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
Ingredients: please read below the recipe for information on specific ingredients. I made and tested this cake over 16 times and have fine-tuned the ingredients and the methods. That isn’t to say you aren’t welcome to substitute and change, but in my yellow cake experience, this match up creates yellow cake perfection (substituting all-purpose flour, using cold eggs/milk, overly greasy soft butter, and a multitude of other factors can result in a dense, dry cake).
Cake Flour: if you are making your own cake flour using one of the two simple methods I posted about, don’t worry about making one cup of cake flour at a time, instead, use 210 grams all-purpose flour and 45 grams cornstarch; sift twice. Then add the other dry ingredients and sift once more.
For High Altitude: add an additional 2 1/2 tablespoons cake flour before sifting (that would be about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch if using a homemade cake flour substitute).
Update: I’ve heard from several of you that while the cake tastes amazing, it is sinking in the middle or is baking flat. I can’t analyze the why’s too much because it will make my head pop off since I dedicated months of my life to this cake anyway. When I had too much leavening in the cake (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.
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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!
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952 Comments on “Best Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe Ever”
absolutely best cake ever! rose perfectly…and the taste was awesome!! and i have been baking for about 60 years…thanks so much, sharing with my friends….
Cake baked up beautifully! It was a dream to work with! Followed recipe as written and baked two lovely 9-inch layers! Thank you Mel.
I was so excited to try this for my grandsons birthday cake. It was doing well up until the last 5 mins in the oven. It was rising then suddenly went down in the middle :(. I was so careful but obviously I made a mistake somewhere. so sad.
This cake got such great reviews I just had to try it! I made it today using Swans Down Cake Flour. This cake is absolutely amazing!! It’s so light, moist and delicious!
It’s The Best Tasting Yellow Cake I’ve ever made! I give 5 stars! I highly recommend this recipe and I’ll be making this again!! I frosted with chocolate buttercream!
I just took this out of the oven, been craving yellow cake for days. The biggest pain was allowing ingredients to come to room temp. I ended up baking in a 13×9 lighter colored metal pan. I set the timer for 35 minutes and came back to an overdone cake! I’m assuming my oven temperature is off, because I thought it would take longer to bake (based on previous reader comments). The flavor is really good though, but a little dry and crispy around the edges! Will make again. If you’re wanting to make in a different pan size than specified, watch the oven closely!
I’ve made this many times before and received rave reviews from family! Our favorite Birthday cake! I am getting ready to make today, but need to make I picnic cake 13 x 9, so I’m very thankful I read your comment. I’ll keep an eye on the oven! Happy Easter!
It was super moist and delicious!!
This cake was unbelievable. I had to make my own cake flour and I really appreciate your instructions on how to do so. Fabulous!!!
Great cake thanks for all your time an effort for us.
I have always wanted to try a half chocolate, half yellow cake (not marbled, but poured side by side into the same pan). I am considering trying this with this recipe and your “best chocolate cake” recipe (which have slightly different baking times). I’ve never done anything like this and am fairly new to baking cakes. Do you have any thoughts or advice on attempting something like this?
Hmmm, that will be an interesting experiment! The texture of both of the cakes is fairy different. This yellow cake has a slightly sturdier/firmer crumb while the chocolate cake is a bit lighter and slightly more fluffy so I don’t know how they’ll bake up next to each other. Good luck!
This cake is absolutely amazing!! Converts to cupcakes perfectly as well (and I struggle with cupcakes usually). The bottom creates a caramel flavor on the paper which is incredible. This, paired with fudge frosting, is now my go-to cake for both my brothers’ birthdays (they start checking that I’ll make it weeks before—they are obsessed). Thank you for this recipe and all of the information about the ingredients, it’s so helpful!!
Update: My brother requested a yellow chocolate chip cake this year. Has anyone tried this recipe with chocolate chips in the batter? Any tips?
Oh no I left out an egg by accident and it didn’t rise much
There are a lot of eggs in this recipe. I am concerned that it will have an “eggy taste”. Also some people complained about the cake not rising enough. Will whipping the eggs, sugar and butter for a longer time increase the volume and make the cake rise more?
Hi Dee, I’d encourage you to make the recipe as is before making changes. It really is a phenomenal recipe!
It’s in the oven. Time consuming to make but if the cake tastes anything like the tiny bit of batter I tried it will be amazing and worth the time. I have tried several yellow/vanilla cakes and they’re all too heavy and dense. I want something a bit lighter. I put it in a 13X9 rectangle pan, that’s what was requested, so we shall see how it comes out.
Becca, I’m curious how your cake turned out. I’m going to make a 9×13 today. How long did you bake it for? Same temp?
Is it best to mix in dry ingredients by hand with a spatula or in the kitchen aid/hand mixer?
You can mix in the dry ingredients with the stand mixer – just mix on low and don’t over mix.
Loved this recipe. Cake was delicious.
I have made this cake several times with no issues. I make it EXACTLY as written (I am not high altitude). The only thing I ever do different is if I am making it a day ahead of time before I frost, I make a small batch of simple syrup and use a pastry brush to brush lightly over the top to ensure it stays moist (may not be necessary but I’m a creature of habit and have always done this no matter what cake recipe I’m using). One big tip on the butter for those who may have had issues: if the butter is soft but has an oily sheen it’s too soft. I appreciate all the effort the author put into making sure we all ended up with the same amazing results. People need to remember that all ovens are different and because of that, bake times may vary. That’s not the author’s fault.
This is by far the best yellow cake Recipe I have found.It taste like the yellow cake my Mother use to make for Sunday dinner.I am 67 years old.Thank you.Thank you.
It was so good!!!!! I did a tad less than 1/2 tsp baking soda baked for 28 minutes and was perfect my whole family loved it. It’s not like corn bread at all or too sugary and it’s super light and fluffy just make sure u follow every step exactly and the temperature of ingredients should all be the same. Whipping the sugar and butter for 6 minutes in the beginning seemed long but made it so light and fluffy. Thank you so much!!
My batter was very thick. Thicker than a box mix that would pour easier out of the bowl (I never use boxed mixes myself), but it was very soft and easy to guide out of the bowl with the spatula. Does that sound like the right consistency? I measured everything the way the recipe said, even making my own cake flour using a scale, and all the sifting. I’m using a 9” round pan and a 6” so I hope it turns out!!
Yes, this cake batter is thicker than a boxed cake mix batter. Did it turn out?
Mel —
I’m making an Italian Cassata Cake at the moment (similar to Cannoli Cake) and this is the yellow sponge recipe I’m using as the base. I just pulled them out of the oven a few moments ago and they look beautiful. They did not fall whatsoever. I baked them for 28min and let them sit inside oven turned off for another 2min before taking them out. I used two 9″ Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Springform pans and my trusty Bak-Klene ZT Nonstick Spray (never fails me). Can’t wait to taste this tomorrow when we celebrate my daddy’s 75th birthday. I usually pay a lot of money to have his favorite Cassata Cake shipped from a pastry shop in Baltimore (they only do overnight), but this year I decided to step it up a notch. I think he’ll be thrilled! Thanks for your tireless efforts in perfecting this cake and your graciousness in sharing it with us. Your recipes haven’t failed me yet! God bless.
Hello! I just baked this cake (without altering any quantities of ingredients, I was able to make three 6-inch cakes and 12 cupcakes) and I have to say, it’s delicious! Very moist and it has the perfect “classic yellow cake” taste. I have just one complaint that prevented me from rating it five stars–it’s super crumbly and therefore hard to frost! Even after refrigerating the cake layers to make a “crumb coat” I still found it to be a bit difficult to frost nicely. Any ideas on what could be causing this; perhaps it’s the length of time I shortened my baking times by to account for my cakes smaller sizes? Thank you, Mel!
Hi Katie, if the cakes are super crumbly, it sounds to me like they might have been over baked by a few minutes?
This is an amazing recipe! It works beautifully, and my cake is still moist the next days.
I love this recipe! My husband and oldest daughter ask for it specifically every year for their birthdays and my husband says it is the best cake he has ever had. EVER. Super dense, flavorful…it is great. I have made it 3 or 4 times now and I get the same great results with no modifications, and I live at altitude. I have been baking for a long time and this cake beats all the rest!!
I thought I found the perfect recipe. You put so much work into it. Alas, no. I frosted a cornbread cake. My husband told me to just use a mix next time.
Me, too. I thought I followed it to a T. Not only was it dry and not fluffy, but it had less flavor and color. I even used Happy Egg eggs and yolks, which are yellow-orange. I couldn’t open a recipe I once made with a boxed cake mix that added pudding and extra oil so I tried this from scratch…..Baking is such an exact science. I owe my husband a belated cake. Might give him a boston cream donut instead. I know that’ll be moist!
This is by far the BEST yellow/vanilla cake I have ever made. I made it a few years ago, but for some reason I lost it and then I recently found it again. I made it this past Sunday and let me tell you, I frosted it with vanilla ABC and it is soooooo very good! The vanilla comes through so pronounced and pleasantly. Thank you so very much for this wonderful recipe. I will not be using any other recipe for yellow or vanilla cake.
I have made this recipe multiple times per request of people that have tasted it. It has always been perfect. I did just do a sheet cake 11×15. I doubled the recipe. It took 32 minutes. There was a slight dip in it, but otherwise great. Frosting will obscure any of that. Hope that helps.
Late to the party on this one, but this cake is SO good! I made it gluten free with KAF “measure for measure” and cornstarch to replace the cake flour. I got three thick 6 inch layers of this. Baked for about 35 minutes since the layers were tall. No sinking! Seriously so happy to have this recipe in my arsonal. Thank you!
This is the best yellow cake recipe hands down. My search has ended! It tastes just like a bakery cake (but better)…like the yellow cakes from your childhood birthdays!
Great recipe and appreciate all the tips. After reading all of the many many comments, I would think all the failures are “user error” of one kind or another. If the recipe was that bad or incorrect the failures would out pace the successes by a mile. For all those who have the need to post “nasty” comments instead of offering a thank you to Mel for going through the trouble and taking the time to post a recipe for everyone to make and enjoy, a simple “it didn’t work out for me” would do!
I made this cake for my birthday last year. I got a great yellow cake which I had been looking for that didn’t come out of a box. Birthday is tomorrow so planning on making it again. For the life of me I cant remember which chocolate frosting recipe I used. What was this one covered with?
I use this one: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Fabulous recipe! Follow as written….however…I used a 13x 9 pan and it took almost an hour….but that’s ok….wish I could post a photo! This is a bouncy, moist cake
Haven’t made it yet, but can tell it’s a fine recipe. But firstly, what about buttermilk instead of sour cream/milk? Do you know if that would be a better improvement as an ingredient? Great article though and look forward to making it as is. Thanks
I have no clue what these other people are talking about, this recipe is excellent! It turned out beautifully for me and has such a rich flavor. Thanks so much for working so hard on this recipe, it’ll definitely be my new go-to!
Absolutely Delicious! I’m a pastry chef and mastering the perfect yellow cake is always a challenge. The recipes out there are either too dry, cornbread consistency, flat, no flavor etc. I wanted to give this a try because I never use sour cream in any of my cake recipes BUT I have a specific brand that I use with my cheesecakes and when I have switched to a generic brand of sour cream, my cheesecake was terrible. I believe if you use the highest quality ingredients, your product will be exceptional. The brand of sour cream worked SO well in this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
tried this recipe TWICE. both times it turned out nasty. her comment on it “falling” is beyond me… it bakes over, bubbles on your oven floor, and then falls flatter than a pancake.
don’t waste your time on this nasty recipe.
Hi Kristen, sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you. In all due respect, let me point out that it isn’t necessary to create additional profiles with different names and email addresses to also leave “nasty” reviews. I am able to tell from the dashboard that the IP address is the same, so I just went ahead and deleted all the other comments you left. 🙂
How do I bake 2 cake pans at the same time. I see various ways but would like your opinion please.
Is your oven big enough to put the cake pans side by side on the same rack?
worst cake ever, flat, horrible texture, just threw it away
couldn’t agree more. i bake all the time. this recipe is garbage.
Hi Mel,
I made this cake exactly to your instructions. Thanks for the detailed analysis of common changes and how they affect the outcome. I was convinced! The cake turned out perfectly. The only change I was forced to make is that the baking time needed about 10 more minutes – I’m assuming that my oven needs calibrating. I look forward to checking out other recipes from your blog.
Thanks for all your hard work Mel! Delicious ! Made it with a pastry cream and strawberries between layers and topped it with cream cheese frosting and strawberries !
I will keep this in my rotation ☺
Quick question. Have you tried 1 cup of buttermilk in place of 1/2 c milk and 1/2 c sour cream? I will try it with the sour cream since this will be my first go, but just curious, as I usually have buttermilk on hand.
I haven’t tried it with buttermilk but I believe others have.
I didn’t have cake flour, sour cream, or milk. Look at the “do not substitute” note and tried it anyways. So good, fluffy and moist!
My substitutes: vanilla greek yogurt, sugar-free vanilla almond milk, all purpose flour/corn starch combo. Reduced vanilla to 1/2tsp, removed 1 tbsp of sugar, and 1/2 tsp of soda.
Hello, Mel! I have tried previous recipes of yellow cake and they all seem to have the texture of cornbread, very disappointing. When I tried your recipe, I knew when I pulled it out of the oven that is was going to be delicious as it looked moist and fluffy. Well, let me tell you, your recipe was AMAZING! I am so happy because I made it for my sister and brother-in-law’s birthdays this past weekend. Their upcoming birthdays are back-to-back Oct 13/Oct 14 and have been married over 35 years. The cake was beautiful and made the event extra special. All the guest enjoyed it.
I doubled the recipe, used 8-inch pans, and put about 2-1/2 cups of batter in each cake pan. I followed all your suggestions. Brought the eggs to room temperature and also the mixture of milk and sour cream to room temperature. Used 3/4 tsp baking soda. My cake turned out moist, fluffy, and rose perfectly. I did add colored sprinkles to the cake per my sister’s request. I used baking strips so the sides of the cake did not turn brown. After the cake was completely cooled, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and left it out until I was ready to frost the next morning. I did not refrigerate it.
I would of made your recipe for buttercream frosting but had to use a different recipe that used shortening (for stability) and powdered because the weather here in Cali was a bit warm for buttercream.
Thank you, Mel, for all your hard work and sharing your tried and true recipe for yellow cake! Finally a yellow cake that I can be proud of giving to family and friends.
Wow, wow, wow! This cake is pure perfection! My family loved it. The only thing I did differently was I increased the baking soda to 1/2 tsp (pursuant to your notes). Thanks to all your hard work, I have found my go to yellow cake recipe.
I am anxious to try this recipe! I am a very beginner baker so I have a very basic question. If I am not able to bake the cake on the same day that I want to serve it can I make it a day ahead of time? Would I frost the cake and store it covered for 24 hrs?
Yes, you can frost a day ahead of time. There’s always a risk the cake may dry out a little (I recommend leaving it at cool room temperature vs refrigerating it).
Warning to all cake bakers out there: DO NOT refrigerate your cake! I’m so sad! I made this cake yesterday to serve to house guests tonight. In my ignorance I refrigerated it thinking that was the best way to keep it. Even though I took it out of the fridge a couple of hours before I served it, it was dry-ish and dense. Very disappointed that I ruined this cake’s texture. Arghhhh!
I had been so excited to test this cake out and see what all the fuss was about. Oh well, I guess I’ll need to make it again, right? Thank you, Mel, for your meticulous work to help us be amaze-balls in the kitchen! 🙂
A follow up note: after the cake warmed up on the counter overnight, it was much softer and lighter in texture. So…yay! Great cake! 🙂 Thanks, Mel!
Looks like my previous comment didn’t post. It went something like…Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! Definitely one of my ULTIMATE “Go-To” recipes. PERFECT every time! Couple of questions: Can the sour cream/milk combo be subbed with buttermilk? Can I bake a day ahead and stored in a Ziploc or container on the counter until ready to assemble? Have you tested doubling the recipe or do you recommend not doing so? Thank you
One more question…Have you tested doubling the recipe or do you recommend not? Thank you
I haven’t tried doubling – sorry!
Thank you Thank you Thank you…This recipe is a LIFE SAVER & my ULTIMATE “Go-T0”!!! Only one question, Can the sour cream/milk combo be subbed with buttermilk? Also, is it OK to bake a day ahead and store on the counter in a Ziploc or container until ready to assemble?
Way to sweet. Baked fine but this cake was so sweet without icing on it even my wife a self admitted sweets fiend said its to sweet. I ended up tossing it out and going with a recipe I’ve used before. Nice crumb and cake structure just cut the sugar back way back.
My kids and I baked this for my husband’s birthday and it was delicious, light, and beautiful! We followed the room temperature directions and used the exact amount of measurements as the recipe originally states. Do not underestimate the importance of using cake flour. We do not have a scale, though, so we were unable to weigh ours. What we did do was lightly spoon the flour into our measuring cup and level it off at the top.
Also, we used three cake pans to create three layers and 22 minutes was the perfect baking time. We just made sure the tops started to get a golden light brown before pulling them out. Be sure to let them cool for a while before trying to pull them from the pans! We live in Ohio and it’s summer time (88 degrees) and we had air conditioning on in our house. Hopefully this helps someone out there gauge their cooking time.
Frosting – we used the whipped chocolate buttercream frosting of Mel’s and it was delicious! I do think I’d like to try one that uses cocoa powder rather than melted semi-sweet chips next time just to see which one we’d prefer. The quantity her recipe makes was the perfect amount for our three layer cake.
Thanks again Mel for yet another wonderful recipe with excellent instructions!
Thank you for all your hard work in cake experimentation!
I made this cake for my birthday and it really is the best yellow cake. It was a slice of heaven in my mouth, fluffy, moist, tender, and delicious. Topped mine with strawberry buttercream frosting instead of chocolate frosting. Followed the directions very closely and it came out perfect. I made sure my ingredients were room temperature and weighed out the cake flour and sugar for accuracy.
I feel bad for all the people whose cake didn’t come out the best it could. For reference, the day I baked the temperature was about 77 degrees Fahrenheit (probably hit 80 degrees in the kitchen at some point); couldn’t find the humidity for that specific day, but the average daily humidity for that month is 60%; and the elevation I bake at is 942 feet (287 meters).
Like I mentioned above, I made sure my ingredients were at room temperature, paying extra attention to the butter to make sure it didn’t get too soft or greasy (I actually stuck the butter back in the fridge for a little bit because I felt like it was getting too soft before the eggs, milk and sour cream were ready). I weighed out the cake flour and sugar on a digital scale to be as accurate as possible. I used whole milk and regular sour cream. I stuck with the 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. I used an electric hand mixer; I don’t have a stand mixer, but I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to whip it well enough with just my muscles and a spoon. I never put the cake in the fridge in order to keep it moist and soft days after baking (I kept the leftovers in the microwave on a plate with some plastic wrap on the exposed, unfrosted parts, lol).
Hopefully this information helps someone figure out what variables caused their cake to not come out as well as they had hoped!
Again, thank you for this magnificent cake.
I was very excited to a make this cake! The directions were thorough and the reviews were raving, I though it the perfect recipe to try for my mother’s 58th birthday (she requested yellow cake with chocolate frosting- perfect!)
However, after following the directions very precisely I wasn’t thrilled with the results. The cake LOOKED beautiful, it was fluffy without leavening and just the right gold color, but when we all dug into our slices, the family consensus: “dry”. A slight cornbread-y texture as Mel had mentioned of other cakes.
Now I do not blame the recipe, as it has seemed to work for many others. So I am hoping I can get some feedback on how to fix this problem? I do live at high altitude (in Denver, 5280) I followed the high altitude recipe with the extra cake flour, and upped the baking soda to 1/2 tsp as baked goods in my oven usually have a bit of a sinking problem (although second guessing myself now… if I may have confused the baking soda and baking powder, could that have been the problem?). I found that mine did not need 30 mins to cook, and looked ready to go at about 27 mins. I also make the cake the day before, not sure if the moisture just left my cake more quickly than the traditional baked good?
Thanks Mel for taking the time to perfect this recipe! I am hoping to get mine up to your level!
Hi Madeline – I’m sorry the cake was a bit dry. After reading your comment, there may be a few things that could help. First of all, adding the extra flour can help the cake rise properly for high altitude from what I’ve read (and not sink like cakes are prone to do at high elevations), but it can also create a drier texture because of the extra dry ingredients. If you aren’t sure about the baking soda and baking powder, that might also contribute, but I don’t think that would be a main factor (especially if the cake rose fine). It also could be that the cake overbaked by a few minutes. I’ve read online that cakes can bake more quickly at high altitude. Even over baking by a minute or so can change a moist and tender cake texture into a dry texture – and if you served this the next day, that could definitely be why. Did you refrigerate the cake overnight? Refrigerating without a layer of frosting can dry cake out significantly if it isn’t the type of cake that is going to be warmed up to be served (like a pudding cake or something).
Lol to Zeena’s sad cake below…
I made this cake for my mom’s 61st birthday just earlier this month, and followed every detail in the recipe + studied all the tips. I love cooking and bake every now and then, however I’ve never baked a cake from scratch before and it came out great! Fluffly, rich, flavorful and not too sweet, and definitely MOIST.
For my filling I made an ube spread/ube halaya (okinawa yams) with butter + coconut condensed milk. And decorated the cake with fresh whipped cream.
Definitely making this recipe again for my own bday soon, I want to try topping it with a mango based filling. Thanks for this recipe Mel!
Cheers
Hi, Mel.
Over the last six months I have seen this recipe in “the best cakes cupcakes” section several times. I had even read the narrative about your experience and the recipe directions a couple of times. Finally, I got up the courage and decided to make it yesterday evening. I followed the recipe exactly from making the cake flour, softening the butter, getting the eggs to room temperature, etc. The one adjustment I made was that I added 1/8th teaspoon baking soda for a total of 3/8 teaspoon baking soda. The cake was beginning to look done at 20 minutes, but I followed your advice and resisted. I waited until 25 minutes and then did the toothpick test. Perfection! I cooked the cake for 10 minutes, put a cooling rack upside-down on the cake pan, and flipped it. It was beautiful! I usually just deliver my victorious spoils of baking to friends, but this time decided to try it first myself. I made my buttercream frosting and frosted the cake. I tasted it and it turned out great! It was light, fluffy, moist, and didn’t sink in the middle. Since I used a dark metal 9-inch round pans, the only change I will make for next time is to flour the pan after spraying it with Pam. Thank you for another spectacular recipe, Mel! Also, I loved the “OK, LET’S TALK . . .”. Of course, this is coming from the baking nerd who calculates out the surface area of the cake surface to be frosted in order to determine what percent of the frosting I made should be for the middle layer of the cake, for the top of the cake, and for the side of the cake. 🙂
When I first read this article, I thought that this would be the perfect cake. I bake a bunch by following many recipes that my father provides me (he’s a chef) and they tend to be successful, and I also follow many online recipes as well which turn out successful too.
Last night was my husband’s birthday and I wanted to bake a cake for him on my own, so I did my research and found good reviews on this cake and went with it.
The cake was NOTHING like described. I did every single thing as recommended, and it turned out very squishy (not fluffy at all). It looked very, very odd but did have flavor. I cannot deny that the flavor was good (of course it tasted good since anything with sugar tastes good, right?)
I am very disappointed because I was extremely excited to make this cake.
It is nothing like advertised.
Please, whoever reads this comment, do NOT follow this recipe because you will be disappointed and have a cake that looks like a rotten sponge.
P.S. I honestly never leave comments but I am so aggravated right now because I felt deceived.
Do you think it’s possible your butter might have been overly soft? I am planning to make this recipe and have been reading it carefully and Mel suggests that overly soft butter might make a spongy cake! I don’t always take stuff like ingredient temperature too seriously but given your unlucky results and Mel’s warnings I am going to be vigilant. Hopefully I have better luck. Hope the rest of the birthday was nice.
I’m sorry that your cake didn’t come out the way you expected. Is it possible that you had a measuring error?. I am a seasoned baker and (unfortunately!) still make the occasional rookie mistake. I have made this recipe four times and have found success each time. It’s my opinion that this is a great cake. It comes out fluffy and beautiful each time.
couldn’t agree more! this recipe is HORRIBLE!!!!! i made it twice, and am beyond annoyed.
Kristen, you should do your own recipe. I’m sure you could make one up with all the resources on the internet. I hope you post it to share with inexperienced bakers so they can share their dislike like you have done here. With all the positive reviews I’m most certain it was use error. Meaning you did something wrong and or used low quality ingredients.
This is an excellent recipe! I’m a novice cake baker (I’m more into breads and other desserts) and some of the cakes I’ve made in the past haven’t been great. This one- with all the specific directions- came out amazing. Fluffy, rich, moist, great flavor and texture. Followed all the directions exactly.
Do you measure the cake flour and then sift, or sift first and measure second?
I use the weight measures so I weigh the amount of cake flour needed and then sift with the baking powder and baking soda.
I was craving the yellow box cake that I grew up eating. This was that and even better since it’s from scratch! I will definitely be making this again – perfect texture and flavor! Though next time decrease the sugar a little for my personal preference. I felt lazy and didn’t want to make a layered cake so I put it in a 9×12” pan. The only thing I had to do was halfway through the baking turn the temp down to 325 so it would cook in the middle and not burn on the sides. Ended up baking perfectly fine and moist!
You’re right, I used a 13x 9 pan and it baked almost an hour….I had to put a foil over the top during the last 15 minutes
I was thinking of making this cake and I only have 9″ darker ceramic pans. Will these work?
I’m worried those might over bake the edges too quickly – if using them, you might want to decrease the oven temperature by 25 degrees.
Hi so I am going to make this, but I need to make it in a 9×13 pan, so would I half the recipe, or……?? Thanks
The recipe should fit just fine in a 9X13-inch pan (lots of people have commented indicating they’ve done that with good results).
I can NOT say enough good things about this cake! I made my own cake flour with the “scale” method included in the recipe. All ingredients were room temp. I baked it in 2 – 9” pans that were greased and floured for 25 minutes. Cakes released nicely. The cake is light, flavorful and so moist. I topped it with chocolate Swiss merengue buttercream and it made the perfect birthday cake for my sweetheart. This will be my go-to yellow cake recipe.
Shiela, what recipe for chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream did you use?
My SO’s birthday is today and yellow cake with chocolate icing is his favorite too.
Hanna…I’m so sorry that I never saw your question. I’m about to bake this cake again and was refreshing my memory about this cake. Here is my Swiss Meringue go-to recipe. Be sure everything is room temp. It’s light, fluffy and delicious!
https://pin.it/7uGA5EP
I tried this yesterday. The flavor is spot on, but I didn’t get much rise. I’m going to try again with the the suggested increase in the baking soda.
I might separate all the eggs, beat the 3 whites to soft peaks and fold them in at the end.
Hey!! Slim chance you’ll reply to this before I make it, but… do you think it’ll be ok to make 3 layers in 9 inch pans? I have a scale so I plan to make them completely even. I’ll definitely watch the time and test them sooner. I just want to make sure I have 3 layers bc I’m using a raspberry filling in between layers and want there to be more than one!
Yes, that should work!
Made this yellow cake today “to the letter” have to say it is truly the best I’ve tasted, and I’m not young. I iced it with Italian meringue buttercream so it is beautiful to look at as well. Thanks.
This was my first time making a yellow cake from scratch, and I was delighted that it came out amazing! I made it on a 13×9 cake pan with no problems. Thanks so much for the recipe and ahell the time and effort that went into it!
Where is the yummy looking frosting recipe that’s on this cake? I need it all!
Here it is: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
This is the best homemade cake I have ever made. I did 3, 8-inch cake pans and they were perfect at 23 minutes. I also swapped vanilla for almond flavoring and then iced it with seven minute frosting and covered it in shredder coconut. INCREDIBLE! I cannot tell you how good it feels for a homemade cake to finally turn out:) thank you so much for the recipe
We decided to make this cake just because … quarantine is hard. My 7 yo helped and we had so much fun making it. But eating it was even better. Even the baby said mmmmmmm while eating. Pure delight! We used vanilla Italian buttercream and piped a tooth on top since the tooth fairy is also physical distancing. Thank you for this recipe!! I will make again and again and again.
Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us. I have made this cake couple times. By far, this is the most perfect yellow cake I have ever tasted. Can I substitute the flour with gluten-free flour? I am wondering if I need to adjust the measurement in this recipe. Do you have any tips by any chance? Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Hi Nixie – I haven’t tried this with gluten free flour so I’m not sure – I think others have commented below with GF results!
So, so good. I made this cake last year for my hubby’s birthday. His favorite cake has always been yellow w/chocolate frosting (out of the box). Now that I’ve made this for him I’ll never be able to go back to a boxed cake mix again! So worth the extra effort. I also make your “The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting” for all my birthday cakes. It is just as amazing!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday. It was soft, moist (but not mushy), with the perfect crumb – not too loose or delicate, but not too dense. Flavor was really good, but you do taste the egg. I used a generic frosting recipe, which was just okay. This is the first time I liked the cake better than the frosting!
Can I use half and half rather than milk?
I haven’t tried that but you could experiment.
Salted or unsalted butter? Which do you use?
I use salted butter
This is a great recipe and I loved all the details in the instructions. Cake has a fluffy moist crumb. I made it in a 13×9 pan and baked a little longer. About 33-35 mins. Thanks so much for doing all the trial and error for this great final recipe. I will have to try the lemon version that another reader did.
I made this for my husband’s birthday last week (during Coronavirus quarantine) and it was FANTASTIC! Our family of 3 at the whole cake in 48 hours . Thank you for helping to make a birthday during a tough time very special.
This was a very easy recipe to follow and the final product tasted amazing! I made a lemon cream cheese frosting for it and added some lemon zest and juice to the batter – my family devoured it! Will definitely make this again, thank you for sharing your recipe.
Do you think I would be able to use recipe as is for 13×9 pan ilo 2 nine inch rounds?
Yes
I made it in 13×9 for my oven was about 33 – 35. Came out great! What a great recipe. Thanks much.
I want to try this cake recipe, but I don’t have sour cream. Is that a deal breaker? I do have buttermilk…
You can definitely try buttermilk (I think others have tried it in place of the sour cream and milk)
I love this recipe, I’ve made it many times. I want to add chocolate chips to the dough, when and how much do I add? Please let me know. Thank you, I love your recipes!!!
I haven’t tried that, so you’ll have to experiment. I don’t want to lead you astray. Good luck!
Getting ready to make your cake. – one question, though…I often use the bake-even strips around the cake pans while baking. Would you recommend against this in light of some comments of the cake falling? Or do you think it might in fact help?
I don’t think it would be a negative thing, Nancy – I haven’t used them for this recipe, but I think you could try!
Love your helpful hints. I usually just jump to the recipe but I read yours and just wanna day thanks!
Oh my goodness! Was looking for a fluffy yellow cake recipe to make some chocolate chip cupcakes. I hit the jackpot! Just took them out of the oven and broke into a piping hot one (yes – you should let them cool down…oh well!) So amazingly fluffy, perfect sweetness, and the chips so melty and gooey! The recipe made a dozen regular size cupcakes, plus 24 mini cupcakes and some left over for a little three inch cake. Thanks for the perfect cake for the perfect chocolate chip cupcake!
Correction – I made this recipe times 1.5 – not doubled but 1 and 1/2 times the recipe. Hope that makes sense.
I followed the recipe to a T and both my cakes were terribly fallen in the middle. A total fail. Feel quite ripped off after all the hoopla. Have been baking for decades and have never had a cake turn out like this.
Try cupcakes – they are amazing! I bake ALOT and this is the best yellow cake recipe I have ever baked.
Omg, there is ALWAYS one.
The cake was the best I’ve ever made! I would also love to have the frosting recipe that is in the picture. Thank you for sharing with others. You never know how many people are blessed by good food.
Here you go! https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
What recipe do you recommend for frosting?
Yes will make it this weekend GA
I just attempted this and forgot to add the salt. Is it going to be terrible??
A wonderful recipe!
I made three 9 in layers and baked for 22 mins
I also used buttermilk instead of milk.
Delicious.
Moist and light❤️❤️❤️
I baked this cake using the exact ingredients and it turned out perfectly. So light and fluffy and a great taste. Thank you for sharing.
I am using to make cupcakes. I like my cupcakes to be very moist. I cook them 17-18 minutes. This is a good recipe but just wondering if you had any tips on how I can get them to be more moist? I followed directions exactly. I didn’t even measure out flour and sugar, just weighted them as the recipes states. When I measured the weight was actually all over the place.
Just made this recipe for cupcakes and they came out so beautifully! The texture of the cupcake was right on.
It made around 30 cupcakes and I use buttermilk instead.
Thanks for all the hard work put into finding a great recipe!
I’ve now used this recipe several times and love it! I’ve read your notes and some of the comments about the cakes overflowing or falling in the middle and I have an observation to add. Altitude! I can NOT use cake flour at altitude in any cake recipe. I’ve tried many and they all have the same result…overflowing or falling in the middle. I just substitute all purpose in all recipes and they bake up just fine. I don’t make any other high altitude adjustments.
Anyways, I glanced through the comment thread, but didn’t see anyone else with this observation so I thought I’d add it.
Love the recipe!!! Tried at least 10 yellow cakes, and this is by far the best.
Hi this recipe looks awesome. I love all of the detailed explanations.
I am making a tiered cake. How much of this batter should I make for a 6”, 8”, and 10” cake pan (all my pans are 2” tall) ? I would like to know how much batter should go in each pan basically. Also, , should I adjust time or temperature for these sizes?
Thanks so much for putting in the time to research all of this for a perfect cake so that we that make it don’t have to
The recipe makes enough for two 9-inch pans so you’ll probably need a triple batch to fill up those pans…but that’s just a guess. Fill them about halfway full. And yes you’ll need to keep an eye on the time!
Made this today for my brother’s 71st birthday. Beautiful texture and flavor! The “topper” was chocolate sauce to pour over it made by our 92 year old mother, who got her recipe from the label on Hershey’s cocoa 60+ years ago! Thank you for something ‘new’ to go with the ‘old’.
That sounds lovely! Do you have the recipe from the chocolate sauce that you topped your cake with? Thanks!
Hi, do you think buttermilk could be used to replace regular milk and sour cream? Would I have to use equal amounts?
I haven’t tried that, but you could experiment – yes I’d use an equal amount of the total sour cream + milk in the recipe
Looked all over for a yellow cake recipe for my husband’s birthday. He requested a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Needless to say, this recipe did not disappoint. I followed it exactly as written and my husband LOVES it. The chocolate buttercream icing is delish as well! This recipe will definitely be added as my go-to yellow cake recipe. Thank you for all your trial and error to make this perfect.
After trying to make a most basic delicious yellow cake and failing i was somewhat upset and made it my mission to find a good recipe. This cake is incredible, absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing, and for taking the time to perfect it. Which you have.
What’s your recipe for the chocolate icing?
Here you go: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Do you think it would be ok to substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
I haven’t tried that but you could experiment.
Hi,
I was hoping you could tell me where I may have gone wrong. I will say that I used microwaved soft butter and cold eggs. The cake was good but it came out very dense like a pound cake. It was not light and fluffy. Did the eggs or too warm butter cause this? Please let me know thanks.
Hi Megan, if the butter was too soft and the eggs cold, it could definitely have impacted the texture. Room temperature eggs and cool room temperature but not overly warm butter is really important for this recipe. Also, overbaking or over mixing can make a difference too
I looked up this recipe under the category high altitude cake recipes. This will be my first time baking at 10,000 feet. There is no mention of high altitude in the recipe and comments. Will this recipe work at 10,000 feet?
I’m sorry, Nancy – I don’t know! Chances are it’ll need some high altitude tweaks. I don’t live at high altitude so I can’t say for sure exactly how it will fare at that elevation. Good luck!
LOVE IT! SADLY, I didn’t have sour cream so I substituted with 2 oz of cream cheese and it makes me excited to try it with the sour cream but it was last minute for my son’s school and all the stores are closed. This cake was a perfect amount of crispy barely around the The edges and super soft.we had to use the rest of the next time a cake for home and we ate like a half of it that night. Which we should have but my gooooddnessss this cake was good
I have tried so many recipes trying to find the perfect cake which has the same perfect result every time. Success at long last, thank you ever so much for this delicious, fluffy, moist & best of all tastes great. I needed three, three layer cakes this weekend that I’m donating to a local church fair to help raise money. Selfishly, I also wanted to make the best cakes possible to show off my talent and possibly drive up some business.
I doubled your recipe & evenly divided the batter into three ten inch pans. I’m very aware of the great results when parchment paper is used, I just hate missing with it when fitting to a cake pan. Somewhere I read of someone using shorting instead of butter, I took a chance & also flowered the pans. The cakes released flawlessly to my happy surprise. I also used my (sorry, don’t know the proper name) moistened pan wraps to help keep the cakes level. Nine perfect cakes in a row and all perfectly level, can not thank you enough for the perfect fail safe & repeatable cake recipe, I’m so happy and can’t thank you enough!
I made this cake for my daughter and husbands birthday and it was amazing.
I followed the directions to the T and it was incredible. My daughter requested Strawberry whipped cream frosting with the delicious yellow cake and it was delish.
Thanks for another incredible recipe. 10 stars for this recipe.
This cake is AMAZING!! I am having about 25 guests over on Tuesday so I was thinking of making 2 of them. Do you think it would be best to just wait until Monday to bake them or do you think they will still be fresh if I made them on a Sunday? Thanks for all your tips. This is my husband’s FAVORITE CAKE!!
I would definitely try to make them Monday if you can!
Has anyone tried to freeze this cake once baked? I want to make for my son’s birthday but we will be traveling so need to make during week but serve on Saturday. I read your comment it is best day of…
Yes, it freezes great. (I’ve only frozen it unfrosted).
OMG…Thanks you for all your trial and error. I follow your recipe and I made one of my best cakes ever.. again thank you for sharing I didn’t have any sinking and My cake was beautifully perfected in 27 minutes.
Hello Mel. Your scientific presentation to baking is spot on and quite warranted! Baking is a science much more so than cooking! I am eager to try out your recipes but rely on aluminum free baking powder. Have you tested this version against the traditional version in terms of performance and quantity? Thanks!
Hi Tom! I haven’t tested aluminum free baking powder but I’m hopeful it will work just fine in this recipe. Sorry I’m not more help!
Hi Mel, thank you for the detailed description of the ingredients and how to use them. I am going to bake this cake today for a friend’s birthday and am super excited. I have very less experience in baking and want to bake this perfectly as I have a reasonably large audience (peer pressure. hehehe)
I was wondering if instead of baking in 2 different cake pans as I have only one, can I bake it in a single 9inch pan and then cut it in the middle?
Please let me know if it’s possible and what adjustments will I have to keep in mind for that.
Thank you!
I’m afraid that if you bake all the batter in one 9-inch pan it will overflow. It would be best to bake two separate batches.
This cake is absolutely fabulous. Thank you soooooo much for sharing. Though I am very busy and work 3 jobs I love to treat my loved ones to only the best on their birthdays. I have made it for my daughter’s birthday and it is now my go to recipe whenever I have a crowd to impress. I always share your story of perfecting this masterpiece. Kudos to you, I take my hat off. I also have done this to perfect flan which is my personal favorite. You are not alone my friend. It takes a special person to give their loved ones the absolute best thing they can get which is your time and a moment shared with this divine treat..
My first yellow cake from scratch was dry and blah. I was so bummed as it was the first birthday cake I ever made for my (new at the time) husband. The next year I went searching and researching and finally found this recipe…..my husband was flabbergasted! Said it was the best birthday cake ever. I have made it every year since (5 years!) and once in a while throughout the year. This cake, with the chocolate buttercream frosting, is amazing. I followed the recipe to a T and my cake looked just like her pics:) Thank you so much for this recipe! I thought after this many years….I should probably say something. Totally a keeper. Don’t even look anywhere else!
Hi Mel, I’m wanting to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday. She wants a rainbow cake so I was planning on doing a double batch and then making each layer a different color. Do you think mixing in food coloring will be too much mixing and ruin the texture of the cake?
I’ve actually done the same with this cake a few years ago helping a friend make a similar sounding cake for her daughter. It definitely did make the cake texture a little less soft and tender…but the kids didn’t seem to notice. 🙂
This cake recipe looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it this weekend. How thick are the layers when using the 9″ rounds?
1 1/2 to 2 inches
At the moment I’m unable to access cake flour. What amount of all purpose flour would I use for this cake. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Do you have cornstarch? If so, you can make your own cake flour: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/kitchen-tip-how-to-easily-make-your-own-cake-flour-two-methods/
I baked this delicious yellow cake today, flavor is great.
I increased the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon to prevent the cake from sinking. It still sunk somewhat so next time I will increase to 3/4 teaspoon. I did bake it as a 9×13 and increased the time an extra 5 minutes.
Hi, do you have a good fudge chocolate frosting recipe for this cake?
This is my favorite chocolate frosting for cakes:
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Thank you! I’m making this for myself today as Birthday treat. Thank you
Hi there,
I tried out your yellow cake recipe today! I used whole milk and followed the instructions to a T. The cake tasted so great however my cakes didn’t rise flat instead they sunk in the middle? Any ideas as to why. I made sure not to overheat the batter and I even folded near the end. Any advice would be appreciated!
It sounds like they might have needed a few more minutes of baking (did they sink during baking or after you took them out of the oven?).
I did put it in the oven few minutes longer the cake was fully cooked through just sunk in the centre. The cake didn’t rise right while it was baking. I was keeping a close eye on it and it didn’t look right as it was baking. It’s really a bummer because the taste of the cake was so good!
This is the best yellow cake I’ve ever had! It’s very soft but it’s sturdy enough to be stacked. It’s not hard to make and uses ingredients I always have in my kitchen. I love that the recipe is for 9” cake pans (my standard) and I made 1.5x the recipe and baked it in three pans. The layers were the perfect thickness for a layer cake. I can’t say enough about this amazing cake. Thank you for a fantastic creation!!
Hi Mel! Would using 6 inch cake pans work and if so, would you recommend I make 3 6-inch layers or 4 6-inch layers?
Thank you!
Hi Dana – I would probably suggest three 6-inch layers if the pans are 3-inches tall, if they have shorter sides, I’d go for 4 layers.
Thank you! Should I adjust the oven temp?
No, I’d leave it the same.
Hi this recipe looks awesome. I love all of the detailed explanations.
I am making a tiered cake. How much of this batter should I make for a 6”, 8”, and 10” cake pan (all my pans are 2” tall) ? I would like to know how much batter should go in each pan basically. Also, , should I adjust time or temperature for these sizes?
Thanks so much for putting in the time to research all of this for a perfect cake so that we that make it don’t have to 🙂
This is a fabulous cake! Made 2 last weekend for 2 special birthdays. Use disposable 9×13 pans for transport. Baking time was approximately 35 min…..They were perfect! Iced them with dark chocolate buttercream frosting. Best yellow cake recipe I’ve ever tried. This is DEFINITELY a keeper. Thank you!
First time making a scratch yellow cake and it was absolutely delicious! Followed the instructions to a T! Made this for testing purposes so I did 2 6” rounds (baked for about 20-25 min) and some cupcakes (baked for about 18 min). This will definitely be my go to yellow cake recipe! Thank you for all of your work and testing!
i love this cake its everything you said and more this will be my go to yellpow cake recipe
I just want to let you know this recipe is wonderful! My husband and I cook a lot, and this one is *really* well done! I read it through, and we took your advice to add a bit more soda. The whole family agreed it was the best cake we’ve eaten in ages! Your work perfecting this recipe is greatly appreciated!
I love this cake. I wanted to try it as a sheet cake in a 9×13 pan. Any suggestions on if I should adjust cooking time or need to increase the ingredients? If so by watch percentage? Thank you 🙂
It should work fine in a 9×13 pan and will probably need 25-30 minutes to bake (give or take).
Not sure if my previous comments went through. The cake did taste good, but it definitely sunk in the middle, making for a thick layer of icing. No complaints were heard though so that was good!
This cake looks heavenly I am making it tomorrow for a friends birthday. Has anyone used buttermilk instead of milk/sour cream combo? Just curious. Thank you.
Just made the cake… wanted to thank you for all your time and energy and research!!! Turned out so good…love love to bake and cook and always appreciate the best recipes
Thank you! So happy this worked out for you!
Made this cake, relatively no taste. It wasn’t light or moist. NOTE: Don’t worry, Bobby Flay won’t call you on this cake.
Bobby here–Mel, what’s your number? This cake is the holy grail of yellow cake. 😉
hahahahahahaha
is this really bobby
Does this cake stay moist the next day? I’ve tried a few yellow cakes that were amazing the day they were made, but extremely dry the next day.
I personally think it’s best the day of, but if it’s kept well-covered and stored at room temperature, I think it tastes pretty good the next day, too.
I just found out that I’m allergic to eggs, milk, and soy, but I was planning to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday. Do you have any suggestions for substitutes that would work for the eggs and butter?
Hi Rebecca, I’m afraid I don’t! I’m sorry! I extensively tested this recipe with eggs and butter and haven’t tried it with any substitutes
My daughter and I baked it together and it is so delicious!! I always tell my friends that you can’t go wrong with a recipe from Mel!
Hi! First of all, thank you for doing the hard work to create-from what I’ve read-the BEST version of yellow cake! I wanted to ask your opinion on adding strawberries to the cake. My daughter wants a strawberry cake for her birthday (actually, she’s turning one so I suppose I want a strawberry cake for HER birthday lol). And I don’t want to ruin the texture of this cake by adding something extra. The strawberries would be reduced so they’re not so watery. And I’m definitely doing a strawberry icing. Thoughts? Thank you!!!
I think if the strawberries have been reduced to a thick jam-like consistency it may work – although adding anything to this batter that changes the liquid-to-dry ingredients ratio may affect texture (since I haven’t tried this in particular I can’t say if that would be good or bad!). But if you are really after a strawberry cake, it is worth a try!
Mel. Do you think I can make this in a bundt pan? I love your recipes and as my sister and I like to say, Mel never let’s us down! Lol! We say your name like you’re our friend. Thank you!
Hey Kristy – I haven’t tried that but I’m pretty sure it would work out! If the bundt pan is dark coated, you’ll want to watch the baking time closely so the cake doesn’t burn (or consider turning the oven down by 25 degrees). Good luck!
I made this as a cake, and it was perfect! As cupcakes, they still tasted great but did not have a domed top. They were flat and bubbly.
Mine were too. Not a cup cake recipe. The cakes look fine but had that kind of topping. I haven’t tried the cake yet it
Hi Mel!
I’m planning on making this recipe as cupcakes and as stated by many in the comments, they come out great. However, I couldn’t find any comments on time and temp. My questions are, how long should I bake them for and should I use the same temp as stated above? As always, thanks for your time and your fantastic recipes!!
Yes, use the same baking temperature but check them after about 16 minutes (or before if your oven tends to bake hot/quickly).
Perfect! Thanks! 🙂
Have you tried this recipe as cupcakes?
Yes, it works great. 🙂
This truly is “The Best Yellow Cake Ever” I’ve made this recipe twice and it came out perfect each time. Now, what is the best chocolate frosting ever?
This is the frosting I love: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Can I make this in a Bundt pan? How long and what temperature? Thanks!!
I haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure. I’d probably use the same temperature and try about 45-50 minutes?
This is a great recipe! I didn’t use cake flour and it was still awesome (I like a dense cake with a coarser crumb though…) Next time I make it I’ll either buy cake flour or go to the trouble to make it. Not at all dry and really nice clean vanilla flavor. I’ve tried a bunch of scratch cake recipes and this is my favorite. Five stars.
I made this cake for a birthday sheet cake size 12 x 18. And it was fantastic! Thank you so much for posting this. When I saw you had baked it 16 prior times and had finally decided on the perfect recipe ~ I knew I was going to use your recipe!
This cake is Amazing! Truley! I used this recipe for cupcakes… it worked pretty well. I followed the recipe verbatim…. even down to the sifting even though I didn’t know why until I read more of your blog later. Ok but… whats weird is some of the cupcakes domed perfectly and others went sorta flattish. That didn’t seem to affect the texture though. I now wish I had taken a picture. I also read your update and nodiced that you have 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda listed as the original amount and had to scale it back, but the actual recipe has 1/4 tsp. That’s seems to be a big difference? Is the actual recipe supposed to read 1 1/4 tsp.??? All that aside I am truly grateful for this recipe and all your trials. Thanks agian.
Hey Crystal, yes the 1/4 teaspoon is the right amount of baking soda. if some of the cupcakes domed well and others didn’t, it might be a mixing issue…like maybe the ingredients weren’t mixed enough? Do you think that could be the case?
I guess that is possible… I’m always so afraid of over mixing. Maybe I’ll try double sifting next time…. and a heaping 1/4 tsp. baking soda, ty ty.
Hi. This is Ava from London, UK. Made this cake for my daughter’s 15th birthday yesterday together with cream cheese icing (your special one) and it was AWESOME. Thank you so much Mel. Best cake I ever made.
I baked 27 minutes exactly and made the cake flour mixing white flour with a bit of corn flour as you suggested. The cake was moist and soft and beautiful except when I took it out of the pan (waited 10 mins and let it cool on rack for an hour) and as I was icing it, it crumbled a bit. Any thought as why this could have happened?
Hey Ava! Glad you liked this recipe! Did the edges crumble or was it crumbly throughout?
Questions – is it okay to put chopped up strawberries into this cake, or will the moisture from them mess up the ratios?
Also, I have pastry flour, is that okay? Or should I add 1 TBSP of cornstarch instead of 2?
Hi Kyla, I’m afraid adding strawberries (they have a very high moisture content) may make the cake gummy or dense – it will definitely alter the texture. I don’t know how pastry flour compares to cake flour – but you could experiment using. Good luck!
This is my rating
Thank you for your reply to my question about the whole milk. I made the cake yesterday and this will be the one for my daughters birthday. I did use the whole milk and because of fear I took your note and used 1/2 tsp baking soda and I also increased the vanilla to almost a tablespoon and it took 30 min to bake. This cake came out perfect. I am also looking for a white vanilla cake but didn’t see one on your website. Thank you for this recipe.
I am planning to try your recipe..my question is about the milk can I use whole milk with the sour cream because I have both whole and 1 percent does it matter
I believe either can work; I usually use 1% or 2%.
I’m in the UK and we don’t have ‘cake flour’
Is this flour that has baking powder added already, what we call self raising flour?
No, it isn’t self-rising flour, cake flour is a lower protein flour that is very fine in texture.
I am sooo extremely thankful and appreciative for all of your efforts in creating this recipe! I have nearly pulled out my entire head of hair searching for the perfect yellow cake recipe. I thought….”How can a yellow cake be so hard to make???” Well until now, every recipe that I tried was either dry, lacking flavor, sunken in the middle or a combination of these. Finally, a recipe that is perfectly awesome!!! The mosture, the taste and the texture are lacking NOTHING! Thank You a million times over!!!
Thank you so much, Dana!
I made this cake today as two 8” rounds (baked for 30 minutes) and the cake turned out perfectly!!! Thank you so much for such detailed instructions and all the time and energy that went into your recipe! It’s perfect!!
Instead of 2 pans I devided in 3, turned out good.
I’m a semi-naked. I was attending this bakers class(my cousin & I until she passed away) One of the things I learned when it came to uneven cake layers was: buy the cake pan strips and dip in cold water prior to wrapping them around the pans before putting them in the oven. This cooks the cakes evenly and helps with the cakes falling.
Made this cake today as part of a layered chocolate/yellow cake with mocha buttercream filling between layers and chocolate buttercream frosting on the outside for my son’s 14th birthday. Simply amazing yellow cake. Perfect taste and texture. Thanks!!!
Sounds like an amazing cake, Marc! Thanks for the comment!
Tasty! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I used this recipe along with your chocolate buttercream icing and will use them again next time there’s an occasion that calls for yellow cake.
Great cake!!! Made it a few days ago it o oh lasted 24 hours in my house making two tomorrow for Christmas. Thanks!!
Curious to know what the importance of sifting is with the flour? I am somewhat new to baking, have seen the verbiage but never done it. Thanks
Sifting makes for a lighter cake texture.
I normally don’t post. However, this cake is delicious. I did just a hint of lemon. This is an awesome recipe.
I made this recipe last night and my cake layers turned out great but I think I should have baked my cupcakes longer. The tops are still sticky but if you cut the top off the bottoms taste fantastic. On day one the cupcakes were, dare I say, too moist and airy! The cupcake holder held no shape (I’ll try grease proof baking cups next time, I thought these were but apparently not). But the next day they were much more dense so perhaps I just didn’t let them cool enough before taste testing. Great recipe and easy to follow.
I do have one question though. The batter itself and the cake as an after taste taste somewhat salty to me. I haven’t frosted them so perhaps the frosting will negate that taste, but can I make this recipe with unsalted butter or get rid of the additional salt and not ruin the integrity of the recipe? Did anyone else feel theirs was salty?
Thanks for the great recipe!! I’ll be adding almond extract next time to experiment.
Yes, you can use unsalted butter (or dial the salt in the recipe down a bit)
Crumb cake!!!!
I live in NY. A bakery Ebingers, closed 20 years ago, there are still blogs lamenting the loss of that crumb cake!!
Barbra Streisand , a woman who could afford anything! Was on tv twice talking about Ebingers!!!
CRUMB CAKE
Yeast dough
PLEASE!!
Can I bake them ahead of time and freeze ? Does anyone have any experience with this?
I know you can freeze your chocolate cake recipe with amazing results … any chance this one can fair as well in the freezer?
Yes, this cake freezes well.
Thank you so much!
This comment is about some of the comments you received regarding your yellow cake. If you read dozens and dozens of comments as most of us have, and you are the only one that found the pans over -flowed, you did something wrong. If you bake on rare occasion, you know that oven temps differ, humidity while baking differs, different butters have different amounts of water, sugar crystal size differs between brands, etc, etc..
Well done on this cake recipe! Thanks for going to the time and trouble.
Thanks so much, Bob!
This recipe sounds amazing! Could I make this into a marble cake? Have you tried that? If so how would you recommend doing it?
I haven’t tried that – sorry! Good luck if i you experiment!
Do you use the whisk or paddle attachment on your mixer?
I use the paddle attachment.
Thank you!
This is my go-to cake recipe. I feel absolutely delighted when everybody who tries it gives me the highest praise as a baker and I wanted to pass that back along to the real genius who tested this until it was perfect. I learned so much about the consequences of my actions in the kitchen the first time I made this (I’ve made it at least 4 times now.) Thank you for the wonderful detailed ingredient explanations that accompany this recipe. My next challenge will be to find the perfect vegan and gluten free substitutes for this cake. I’m thinking xanthan gum and egg replacer powder.
Thanks so much, Haley!
Best yellow cake ever! I didn’t weigh anything, I measured instead. I fluffed up the cake flour before I measured it, Then sifted it together with the rest of the dry ingredients. I microwaved the butter, a stick at a time, for ten seconds each, to get it to room temp. The cake was done in about 20 minutes. Light and moist. I frosted it with the recipe on the hershey cocoa can, but I used a TB of instant expresso powder, dissolved in a TB of hot water, with the milk.
Everything came out perfect. It looked just like yours! Thank you!
Worst recipe I have ever tried. A waste of time
what problems did you have?
It would be helpful if you would give specific reasons for your negative review.
This is really by far the tastiest cake I have ever tried. Thank you for perfecting it! I will use this recipe for many years to come.
Do you think its sturdy enough for fondant it would be a 2 layer with fondant? im just scared it ill crumble on the drive
I think others have used this cake with fondant with good results (I haven’t, though, so I can’t say for sure).
I’m planning to make this Friday for a party, but question — is it too tender to halve each cake layer, for four layers, to put some raspberry curd as a filling? It looks so fluffy it might just crumble apart if I take a serrated knife to it, and I don’t want to mess the perfect cake layers up.
I think it is sturdy enough to handle that – but I haven’t tried it personally. It is light and fluffy but it has a more sturdy crumb than a boxed cake mix.
Hi Mel,
I’m very excited to make this cake tonight for my husband’s birthday! Yellow cake w chocolate frosting is his absolute favorite. Do you have a chocolate frosting recipe that you recommended?? Thank you so much!
Heather
I love this one: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and received such nice compliments. “Best cake they had eaten in a long time!” I love all the background information Mel supplies. Especially loved the explanation on the role of each ingredient and how to adjust for any misbehavior we might experience.
I’ve baked this cake 3 times this week, for a layer cake I’m making for a church event. Two more to go. Using a 9×13 pan, recipe as is, comes out exactly right at 38 minutes.
Hi! I just made this cake. I doubled the recipe so I could make a 2-tier cake – 3 later 8” and 3 layer 6”. When I pulled the first batch of cakes out, I thought it smelled eggy. After pulling out the second batch, a little bit of cake stuck to the pan, so I sampled it. It’s definitely eggy tasting. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!
Never double recipe for cakes. I really can’t tell you why, but it never works. So take the time and make each recipe it is in your best interest.
I was reading the notes section and you mentioned a part about overly greasy butter, So I was wondering what kind and brand of better do you recommend ?
Hey Amanda, I use the Kirkland brand of butter.
This cake is so freaking incredible. By far, the best yellow cake I have ever eaten.
Thank you so much.
Ok so I’m back…cake turned out beautifully. Everyone said the cake was delicious.
So happy to hear that!
I’m currently making the cake and I added the 1/3 c flour, 1\2 c milk mixture, 1\3 flour, 1\2 milk mixture, and 1\3 flour. However, I have a lot of dry ingredients (flour mixture) leftover. Is that normal or was I supposed to use that all? That’s what I was left with after I followed the directions!
It’s not 1/3 of a cup, you split the entire amount of dry ingredients into 3rds. Hope this helps
The 1/3 means to split all the dry ingredients into thirds and add 1/3 of the mixture at each addition. Does that make sense?
How could this recipe fail with a name like Mel’s Kitchen…My business name as well. Well, my husband asked me to make a cake for a friend’s birthday…called me at work asking if I had energy to do this..Ha…energy is somethi g I had very little of. Ever the dutiful wife we trudged to the store to get a few ingredients and home. Very easy to make. Smelled
absolutely fabulous baking. The cake is now cooling on the rack and I will wrap and put in the fridge until tomorrow morni g when I get up before dawn and frost the cake. I’ll let you know how everyone enjoyed it. I might add I thought of adding a drop of yellow food coloring to give a slightly more yellow color.
This cake recipe is awesome and easy to make. The cake is so moist and a great Texture and the favor its ready Delicious. For sure it’s a Perfect recipe for a yellow cake can’t beat it! I’ll be making this cake recipe often and it a keeps!
Thanks for the awesome detail and for going through the teething problems, so the rest of us kitchen nerds don’t have to! I was wondering if there is a frosting recipe you would like to suggest or should I go with my old and favorite one?
I love this frosting: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Hi Mel,
After trying over a dozen yellow cake recipes this summer, I can honestly say my search is over. I have finally found the perfect yellow cake recipe!!
Thank You Thank You Thank You !!!
Yay! This makes me so happy. 🙂
I would love to see more tips on making g cakes as well as fresh breads! Thanks!
I have not made your cake yet but am planning on doing it. My question is about multiplying the recipe. I would like to make one 16 inch layer which would take two full recipes. Have you made larger ones and if so did you have any problems? roy
I’ve doubled this recipe before with great results but I haven’t baked all the batter in a larger pan (like the 16-inch layer cake you are wanting to make). It’s often hard to get that size of cake to bake evenly but craft/baking stores sell metal utensils (sometimes a cone shape) you can place in the center of the cake before it’s baked that ensures the larger cakes will bake more evenly. That might be a good idea for a cake that large.
Hey there Mel! This cake is fabulous. After making it so much I began to only use 2 cups of cake flour sifted due to cakes being dry. When doing that it worked perfectly. Recently I made a half sheet cake with this recipe and cut the flour to 2 again, however I quadrupled the batter. It cake out very dry. I cooked it on 325 for an hour. Any ideas of what I could be doing wrong with this half sheet? Why would it come out so dry and pound cake like when my cupcakes and other cakes are fine?
Hi Terri – I’m not really sure other than super specific/fine-tuned cake recipes like this sometimes don’t take well to being increased at that level. The most I’ve ever increased this cake is to double it. I think the over mixing required for a quadruple batch may have caused the dry texture but I’m not sure.
I just got finished making this cake, following your instructions to a T, and I have got to say- this is the BEST yellow cake I have ever made or dare I even say ever eaten. When you say over and over “fluffiest, lightest”, that is exactly what it is. I am so blown away. The only “issue” I had was using 9 inch pans at 350 did get it quite browned on the outside waiting until the minute the middle was set enough. I’m wondering if I should try baking it on a lower heat next time like 325 for longer. Have you tried this before?
Thank you so much for this recipe, its magical and tastes like the lightest ever sugar pillow in my mouth! Also, it BLOWS AWAY the “best ever white cake” pinned all over pinterest, which is way too sweet, crusty, and uses shortening which I absolutely hate using. Well done, thank you for taking the time to test this until its perfect, because it truly is!!
I’m so glad you loved it! Ovens vary so much, so while mine browns just right at 350, it might be worth trying it in your oven at 325 for longer. Let me know how it turns out if you try it again like that.
Just made this delicious cake again- this time I baked it at 325 for 45 mins exactly and it came out perfectly springy, not too browned like my other layers cooked at 350!
Thank you again for this amazing recipe!
Out of curiosity, have you made the classic yellow cake recipe from the KAF baking companion? I know it wasn’t part of the recipe development you listed, so I’m wondering if you’ve tried it and how it compares to this one. I am debating which to make for a birthday this weekend.
Hi Megan – I think I made that recipe a long time ago, but I don’t remember. If I did, it didn’t leave an impression (good or bad). 🙂
These were so stinking good!!! The only thing I changed was using one cup of buttermilk instead of milk and sour cream because I needed to use it up. Oh my goodness, the best homemade cake I’ve made so far. I made cupcakes and they were perfect for me at 17 minutes in the oven. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!!
This recipe seemed so fussy while I was making it (at 10pm, so there would be less chance of toddler distractions). I was sort of hoping that it wouldn’t actually be the best cake ever, because then I could just go blissfully back to the box mixes. However, when I took the cakes out of the pans, my first thought was “Aw crap!” because they smelled so delicious. I knew right then that all the sifting and room-temperaturing and creaming and egg separating and dirtying 4 bowls-ing was going to be worth it, and my cake making life would be forever changed. Thanks Mel, you truly crafted the best yellow cake recipe ever!
Hi – Unless I have missed it, what temp is this baked at? I am assuming 350, but it does not say. Thanks!
350 (it’s in step #2)
Must use 3 pans. I used 2 9inch and it overflowed and took forever to bake. It was a real mess.
Let me first say thank you for taking the time to perfect this recipe! It was a great! My husband has been begging for this and I promised him Father’s Day after school got out. All the other comments for other recipes had me discouraged and quite frankly scared to try…and I’m a chemist! But I’m glad I tried with your recipe because it turned out great with the perfect amount of crumble and moistness!
Mel
This recipe was awesome!!! My favorite of all I’ve ever baked.
Unfortunately, I had more batter in one pan than the other and that cake (I think because it had too much batter in it) baked funny on the top. Any suggestions for the correct amount of batter in each pan? This was so delicious. Thank you for sharing.
I usually pull out my kitchen scale and weigh the batter in each pan. Otherwise, you can scoop in a cup of batter alternating pans so you make sure an equal amount gets into each pan.
Looks amazing! Thanks for posting! I was wondering if I can use buttermilk instead of sour cream?
Thanks
Someone above commented that she used buttermilk ainstead of the milk/sour cream and that it still came out fantastic. I say go for it! Worst that’ll happen is you make another cake ♀️ (And still eat the sad one )
I just wanted to take the time to let you know my experience with your recipe. This is hands down the best cake recipe of all time…. I have made a wedding cake, a birthday cake, even turned the batter into a coffee bundt cake with streusel. Incredible. Today in the midst of dealing with a cranky toddler, I messed up and poured the 1/3 flour in before the eggs! In a panic, I immediately added all eggs at once, mixed sloowwly, then followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I was sure they would end up splotchy or eggy tasting, but no. They came out perfectly (in 3 8″ pans) I still don’t even really know how that’s possible. Anyway i just wanted to thank you for the hard work you put into perfecting this recipe. It shows. And the whole blog post is super informative. Deeeeelish!
Thank you so much, Rebecca!
My go to yellow cake…we all love it! For summer fun, I add strawberries or blueberries!
Hi,
I was wondering g if this would be enough batter for a 3 tier cake using 8 inch pans?
I’m not sure, how deep are the pans? The cake layers would probably be on the thin side so you might 1 1/2 the recipe.
Thank you so so much for this. I’m a mom of 3 that like you could make a mean chocolate cake but yellow was like rocket science to a kindergartener. I need all of these thoroughly laid out details explained. I would hug you if I could. I’m trying this and I know it will be 100 times better than any yellow cake I’ve ever made from scratch. So much I was doing wrong. xoxo
I hope it worked out for you, Jasmine!
It did! Thank you so much! I made it for my sons 5th birthday. It had the same moist fluffy crumb of my chocolate cake. I was thrilled.
I would like to add that I used 1/2 tsp baking soda and cooked it in a bundt pan for 40ish minutes. I used my food processor to cream the sugar and butter. And this might be a good tip for others so I’ll add it here, I made sure that once I mixed the wet ingredients with the dry that it was in the preheated oven within 10 minutes so that the first half of the double acting rise baking powder would still be in effect.
Did you use 2 eight inch or 2 nine inch pans?
I usually use 9-inch pans.
Where is the recipe for the Chocolate Frosting?
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Will this recipe work for cup cakes? I have tried a few and haven’t found any that would work. The cup cakes always turned out where I had to trim off the side and that’s never fun.
Many people in the comments have made cupcakes and I think it’s worked great!
I am using this recipe for a 6-layer rainbow birthday cake. When should I add food coloring?
You don’t want to overmix the batter, so I’d probably try to do it before adding the flour.
Hi there!
I was looking for a yellow cake recipe I could convert into gluten free. I had some criteria: It had to be a butter cake (because the reverse creaming method works best with GF cakes); I had to be able to sub some of the white sugar for brown sugar; and I had to be able to add some spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.
I made my own cake flour with a GF AP flour (and your tips), used the reverse creaming method and then… filled the mini cupcake cups too full and left them in about 90 seconds too long. lol I would say 14 minutes at 350*F would probably do it.
I did manage a sheet cake. I think I put it in for 26 minutes total but it should have come out at 25, it was slightly crispy at the edges.
So, I used your yellow cake recipe to make a spice cake, which turned out amazing. Then I used someone else’s salted caramel buttercream. I probably should have used yours, their recipe was …not right. It ended up needing milk in the final stage and came out tasting like those molasses candies you get at Halloween.
It’s a great recipe, worked well for the conversion!
Thanks so much for your detailed review – this will be so helpful for others wanting a gluten-free version!
Oh Mel, I am very new to baking. Like a month new. My first project was a cheesecake and it came out perfect the first time. (I still can’t explain that!) My hisband’s favorite cake is yello cake. I read your whole story and it was so funny and entertaining. I did everything like you said and it came out so dry. I need all the help I can get! Could this simply be that I overbaked it or did I miss something crucial? The flavor and color were fantastic but it was so dry that it was not edible. Help!! As I said I am a complete virgin to making cakes. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Hey Heather – sorry the cake came out dry! Did you use a scale to weigh the ingredients? What kind of oven do you have? Gas/electric? Convection? So many factors could play into this, but generally if a cake is as dry as you explained it was overbaked quite a bit or overfloured.
Hi Mel, do you think it is possible to make this into a lemon cake? Maybe with lemon zest or lemon flavoring?
You could definitely try! I don’t know how strong the lemon flavor would be, but you could try pure lemon extract and lemon zest in the batter.
Just came upon this recipe and am now on my second rum cake using it as the yellow cake base. It’s perfect. I have hunted forever for a suitable replacement for the yellow boxed cake most recipes ask for. I use bakers joy to coat my bundt pan as I find it the easiest way to ensure a seamless release each time. Baked for about 42 min and it’s perfect both times.
Thank you!!
I baked this cake last week for a friend’s birthday, and it was FABULOUS! Thanks for all the time and work you spent fine-tuning this recipe.
Have you tried layering this cake with your Unbelievable Chocolate Cake? Are their density similar?
Also, how do both cakes hold up when layered with fruits in between layers? Thanks!
I haven’t, but I think if you wanted a fruit flavoring, the best way to get that (based on my experience with other frostings) is to pulverize freeze-dried fruit and add it to the whipped frosting.
I haven’t tried layering the two cakes. I do think the texture of the two cakes is a bit different, but it would probably work ok.
It looks delicious… would you try to make a RUM CAKE with this recipe? (Not for your five kids) I was looking and looking for a recipe made from scratch and I could only find a recipe made with boxed yellow cake and vanilla pudding. I tried a few times and ended up putting twice the glaze amount among a few other changes. And it is really tasty and fluffy and moist… but i can’t help to wonder what on earth they put in the box.. i wanted a more natural cake… whole wheat flour and brown sugar maybe in my future trials… i love homemade cakes but I also would love to have something a little bit healthier whenever possible.
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to perfect this recipe! I just wanted to chime in and let anyone looking know that this recipe can be successfully adapted to be gluten free. I subbed out cup for cup with King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose flour + 3/4 tsp xanthan gum, followed everything else to a T, and it turned out perfectly! I have tried all week, with little success, to find a tender and moist gluten-free yellow cake recipe. This one is so good and the texture is so on point that most people probably could not tell it was not made from flour. Thanks again!!
Thanks for the gluten free notes, Madelyn!
OMG! This cake is sinfully delicious! Mel you really perfected this yellow cake recipe! Thanks!
Ok I just made this and it is delicious! Crazy how it can be perfectly dense & fluffy all at once, and sweet but not too sweet.
I followed the recipe to the T (except for the Greek yogurt I used in place of the sour cream). My only issue was, I used a 13×9 inch glass pan and found it difficult to get proper alteration recommendations off of google, so I improvised.
I baked it on 350 for 25 mins then noticed it was brushing, but still highly in the middle, so I kept it in there an additional 5 minutes then checked it with a knife. It was still a bit wet in the center so I let it go 5 more minutes on 300 then I just turned the oven off and jet it sit 5 more minutes. I was worried it would over cook but sure enough when I took it out, it was perfectly firm and soft all around. I tasted the edge piece first and even that was moist!
Thanks for this recipe!
Did you try buttermilk with this?
I did and it’s ok, but I like the texture a little better using the sour cream/milk.
Hi Mel! I have made this cake in the past with great success! I have been asked to make it this weekend for a friends 40th birthday party and I am hoping you can help me out…. I have always made it on round pans but I will need a cake for 40+ people so I was planning on using 2 9×13″ pans and layering them. Do you suggest I double the recipe? I am concerned this would be too much batter? Thank you for your help!
Hey Jessica, I think you should double it for two 9X13-inch pans. If the pans start looking too full, you could save a little batter and make a few cupcakes, but I don’t think a single batch or even a 1 1/2 batch would be enough.
Thank you!!!
I made this cake and it was terrific in texture and moistness…..actually quite perfect! My only question is the color…….mine looked closer to a white cake rather than yellow. I went back through the recipe to make sure I did everything correctly and I did. In the past I have only used boxed yellow cake so maybe a scratch yellow cake isnt going to be as yellow….any thoughts?
By the way…..your recipes are terrific! I came across your site when searching for salsa recipes. Your tomato best salsa ever is outstanding!!
Thanks, Cathy! I do think this homemade cake is lighter in color than a boxed mix; I wouldn’t worry about that! 🙂
I will definitely try this recipe since I am always seeking a moist cake. I will also try the rum cake with this recipe. As far as the color, I use a few drops of yellow food coloring just to give it little tint. I use color in my 7 Up Pound cake recipe as well.
I am soooo happy to have read of your experience. At least I don’t think I am crazy any more because I do the same thing. I start with research and then goes the hands on practice and experience. I have always wanted to perfect three things that top my list: apple pie, yellow cake, and chocolate cake all from scratch of course. So thank you, thank you very much. It is so beautiful to be able to share recipes and to experience all of these spectacular results. Thank you and happy baking.
Finally tried this recipe and loved that it made the perfect sized 2-layer cake!
Perfection! And that crackly top layer is amazing! I had to peel it off and sample 🙂 Been looking for this recipe for years!
Just wanted to make note for anyone out there having issues with it falling… One major thing I discovered this week is that you can’t do the convection cycle with this recipe. Bake on a regular oven cycle. I had two batches fall because of the convection. My theory is that it was causing the top to set and rise too fast without the structure inside to set and support it.
Not saying this will solve everyone’s problems, but wanted to share if anyone else was having issues. I also grease and flour my pans. The flour gives it some grip to help it rise and cling to the pans long enough to set.
Happy baking!
I had baked the cake twice and it fell both times, but I always use the confection cycle! Thank you for the hint. I did the high altitude adjustments (Denver area) so convection must be the culprit. I will try one more time, for I’ve not been disappointed with any of Mel’s recipes, and I use many!
The best yellow cake I’ve made over decades of baking! Thank you for sharing .
I was so disappointed in this cake! 🙁 I’ve made carrot cakes & Italian cream cakes homemade but never a yellow cake, so I was excited to try it. I made this for my bfs bday & luckily the chocolate frosting recipe I used was delicious & saved the cake. I also used raspberries & toasted almonds to decorate which distracted from how dry & bland the cake was. I hate saying a boxed cake is better than homemade, but the yellow cake mixes I’ve had are definitely better than this recipe.
Thank you for this recipe as a base, it is wonderful! I usually use an organic box mix and wanted to try a scratch version and didn’t know where to start. I did make some changes! I also baked the recipe into CUPCAKES. All turned out good. My changes were as follows: I used Quinoa Flour and Whole Wheat Flour vs. all purpose. Increased Baking Soda to 1 tsp. Substituted 3/4 Cup Half & Half for Milk & Sour Cream. Now, for those who do NOT like very sweet baked goods, I don’t either, here is a suggestion, use ORGANIC CANE, DERMERA or TURBANADO SUGAR instead of regular granulated sugar, and reduce the total amount of sugar in the recipe by 1/4 – 1/2 Cup, depending upon how much the original recipe calls for. It usually works, and it worked for this recipe as well.
Thank you for the information on baking.
I don’t like much sugar in my cake, I learnt that sugar not only makes cake sweet but also add moisture. What can I do to tone down the sweet taste of sugar in my cake or reduce sugar and still make my cake moist.
Thank you.
I’m not sure – you’ll have to experiment. Good luck!
This turned out great! My husband will only eat box cakes so I am going to surprise him with this cake. I did add a teaspoon of butter flavor. It took longer to cook and one of the edges didn’t come out of the pan (hence, you stated to grease, re-grease, and use parchment paper) LOL This is definitely a keeper. Thank you for your hard work.
Do you have the recipe for the chocolate icing? Thanks!
Yes, please share your chocolate icing recipe with us! Attempting this cake recipe for my brother’s birthday on Friday per his request of yellow cake with chocolate icing 🙂
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Forgot to rate the cake. Here is my rating. Perfection.
Hello Mel: Pat here: The exam is over and the cake was rated very highly. Moist and very light and very tasty — thanks to you.
The chipped up cranberries worked very well –much better than the whole cranberries and in my view did not affect the quality of the outcome. In fact, it added a lot of flavor and look and feel. I also substituted orange flavoring for vanilla– delightful,I thought.
While I iced my cake for the exam, I thought that in the future—and I will do this cake again and gain —I would steer away from icing and serve with a cranberry compote. I had used lemon curd for the filling and my instructor thought that stewing the fresh cranberries and adding the lemon curd might work.
What I truly liked about this cake is that it is reliable—I have baked it three times and got the same good results. I had been struggling with another recipe and kept getting a gluiness in the middle. Ugh! Drove me crazy.
One thing about this cake, though, is that it is easy to over bake—at around 25 mins it looked way undone. So I added another five mins — and that was a bit overdone. I did a second baking and did a better job on the timing.
Second, this cake is delicate and needs careful handling. In the first baking, in addition to being overdone, when I turned it out onto the cooling rack, it sort of dropped onto the rack and I think that also contributed to a flatter cake.
On the second baking, I let it cool completely in the pan (well, I did go to the beach to de-stress and had to leave it) but when I returned I gently lowered it onto the cooling rack and it maintained its height perfectly. So gentle handling is important for this cake.
Your feedback is so valuable. Thanks, Pat! I’m glad all went well for your exam! I love the idea of lemon curd with this cake. I appreciate all your comments!
Loved your ideas about salted butter instead of unsalted butter but, the tip to use extra 1 teaspoon of salt was very helpful when using unsalted butter. Like your tips about the eggs, 1% milk or buttermilk. All your tips to bake this recipe the part about how to avoid air bubbles and having items at room temperature. Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your ideas and your friends idea.
Hello Mel: Pat, student baker, here again: regarding my practice cake being too crumbly —I had sort of anticipated my cake rising and falling in the centre (my history with other recipes), so I had increased the baking soda by a 1/4 teaspoon (re your note). Now realize in my case was not necessary and may have been the cause of the crumbliness. So will be sticking to your tried and true.
Will let you know how my cake is judged in final—cranberries and all.
I am not yet sure how this cake turned out as I am using