Best Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe Ever
A tried-and-true recipe for a classic yellow cake recipe that really is the best yellow cake! Made from scratch, it is tender and so fluffy and moist!
Well, the day is finally here. As many of you know, I’ve been on a quest to perfect the best yellow cake on the planet.
And this is it.
While this post is a bit involved (I couldn’t help but share the testing results with you!), the truth is, the actual best yellow cake recipe is super simple so don’t let the explanations scare you.
If you follow the recommendations thoroughly, you’ll end up with the fluffiest, most delicious yellow cake ever.
The Evolution of Testing the Perfect Yellow Cake
When I first set out to perfect the best yellow cake, I started with three recipes popular online (David’s Yellow Cake from allrecipes.com, Deb’s yellow birthday cake from smittenkitchen.com and Cook’s Illustrated Yellow Layer Cake).
I made each of them as is. While I am a fan of each of these sites and resources, respectively, the cakes were all lacking to me.
David’s Yellow Cake was a little dry with kind of a weird, spongy texture, the cake from Smitten Kitchen was reminiscent of cornbread and the Cook’s Illustrated yellow cake was by far the driest of them all.
I set about modifying ingredients and amounts and methods and while someone smarter than I probably could have pared the testing down to just a couple of cakes, what can I say, it took me a while.
Ok, let’s talk…
I’ve jotted down all the details of why the type of ingredients/method matters for this cake. Read on, read on!
The Butter
- I’ve mentioned it before, but I rarely use unsalted butter.
- I tested this cake with both unsalted and salted and adjusted the salt amount accordingly. In the end, there wasn’t a difference in outcome, so I stuck with my go-to: salted butter.
- I use the Land o’ Lakes brand mostly (sometimes the Sam’s Club brand). If you want to use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
- Also, butter temperature really matters. It should be soft enough to gently slide a finger through with a bit of pressure but not sludgy, greasy or overly soft.
- The time I accidentally used overly soft butter (uh, it somehow stayed on the counter for, like, 12 hours because even though I love baking, my five kids still take precedence over making a yellow cake), it resulted in a greasy, weirdly spongy cake.
- I did not test this cake with margarine, coconut oil, shortening or the like so you’ll have to experiment with those if desired.
- Also, whipping that butter for a good 1-2 minutes is extra important. And beating the heck out of it and the sugar for another 4-5 is non-negotiable. Doing this creates air which helps create fluffiness in the baked cake.
- The cake(s) that I tested where the butter was minimally whipped were not nearly as fluffy. And fluffy = greatness.
The Eggs
I know, I know. Using room temperature eggs is a total pain in the behind.
I’m right there with you! I hate recipes that require it. And so when I first started testing cakes, I refused to do it.
And my cakes were looking like this:
- So I crumbled, no pun intended, and used room temperature eggs the next time I made a cake and the difference was remarkable.
- Light and fluffy…where before the cake was slightly dense and a bit crumbly.
- There may have been other factors at play, but as I messed around with the recipe, it was very, very clear that room temperature eggs are important.
- If you are like me and often forget to plan in advance, don’t fret – place those chilled eggs in a bowl or liquid measure filled with very slightly warm water for 15-ish minutes and you’ll be good to go.
- Speaking of the eggs, in my testing, I ended up scaling down the whole eggs from four to three and adding an egg yolk or two to replace the missing whole egg – two egg yolks managed to be the perfect answer.
- Egg whites add structure but can take away moisture from baked goods, hence the three whole eggs + two egg yolks in the recipe.
- Don’t be like me and get tempted to sub a whole egg for the two egg yolks. You’ll get a pretty decent cake but not a fantastic, best-ever cake.
- However, when I used all egg yolks and no whites, the cake was slightly gummy and not as fluffer-fluffy as I wanted.
The Milk + Sour Cream
- I was sure that plain old milk was the only liquid I needed in my cake.
- At about cake #10, I was fairly positive it needed to be one cup of whole milk, even though the thought made me cringe since I never have whole milk on hand.
- I was befuddled why I was getting a really, really good cake that was still just so, very slightly dry.
- In the end, it wasn’t necessarily dryness but a lack of tenderness I was noticing.
- And the adjustment of sour cream to compensate for the reduced milk did just the trick (plus adding baking soda in for the acidity in combination with the already present baking powder, which took a couple rounds because I misjudged the amount of baking soda at first and there was so much leavening power in the cake that it sank in the middle…badly…however, once the baking powder and soda were adjusted accordingly, the cake was magnificent).
- The real plus was that after I added sour cream, I used 1% milk instead of whole without sacrificing any moisture or tenderness.
The Flour
- As much as my heart wanted a fabulous yellow cake without having to use cake flour, it didn’t happen.
- The cakes I made with all-purpose flour were dry and dense with a much coarser crumb, slightly reminiscent of dry cornbread.
- Cake flour is lower protein than all-purpose flour and also has a finer texture (thanks to the starch in it) which results in a much finer crumb in a baked cake. The good news is that even though the recipe requires cake flour, you can make your own (my kitchen tip from yesterday gives you two super easy methods).
- If you have a kitchen scale, use it. You’ll get very precise results.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, buy one. Ok, just joking. Kind of. I know not everyone can do that (but you should really put it on your wish list). If you are measuring using cups, measure with a light hand. Spoon the cake flour into the cup and gently level off with a flat edge.
- For this recipe, if you are making your own cake flour, don’t mess with making one cup at a time, instead, I’ve done the math for you: you’ll need 210 grams of all-purpose flour and 45 grams of cornstarch. Sift it twice. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sift once more. Make sense?
- Also, for high altitude, I’ve got your back. Ok, actually, my friend, Lisa, has your back. She tested this recipe for me – she lives at 5,400 feet elevation.
- She made the cake twice, the first time it fell significantly. She added an additional 2 1/2 tablespoons cake flour (if using a homemade cake flour substitute, that would be about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch) and the cake baked up perfectly (along with a slight increase in baking time and buttering the heck out of the pans).
Sifting
- This sifting action, called for in the recipe, is in addition to any sifting you may have done if you are making your own cake flour.
- You don’t need to sift twice, just give the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda a quick sift through a fine mesh strainer.
- This was one of the last variables to add to the best yellow cake recipe. The last few cakes I made were so good. But just not quite there.
- Once I sifted the dry ingredients prior to incorporating into the batter, the results were far superior – lighter and fluffier (let’s see how many times I can use those two descriptors in this post).
The Batter
- Ah, the gorgeous batter. It may look just slightly curdled and that’s ok.
- Spread it evenly in the pan, and give it a quick tap or light drop on the counter.
- When I didn’t do this, there were significant air bubbles in the baked cake. You don’t want to drop it from the rooftop like a crazy egg-drop challenge and you don’t need to tap more than once, just a quick light drop will suffice.
- I only ever baked the cake in two 9-inch pans to keep testing criteria similar, however, I think it could also be made in three 8-inch pans.
- Cupcakes and sheet cakes will have to be an experiment until someone reports back. I have them on my radar also, but it may be a little while before I actually try them.
- As for the cake pans, significant greasing (with butter and cooking spray and possibly flour, too) is needed for the cake not to stick. I also line the bottom of the greased pan with a parchment round that I’ve cut out and then grease the top of it.
- My magic number for baking was right at 27 minutes; however, keep in mind that all ovens vary slightly.
- Lisa, my awesome friend who tested high altitude baking for me, needed more like 30 minutes for her cakes (she made the recipe twice).
One Year Ago: Six Recipes the World Forgot {Part 3}
Two Years Ago: Paprika Chicken Stroganoff
Three Years Ago: Naan – Indian Flatbread
Perfected Yellow Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (371 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups (255 g) cake flour, lightly measured, see note for high altitude adjustments
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda, see note
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk, 1% or above, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, light or regular, room temperature
Instructions
- To prep, whisk together the milk and sour cream together in a liquid measure and let come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make sure an oven rack is placed in the middle of the oven.
- In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, whip the butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Mix in the vanilla.
- One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing just until combined in between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift them together through a fine mesh strainer.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and mix. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add the last 1/2 of the milk/sour cream mixture and beat until just combined. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Give the batter one good, final stir with the rubber spatula.
- Grease the cake pans and line the bottoms with a parchment round. Grease the parchment and sides of the pan again very well. I use regular cooking spray but you can also use butter or cooking spray with flour. If your cake pans tend to cause sticking, consider also flouring the pans.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Drop each pan from about 3-inches onto the counter to minimize air bubbles while baking.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes (high altitude: 28-30 minutes) until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Resist the urge to open and close the oven to check on the cake – this can cause the center of the cake to fall and never recover. And as with all cakes, don’t overbake or the cake will be dry.
- Let the cakes rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before gently turning them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Special Thanks To…
A special, super, huge thank you to two very important people (I kind of feel like I’m giving an acceptance speech at The National Convention for Best Yellow Cakes here):
Nicole, a wonderful friend of mine, was the one who finally gave me the insight I needed for the last step in perfecting this cake (a huge blessing because I didn’t know if I honestly had another yellow cake in me and her advice resulted in the.perfect.cake) and Lisa, sweetest sweetie ever, who willingly tested this cake for me (multiple times) in order to provide all you high altitude dwellers with essential tips for success.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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 it for practice for my cake baking exam and i have to ice it. however, it looks to me as if it did not rise as much as it should. i suspect it may have to do that I added raw cranberries—some of which I used whole, the rest cut in haves I think dismay be affecting the cake. For the real exam cake, i thought i would pit the cranberries through the food processor to reduce the weight of the cranberries.
what do you think? should i forego the cranberries entirely? i wanted the cranberries to give the cake a more celebratory tone for exam purposes.
Hi Pat, I can’t attest to how cranberries will affect the outcome of this cake, so you might leave them out if you want the cake to turn out as described in the recipe. Good luck!
Thanks so much for your kind response, Mel. I just cut a little corner of the practice cake and it is fine — perhaps a little too crumbly, not sure, but may be due to the cranberries, Otherwise, the cake is fine and tastes great. I think for the final I will scale back on the cranberries — this time use fewer and run them through the processor so I get a finer consistency to what I add. I want to do so as it is a Christmas cake and the cranberries are my nod to Christmas.
I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks so much for all your hard work. Love the cake.
Good morning. I am preparing to make this cake but I have a dilemma. My cakes tend to come out a little tight. I believe I’m over beating them. When incorporating the flour to the batter how can I avoid doing this? Please advise. Thank you
I made this cake tonight and followed the instructions exactly including making my own cake flour. I used a bundt pan instead of layers. I want to note that I didn’t think clearly about the baking time and set my timer for the amount I would have needed for cake pans – about half the time required for a bundt. I opened the oven door, tested for doneness and pulled back a tester covered with batter. I closed that door, reset the timer, and said a prayer. The cake continued to bake and did not drop or otherwise do anything to make me sad. It smells wonderful and the batter on the tester was delicious. I iced it with my brother’s frosting made from butter and chocolate chips. Smooth, creamy and fluffy. The cake is destined for a Thanksgiving birthday celebration and I expect it to be a hit. Will update my comment after it is served and tasted.
The instructions are written very clearly so although there are several steps, it is not difficult to follow. I will probably never make another boxed cake again based simply on the texture and taste of the cake batter. Thank you.
I rated the recipe for all the above factors and have no reason to think I will remove a star after tasting.
Mel – My husband asked me to bake an upside down pineapple cake for his boss’ birthday, and I stumbled across this recipe while preparing to do a practice run. So very glad I did! I’m a bit of a novice baker, but you explained things so well. The batter worked perfectly in the cast iron and wowed everyone who I had try it. Thanks so much!!
Could 3/4 of a cup of buttermilk be used instead of milk and sourcream? I am making a cake tomorrow, didn’t want to go back out to get sourcream,
I think you could probably try that – I had the best luck using the sour cream/milk mixture but buttermilk would be a close substitute.
I am planning to make this cake tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday party on Saturday. I will make the whipped cream frosting to go with it (my daughter likes all vanilla!) so I am planning on assembling on Saturday. Just wondering if the cake itself should go in the fridge without the frosting? From Friday until Saturday? Or should I leave it out?
If it’s just from Friday to Saturday, I would wrap the baked cake layers in plastic wrap and keep them at room temp overnight.
Thank you Mel, I am excited to try it. Love your recipes and your super hard work!!!
Mel–At what altitude are you baking this cake? Just wondering if I should use the original recipe or the high altitude. Thank you!!
I’ve made this at sea level and 2,400 feet. 🙂
Truly. The. Best. Yellow. Cake. Ever. Mel, you’re not kidding. I want to thank you for all the work and research you did to make my little ol life easier! I needed to bake a “simple” apple cake in which the apple flavor stood out. I used this cake recipe and diced up some peeled Granny Smith apples in the batter. No cinnamon. The apples shone through and the cake was sooo moist yet fluffy and melt in your mouth wonderful! I used a whipped Mascarpone filling/frosting, leaving the sides naked, and provided a pitcher of caramel sauce to pour over each slice. Thanks again!
Lori
Oh my goodness, that sounds divine!
I have never left a comment but I feel the need to on this one.
I wanna start by saying I am 27 and I suffer from a bad chronic illness that has caused me to not be able to do what i love like bake as much as i would like. So a recipe working is very important cause I don’t have strength to redo something and this recipes was so beautifully explained thank you thank you for putting so much time into this so i didn’t have to.
The cake came out absolutely beautiful, like I did a happy dance when I cut into it and saw that perfect crumb.
Again thank you so much for this amazing yellow cake recipe. This will be going in my collection that I will share with my daughter when shes older.
People if you need a yellow cake recipe please give this one a try you will not be disappointed.
I just made this and the cake also sank in the middle for me (which I don’t particularly mind- easier to frost!!). It may be due to the fact that there is a lot of leavening and air, but little structure from the cake flour. The cake is super super tasty, but I am wondering what would happen if we used a mix of cake and AP flour, or just AP flour to stabilize the air. Just my food-science-y thoughts!!!
yellow cake was excellent and it came out very good , thanks for the post.
I am wondering if this will work for high altitude in Colorado? Or what adjustments would need to be made. It sounds delicious!
Hi Kathy – usually cakes made at high altitude need a couple tablespoons extra flour, but I’m not a high altitude expert, so you might want to google any other tips before making this.
I just made this cake and I have to say it takes the cake, its the best cake I’ve ever made. It is so moist and tender, my family will enjoy this very much.
Simply delicious.
Just made your yellow cake recipe tonight and I am so delighted with how it turned out. Thank you for all the directions and details you included in your recipe. For someone who doesn’t bake often, it was exactly what I needed. Now to decide on the icing. 🙂 thinking of adding a ganache in between the layers and your whipped chocolate cream icing on top. Thanks again!
Question do you know how many cups of batter this makes???
Probably about 6 cups of batter, give or take.
I made this today. Like you, I have been searching for the perfect yellow cake. This is the best one I’ve tried. Thank you for all your hard work in perfecting this recipe. It will be my go to recipe for yellow cake!
Wondering about the sheet came pan..,did you ever try that?
Can I use this recipe for a sheet cake pan? I have an order for 10 sheet cakes. Luckily it isn’t until Oct. so I am trying recipes. It’s hard to find recipes using a sheet pan. every time I type in sheet pan I get sheet cake recipes. Whatever help you can give me I will appreciate it. Thanks
I haven’t tried this cake in a sheet pan, but I’m guessing it could work very well! Good luck if you try it.
Hi Mel! I used this recipe for cupcakes & they were delicious, but crumbled quite a bit when I tried icing them. The texture was so tender, and the flavor omgosh!! I didn’t have milk or sour cream, so instead I used kefir, and whole milk yogurt (stoneyfield farms brand, nor Greek) but they still came out wonderful. I’ve tried way too many recipes & yours is the best one by far. Can’t wait to try the chocolate cake too!
I just baked this in one of those big pans shaped like a number — a 1 in this case. I followed the instructions exactly, weighing everything with my kitchen scale. I am in NJ, and often have to adjust recipes due to high humidity. I didn’t mess with this one at all. I was worried as I baked it because the pan is quite deep and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to set. I started checking it at 25 minutes and all said ended up baking it for about 37-38 minutes. It is cooling now and I think it turned out, but I’m going to guess I could have taken it out 2-3 minutes sooner. The edges are a bit caramelized. It was hard to tell for sure if it was done. The top started getting darker than golden brown and the edges were definitely looking done, but the middle appeared to stay very loose for a long time. Again, I think it must be due to the deeper pan. If I knew more about baking, I’d probably adjust the temp or time to account for the different pan. Anyhow– thanks Mel! I can’t wait to serve it tonight. Off to make the chocolate frosting! 🙂
So I just finished frosting and eating a slice (or two) of this cake and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into perfecting this cake. It really paid off!
This cake is moist and fluffy and the flavor is so good. I bake everyday and am always trying new recipes to find the very best cakes. I have found a great chocolate and white cake recipe, but a yellow cake recipe was still not perfected in my book. Now this one is in there right along side the others!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad I found your recipe
Thanks, Kelley! I’m actually on the hunt for the perfect from-scratch white cake recipe. Do you mind sharing your go-to white cake recipe?
Thank you for doing this. I appreciate the hard work you put into testing this recipe. I’m on my 4th attempt at yellow cake, and looking at your recipe it looks like exactly what I was headed toward. I’ve been struggling with a delicious flavor and a strange flaky cornbread type crumb (even using cake flour) I plan on trying this today but if you have any tips before I get started, I’m all ears
This is the best yellow cake recipe I’ve ever made and I’ve made quite many! Makes an absolutely delicious 3 layer 6 inch cake for me. My family fights over the scraps! I especially love how this recipe uses up my leftover egg yolks from macarons. I follow the recipe to the T, but usually use about 3/4 cup buttermilk and top up with whole milk to make a cup because i don’t normally have sourcream at home. Works wonderfully still to yield a very moist and tender delicious cake. For other bakers hoping to sub sour cream for buttermilk, i find that subbing one entire cup of buttermilk makes the cake too tender and…. fudgy… almost. I can’t really describe the texture but it tastes better without that much buttermilk. Thanks for the great recipe! Its definitely my go to now 🙂
This is definitely my go-to yellow cake recipe! I have made it now about 10 times. My husband loves yellow cake with chocolate frosting. This cake is moist and tasty. Just make sure not to overbake and it will be perfect! In a pinch, I’ve used vanilla greek yogurt to sub for the sour cream and it’ perfect. Thanks for sharing such a delightful recipe.
I’ve made this several times, and it’s come out perfect every time thanks to Mel’s specific and detailed instructions!! I can’t ever go back to cake mix with deliciousness like this!
Hi! I just made the cake and it turned out awful. 🙁 I then did some checking on the weights and 2 1/2 cups flour does not equal 9oz. One cup of flour is around 4.5 oz so in the math I know that would be around 11 1/4 oz. Also the sugar is too much in oz. I maybe should have done the grams but haven’t checked that yet. Anyway, it must be a very nice cake, if I had the right measurements. And I thought weighing it all would be better! I followed everything else exactly, I bake cakes all the time, just sad I have to throw it away! Should have stuck to my tried and true! Anyway, just a mention to maybe help others who have had some problems.
In my cakes, I normally add mayonnaise to add moisture. Would that work instead of the sour cream?
You could certainly try!
I made this cake for my moms birthday. She is an excellent baker so the pressure was on! I like baking from scratch but will often use a jiffy yellow cake because yellow cake can be so fussy. I was very happy with the outcome and will use this recipe again, thank you!
I’ve made a lot of cakes, this one really is the BEST yellow cake.