I made this beautiful cake for my sister’s birthday and it was a hit. I say that because my sister, Lucille, doesn’t usually eat dessert. She is not a fan of sweets. She absolutely loved it, she said, because it wasn’t overly sweet. Lu IS a fan of berries, so the filling and topping were perfect for her.
I have been making this cake for over 20 years and it turns out perfectly perfect each time. I call it a yellow cake because it is somewhere between white and yellow in color. The fresher and darker the egg yolks, the more yellow the cake.
This cake recipe is what I use as a base recipe other cakes. For example, I use this base recipe for Coconut Cake (on the blog) by changing just a few ingredients.
Yellow Cake
Makes Two 9” Layers
4 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
½ Cup Whole Milk, Room Temperature
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2¼ Plain Cake Flour
1½ Cups Granulated Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
8 Ounces Unsalted Butter, Softened, Cut into 16 Pieces
1 Recipe Old Fashion Vanilla Frosting
2 Cups Toasted Sliced Almonds
Mixed Berries for Filling and Decoration (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries)
Preheat oven to 350° with oven rack in lower middle of oven. Spray two 9” cakes pans with baking spray such as Pam. Cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and spray with baking spray.
Beat eggs, milk and vanilla with a fork in a small bowl. Measure out 1 cup of this mixture and set aside (you will have a total of 1½ cups to be used separately).
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed to blend to blend the dry ingredients for 30 seconds. With mixer still running at lowest speed, add butter one piece at a time, mix until butter and flour begin to clump together and look sandy and pebbly, with pieces about the size of peas Once all of the butter is incorporated beat on low for an additional minute.
Add reserved 1 cup of egg mixture and mix at lowest speed until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds. Increase speed to medium high (#6 on the Kitchen Aid Mixer) and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add remaining egg mixture (about ½ cup) in a slow steady stream. Stop mixture and thoroughly scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Beat on medium high until thoroughly combined and batter looks slightly curdled, about 15 seconds longer.
Divide batter between the prepared cake pans, spread batter to sides and smooth with a spatula. Bake 25 – 30 minutes, until top is light brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on rack 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely before icing.
Make the Old Fashion Vanilla Frosting while the cake is cooling.