today as I was gorging myself on your Decadent Chocolate Cake I told my mom I was totally over standard yellow cake. Guess I’m not after all! Thanks for all the awesomeness that your blogging has brought to my world and my kitchen. I can’t help but constantly throw shout-outs your way on my blog as I tell my readers what awesome new dish I cooked/baked up from your site. Cheers to you, Mel!
Can’t wait to try this!! Would 1 c of buttermilk work in place of the milk/sour cream?
Suzanne – I’d suggest using the milk/sour cream to start and then play around with it from there. The recipe I tried with just buttermilk was a bit too cornbread-tasting for my liking.
I am new the last few weeks reading your blog. So I had no idea about your quest. Your blog was fabulous and very well written—-on top of being down right informative and even the adjective fascinating could be used. We should all be honored that you so kindly shared your recipe. Thank you.
What to perfect next? A cookbook. Please!
That read like a freaking novel! Nothing more interesting than the whys and hows of cooking/baking.
Only two obstacles standing in the way of making this: 30 lbs of baby weight from my 3 month old and the purchasing of a sifter. One might be easier to surmount than the other.
You remain my favorite food blogger of all time.
This just flew into my recipe box faster than the speed of light!!:))
Hi Mel- Your posting turned out great and I am so excited to not only make your perfect yellow cake, but to display it on my cake stand! Thanks a million for using my cake stand and linking back to me ;o) You are very thoughtful! Happy Baking!
Thank you for describing steps you took too make the perfect yellow cake. I was interested in hearing about you test baking recipes.
I would love for you to find the perfect recipe for breakfast, whether it be a breakfast casserole, pancakes or waffles. We love breakfast in this house!
Thanks for this amazing post, Mel! It is exactly what my husband wants for his birthday, yellow cake, chocolate frosting. I always go to your website so I am so excited that it came just in time. His birthday is this Sunday!! 🙂 THanks!