FINALLY!!!!!! That perfect homemade yellow cake - Page 3  

So many raves for one recipe!! I registered just to say that I have this recipe noted down, I shall try it soon and give my reviews [raves] too :P :)

they both look so good!

Betty,

I have never been thrilled with any of the yellow cake recipes I've tried for the same reasons you mentioned.  I'm going to try this one.  I have a Masonic barbecue I'm attending, and the host's fiancee is going into the Eastern Star.  Her birthday is this weekend, and I was able to find a star-shaped cake pan.  I love chocolate, but I think I'll try a French buttercream to frost it.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Pomzdad

What type of milk did you use in your recipe?

Was it whole, 2%, 1%, skim?

What's the procedure for the yellow cake. Please? thanks a lot

Quote:

Originally Posted by BettyR 

I have been trying to find a good (from scratch) yellow cake recipe that’s moist, tender and has good flavor. After months of searching, testing and tinkering I’ve finally found what I was looking for.

This is a combination of two recipes; one was a pound cake and the other was a yellow cake. All of the yellow cakes that I had tried were the fat and sugar cream method and it was just not giving me what I wanted in a cake. Then I came across a pound cake recipe that dumped everything in a bowl and beat it up. It turned out moist and tender but heavier of course than a yellow cake.

So I decided to try combining the two recipes and hit the nail on the head the second try. I’ve made three more since just to be sure it would come out the same each time and it does.

Here is the recipe.

Basic Yellow Cake

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (do not sift the flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
Vegetable oil
1 stick butter (not margarine), softened
1-tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of (3) 9 x 1 1/2-inch round pans. Spray the pans with cooking spray, place the wax paper in the pans and spray the paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing well.

Measure the 1-1/4 cups of milk in a 2 cup measuring cup….then add enough vegetable oil to bring the liquid up to 1-1/3 cups.

Add the milk/vegetable oil mixture, butter and vanilla to the flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Add the eggs and continue beating an additional 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.

Cool cakes on wire racks for 15 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.

Frost as desired.

The procedure for the cake is here and it has not been deconsctructed.

I just tried this recipe and it was very good - it's my new go to yellow cake recipe.  It was moist even 3 days later which is my issue with most butter cakes.  I made it almost exactly as the recipe says except I used cake flour since I noticed that some of the other reviewers said the cake was dense and I was trying to get a lighter cake.  Also, I thoroughly beat in the butter before adding the wet ingredients.  The only problem I had with the recipe is it didn't come anywhere close to filling three 9" round pans.  It barely filled two 8" rounds!  Has anyone else found that?  Is it possible that the changes I made to the recipe could alter the amount of batter that much?

I'm so excited to try this cake!  Has anyone tried buttermilk instead of whole milk?  Just curious because "they" say buttermilk makes for a moister cake.  Also has anyone made this into cupcakes?  Trying to figure how the baking time/temp would differ while making cupcakes.   

Betty, how much Vegetable oil?

Thank's for the recipe. Just in time for a special request for a yellow cake for a birthday. I have also 

 been searching for a great yellow cake. Will try this weekend.

I tried this recipe with high hopes but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations.  It came out dense like a pound cake and very light in color (not yellow enough).  Perhaps I should try it with cake flour instead of all-purpose, as I notice someone else did.

Personally, my favorite from-scratch yellow cake recipe (and I've tried a few!) is Cook's Illustrated Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake.  It comes out yellow, moist and tall, keeps well and freezes well.  It's a bit too sweet for my taste though so I usually reduce the sugar by a few tablespoons.  I also substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, using the standard substitution of 1 cup minus 2 Tbs all-purpose for every 1 cup of cake flour.

I will have to try your Cooked Chocolate Frosting though... it looks amazing. ;)

I found this simple yellow cake recipe but have not tried it yet. Maybe I should try making it and get back to the rest of you on the results before you try using it. However, if someone would like to give this Yellow Cake Recipe a try:

                                  Yellow Cake

                  Ingredients                             Full Batch               Half Batch

Flour, wheat, sifted, general purpose.               4lbs                        2 lbs

Sugar, granulated                                           4lbs                        2 lbs

Salt                                                                1 1/2 oz                   3/4oz

Baking Powder                                                3 oz                        1 1/2 oz

Milk, nonfat, dry                                               6 oz                        3 oz

Shortening                                                      1 lb 8 oz                  12 oz

Water                                                             2 lbs 4oz                1 lb 2 oz

Eggs, whole                                                    2 lbs 4oz                1 lb 2 oz

Water                                                             12 oz                      6 oz

Vanilla extract                                                 2 oz                        1 oz

                                                      Method

1) Sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and milk into mixer bowl.

2) Add shortening and water to dry ingredients; beat at low speed 1 minute until blended.   Scrape down bowl; continue beating 2 minutes.

3) Combine eggs, water and vanilla. Add slowly to mixture while beating at low speed. Scrape down bowl. Beat at medium speed 3 minutes.

4) Pour about 20 ounces of batter into each greased and flowered 9" round cake pan .

5) Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until done.

6) Remove from pan after a brief cooling rest but while still hot. Cool completely and use as desired.

Full batch makes 12-9" round layers. 6 double layer cakes (96 portions cut by 16)

Half batch makes 6-9" layers. 3 double layer cakes (48 portions cut by 16)

I don't know why some of the "fours" turned out like that but you can still read the recipe. So lets see now if it does it again...4.  Nevermind I fixed it. If I could delete this reply I would.  But I don't know how.

Greetings!

I tried your perfect yellow cake recipe today and made cupcakes.

While the flavor was good I think it's just to dense for a cupcake. They turned out more like iced muffins.

I followed the recipe exactly for the cupcake, added two tsp of Chai spices and then iced with a Chai Buttercream

What can I do to take a perfect cake recipe and make it light enough for cupcakes?

Thanks,

Mrs. B

Oh no, no, no!!! I don't doubt the flavor is great, I'm sure it is...but half the task is presentation. Your crumb looks so loose! It's all over the place! Look at the terrible mess you made just by taking a slice!!! Nothing wrong with a moist, tender cake (which this sure looks like), but the risk you run with that is:the crumb on a cake must only be tight enough to hold itself together, but not so tight that it's tough and bready. It's probably a great recipe for home use, but it's not presentable enough for a restaurant or professional sale. I know if I made that, it would probably be sent back by the waiters or worse, the boss...God forbid!!!

This looks so decadent! Can you add semi-sweet or bittersweet to make a yellow-chocolate cake? I have seen a similar looking yellow cake with chocolate chips floating in the layers of cake. Do you have any tips on how to incorporate chocolate into the batter?

Hi Betty, I stumbled on this recipe for my soon to be 8 yr old DD birthday party. I was thinking of making a yellow/vanilla cake with chocolate frosting w/ freshly sliced bananas between the layers. I was wondering if it would be possible to substitute buttermilk for the milk just to add a bit of tangy-ness. The reason I ask is you have tasted the cake and would know what the change would to the final taste. I would appreciate your thoughts ...

OK, Betty, I'm making this cake right now.  It's for my son's 28th birthday that we're celebrating tomorrow.  I used whole milk and unsalted butter.  I realized that I was using the mixer at a lower speed then you discussed in the recipe.  By the time I realized this, I was well into mixing the three eggs into the batter. Will this affect the cakes.  They're out of the oven now, cooling on the racks.  I'm planning on using your chocolate frosting recipe.  Can I make this today and refrigerate it and frost tomorrow before the party?  Or do you think I should frost it tonight?  I rarely bake from scratch.  Pardon my ignorance. 
Thank you. 

Rich and creamy! thats the way I like my cakes to be..

HeY Gals!!! I wanted to try this recipe for my friends birthday topsy turvy cake. I was just wondering......how much oil do you put into the recipe?? It just says vegetable oil......please help. I cant wait to make it

Hi, I'm just started to do Wedding Cakes from home.  What kinds of Butter cream Icing would work well this cake?  I'm in buttercream HELL!!!! I've been trying a french BC.  Thank you and looking forward to the Red Velvet Cake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerchef1 

Hi, I'm just started to do Wedding Cakes from home.  What kinds of Butter cream Icing would work well this cake?  I'm in buttercream HELL!!!! I've been trying a french BC.  Thank you and looking forward to the Red Velvet Cake.

I love this cake but i think it's too soft for a wedding cake if you want to make it big and with tiers and all.  The weight of the upper layers will crush it.  You can use the platforms and straws method, but i think the soft and crumbly quality of this cake is its appeal, but also doesn;t lend itself to what would need to be a very structured cake as a wedding cake. 

Hi Betty, I just made a small 3 tier cake using your recipe and it turned out so good! This is of course only my 2nd cake I've ever made from scratch, but now I can take it easy knowing that I now have the perfect recipe for a home made yellow cake! Thank you so much!

Do you have any other recipes for cakes like a Red Velvet or a German Chocolate?

I can't say it enough, This is the most delicious cake I have ever had in my mouth!!!!!!!!      Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vgrace 

I just tried this recipe and it was very good - it's my new go to yellow cake recipe.  It was moist even 3 days later which is my issue with most butter cakes.  I made it almost exactly as the recipe says except I used cake flour since I noticed that some of the other reviewers said the cake was dense and I was trying to get a lighter cake.  Also, I thoroughly beat in the butter before adding the wet ingredients.  The only problem I had with the recipe is it didn't come anywhere close to filling three 9" round pans.  It barely filled two 8" rounds!  Has anyone else found that?  Is it possible that the changes I made to the recipe could alter the amount of batter that much?

I ran into the same problem, the mix barely was enough to fill 2 8" round pans! So I just made a second batch right away...  LOVED the outcome though, best cake I ever had!

OMG OMG OMG OMG!! thats all i can say right now! its my birthday today and i decided to search for cake recipes. i choose this since all of the good reviews so after making sure i had everything on hand, which suprisingly i did, i started and its cooling right now! im skiptical of cakes made from scratch, i had one before and it was horrible. but just from the batter alone - hehe- it was delicious. i couldnt get it out of the oven fast enough to taste a little bite. absolutley wonderful, delicious, everything! the only thing i had to change was to cook it 10 minutes longer. i cant wait for my husband to come home for breakfast and see what i made. been in a huge baking mood lately so something new to add to my recipe book. thank you soo much for posting this recipe! i didnt try the icing yet since theres no cocoa in the house lol but i will give it a shot and see how it is. again thank you for this recipe absolutely amazing!!!!!

...Still, I don't doubt the flavor...it DOES look delicious...but the appearance is a mess. So raggedy. The crumb is TOO LOOSE.

I tried this cake today, I have been searching for a cake that is moist and so tasty! This is IT! the cake is sooooo goos and moist! Thank you, will post pictures soon!

This was absolutely the BEST yellow cake recipe I have ever tasted. I have been looking for one that didn't come out dry and this cake was so moist! I topped it with lemon frosting and it was fabulous. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.