Yellow Butter Cake Recipe
Yellow Cake is an old fashioned cake made with a rich blend of butter, eggs, and buttermilk for a tender butter cake that’s perfect for birthdays and everyday celebrations!
You can make this Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe as a layer cake or sheet cake and frost it with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Nutella Frosting, or even Malted Chocolate Buttercream!
This Yellow Cake Recipe was originally published on Spend With Pennies where I am a contributor.
The Best Yellow Cake Recipe from Scratch
When I was growing up, Birthday Cake meant Funfetti Cake, but to my husband, it was Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting. I’ll admit, yellow cake is not my favorite, but my husband requested it this year for his birthday, so I set out on a mission to make the perfect one!
What is Yellow Butter Cake?
This classic cake recipe might be the most traditional of them all. Unlike white or vanilla cake, this is a simple and rich recipe made with butter and whole eggs, which yields a golden crumb and tender cake.
This particular yellow cake recipe also adds egg yolks, a bit of vegetable oil, and uses buttermilk to bring this moist yellow cake recipe to life! It’s WAY better than any boxed cake mix!
Yellow Butter Cake ingredients
- cake flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- granulated sugar
- vegetable oil
- unsalted butter
- vanilla extract
- large eggs
- large egg yolks
- buttermilk
How To Make Yellow Cake
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set it aside.
- Cream the sugar, oil, butter, and vanilla together in a bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Beating after each addition.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 3 parts alternating with buttermilk in 2 parts. Do so by hand, and make sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan(s).
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Then transfer the cake pans to a wire rack to allow them to cool.
How To Make This Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe As A Layer Cake
It is super easy to make this yellow cake recipe from scratch, but it’s VERY important to make sure that ALL ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.
Then you’ll prepare your batter and divide it evenly between two round cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper. bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center of the cake.
How To Make This Yellow Butter Cake As A Sheet Cake
You can make this recipe as both a layer cake and a single-layer sheet cake. To make a sheet cake, just grease a 9×13-inch cake pan, add the batter, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool, frost, and serve from the pan.
Frosting for this Homemade Yellow Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Buttercream
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- American Buttercream
- Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
- Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
Best Yellow Cake Recipe Tips For Success!
I’m sure you’ll agree that this is the best yellow cake recipe you’ve ever made! And there are a few tips to help you make it!
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you begin mixing.
- Make sure you use cake flour and not all-purpose flour. This will make for a better cake.
- If you do not have cake flour on hand, you can make a suitable substitute from all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
- Sifting the dry ingredients helps to remove lumps and aerates the mixture allowing it the blend better with the wet ingredients and resulting in a lighter and finer crumb after baking.
- Folding in the dry ingredients instead of mixing helps keep the texture of the cake light and fluffy.
- Use Bake-Even Cake Strips on round cakes for even layers.
How To Store Yellow Cake
How Long Does It Last?
If your family doesn’t eat it all in one sitting, you’ll want to store this cake at room temperature for up to 24 hours, and then should be wrapped and placed in the refrigerator. The cake should be consumed within 3 to 4 days after baking.
Can you freeze Yellow Butter Cake?
Yes, you can, and freezing this cake makes assembly quick and easy when a special occasion pops up!
To freeze it, bake and cool it according to the recipe directions. Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap each layer with plastic wrap, then wrap each layer with aluminum foil, then place each layer in a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.
When ready to use, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 30 to 60 minutes while still wrapped, then remove and use.
Assembling the cake when the layers are still partially frozen will actually make it a little easier and will result in clean cuts once the cake is sliced.
FAQs for Making a Yellow Cake Recipe from Scratch
Why Do Cake Ingredients Need To Be Room Temperature?
Room temperature ingredients blend together better to create an emulsion that traps air and results in a lighter and fluffier texture when baking. It takes most ingredients about 30 minutes to come to room temperature once removed from the fridge.
Butter: At room temperature, butter creams better with other ingredients. When mixed with sugar, like in this recipe and many others, the sugar creates air pockets in the softened butter which allows the yellow cake to bake evenly and turn out fluffy.
Eggs: When eggs are room temperature, they create more volume when whipped than cold eggs. Adding cold eggs can also resolidify the fat in the butter resulting in clumps. This recipe calls for additional egg yolks, and it’s important to note that eggs are easier to separate when they are cold.
Buttermilk: Again, it’s important that this ingredient is at room temperature mostly so that it doesn’t cause the butter to cool when added. Using room temperature buttermilk will help the emulsification process and produce a tender cake.
Can You Make This Recipe Into Cupcakes?
Yes, you absolutely can! We perfected our moist Yellow Cupcake recipe by making a couple of adjustments to this butter cake recipe. Don’t simply pop this batter in cupcake pans and bake at 350!
More Delicious Cake Recipes
- Hummingbird Cake – A delicious sheet cake version of the classic layer cake!
- German Chocolate Poke Cake – An easy chocolate cake with delicious layers.
- Nutella Cake – A yummy layer cake of chocolate hazelnut perfection!
- Tres Leches Cake – A deliciously sweet cake made with three different kinds of milk!
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Yellow Cake
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups cake flour1
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter2 room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1½ cups buttermilk room temperature
- Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting 3
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper and set aside. You can also bake this as a sheet cake in a 9×13-inch pan, there is no need to line the sheet pan.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.4 Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream together the sugar, oil, butter, and vanilla.
- Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time beating after each addition just until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients in 3 parts alternating with the buttermilk in 2 parts. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Gently fold until only very small lumps remain. DO NOT use an electric mixer for this step.5
- Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. OR add the batter to the prepared 9×13-inch pan6 and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. A toothpick should come clean from the center when done.
- Transfer the cake pans to a wire rack and allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely (about 1 hour before frosting). Once cooled, frost and assemble the cake as desired. If making as a sheet cake, leave the cake in the pan and frost it.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you use cake flour and not all-purpose flour. This will make for a better cake.
- Make sure all ingredients are room temperature before you begin mixing.
- You can frost the cake with your desired flavor and frosting recipe, although I highly recommend my chocolate frosting. Please note that the nutritional information is an estimate that is only for the cake, not the frosting.
- Sifting the dry ingredients helps to remove lumps and aerates the mixture allowing it the blend better with the wet ingredients and resulting in a lighter and finer crumb after baking.
- Folding in the dry ingredients instead of mixing helps keep the texture of the cake light and fluffy.
- If making in a 9×13-inch pan, this recipe will make 15 to 20 servings depending how it’s cut.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I made this recipe with two 9 inch cake pans. The frosting recipe would have been way too much. I halved it an had more than enough. The cake was very good. For me the frosting was just okay. It was heavy.
Can I use 3 six inch cake pans?
Yes, this recipe should work for that!
I am making cupcakes for a Christmas Party. Do I need to make any adjustments for cupcakes? Thanks, Annie
I’m making cupcakes and also would like to know about any adjustments to recipe and baking
Hi! Please correct me if I’m wrong. Did you change this recipe? I believe the other had cornstarch in it. If so, how can I get the other one?
Hi Nicole, This recipe has always been the same. But did you maybe use a cake flour substitute in the past, which is made from all-purpose flour and cornstarch?
Yes!! That probably was it lol.. Thank you!
I have never rated a recipe before, but this one deserved my time to do so. AMAZING cake recipe. Every year my brother requests yellow cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday. Every year I have tried different recipes. The search is over. This is now my go to cake recipe for his birthday, and for me, and lots of other times. I made it in a 9x 13 Sur La Table metal pan. I loved the plentiful ratio of frosting to cake. I did not have the chocolate liquer, but the frosting was fantastic without. Thank you for sharing such a perfect cake recipe. 🙂
Oh, I’m so happy to hear this recipe was such a hit with your family! Thanks for coming back to leave a review!
This cake was wonderful! I had so many compliments on both the taste and texture.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
This is one of the best yellow cakes I have made. It has now become my go to. I need to make a sheet cake for a party in a couple weeks and was wondering how much batter I will need. Can I triple this recipe or are there specific measurements I need to use? Thank you.
Hi Rebecca, I’m so glad you love the recipe. What size sheet cake are you planning to make?
It’s a full sheet cake,pan measures 12x18x2 inches
Hi Rebecca, those measurements are actually for a half sheet pan. A full sheet pan is 26×18. For a half sheet pan, I would 1.5 to 2x this recipe.
Question, for the 2 eggs is that without the white and just the yolks. And then the 2 egg whites is that from eggs. Just trying not to waist 4 eggs if that’s not what that means.
It’s 2 whole eggs and 2 extra egg yolks (discard the whites or use for something else).
I made this cake using a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. I baked it for 40 minutes and when I opened the door it had flowed over the pan all over the oven floor. I baked it an additional 16 minutes and the middle was finally solid but the edged were very dark brown. It tastes a little “brown” and I had to clean the sides of the baking dish before I could serve from it. I bake a lot and have never had any trouble with my oven or any recipe. Any suggestions as to what the issue could be?
Hi Kristy,
I believe the issue was the pan. Glass pans are actually not recommended for cakes and are best used for recipes like casseroles, crisps, and cobblers. Glass heats differently than metal and requires a lower baking temperature. With cakes, glass usually results in an undercooked center and an overcooked edge. This isn’t to say that some cakes can’t be baked in glass, but most recipes should be baked in metal, like this one.
Also, most glass 9×13-inch pans only have a 3qt capacity where metal pans usually can hold 3.5 to 3.85 depending on if the edges are rounded or straight.
I hope that helps and I’m sorry you had trouble with the cake.
I need a little bigger cake. How can I increase this to a 2 layer 9” cake?
I think this is the best cake I’ve ever made. It was so moist it was almost falling apart, but it was fine. It was perfect.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nicole!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour, along with your chocolate buttercream frosting, and it turned out perfectly!
This is THE MOST AMAZING yellow cake I have ever tasted! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Perfection! This yellow cake is light, fluffy and tender. Flavor is perfect – just sweet enough, just enough vanilla. I think that folding the dry ingredients into the batter made a huge difference in the light texture. This will be my go to yellow cake recipe!