This Classic Yellow Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting is so easy and sure to be your new favorite! The layers are moist, buttery, and flavorful, and the creamy milk chocolate frosting basically melts in your mouth. The perfect birthday cake!
Yellow Cake Recipe
This is the kind of recipe you want in your back pocket for birthday parties, Summer picnics, and everyday celebrations. The cake itself is supremely moist, but to me the flavor is the star of the show. It’s perfectly sweet and buttery, with subtle hints of vanilla. And the creamy chocolate frosting only sweetens the situation. Because I’m a sucker for nostalgia, I love decorating this cake with colorful sprinkles. But fresh raspberries make an equalLY stunning garnish. So you definitely have options as far as decorating goes!
Yellow Cake
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- I tested this cake recipe in cupcake form and unfortunately did not love the results. However I found it worked perfectly when baked in a sheet pan! So if you’d like to do that, feel free! Just add about 7 to 10 minutes onto the bake time.
- Because we want the moistest cake possible, this recipe calls for cake flour. Cake flour is extra finely ground and gives the cupcakes their extra soft texture. In most grocery stores, you’ll probably find cake flour in the baking aisle. You can also buy it online here.
- When you measure your cake flour, be sure you’re not packing it into the measuring cup. Packed flour will yield dense and dry cake. I use the spoon and level method of measuring.
- Before you begin baking, make sure your butter, eggs, and milk have all come to room temperature. Cold ingredients do not bond!
- You’ll want to use quality chocolate for the frosting, such as Lindt. I don’t suggest using chocolate chips.
- And of course, be sure your cake is completely cooled before frosting!
If you’ve been searching for a Yellow Birthday Cake Recipe that’s moist, flavorful, and made with simple ingredients, you have to try this recipe!
More Cake Recipes:
- Best White Cake Recipe
- Lemon Raspberry Cake
- Yellow Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
Classic Yellow Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 9" layer cake
This Classic Yellow Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting is sure to be your new favorite recipe!
Ingredients
For the Classic Yellow Cake:
- 2 and 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/3 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the Creamy Chocolate Frosting:
- 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, more if needed
- 10 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled until tepid
Instructions
For the Classic Yellow Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and set them aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add in the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Turn mixer off for a moment.
- In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice.
- With the mixer speed on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture in two additions, and mixing just until the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix here.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, or with moist crumbs attached.
- Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.
- Invert the cake layers onto wire racks and cool completely.
For the Creamy Chocolate Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-speed until completely smooth. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the confectioners' sugar, beating until all of the sugar is completely combined. Add in the chocolate and beat smooth. Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for a minute.
- Frost cake as desired.
Courses Dessert
Cuisine American
Susie says
June 7, 2018 at 6:00 pmWhole milk? Is it homogenized milk?
bakerbynature says
June 9, 2018 at 11:34 amIt’s full fat milk 🙂
Aneesa says
June 8, 2018 at 11:17 pmHi
This looks great. Do you have the measurements in grams by any chance?
Also are you using an electric fan oven?
Thank you.
Wendy says
August 27, 2018 at 7:31 pmCan fat free milk he substituted?
Monique says
November 22, 2018 at 6:02 pmI just used this recipe. It is pure perfection. Everyone is raving about my cake year for Thanksgiving 🙂 However, I couldn’t find cake flour so I ended up using all purpose instead. The cake still turned out super moist. This is a fail-proof recipe! Thank you for sharing this!
Krystal says
January 9, 2019 at 8:18 pmDo you know why cupcake recipes don’t always translate to cake recipes? Thank you for any help!
Monica says
January 29, 2019 at 11:18 pmDoes this neee 5 eggs total? You wrote 3 eggs, then 2 eggs?
Gracie says
January 31, 2019 at 5:28 pmit’s says 3 whole eggs and then 2 egg YOLKS 🙂
Kristel says
February 22, 2019 at 7:26 pmIM planning to make this today can i replace the 2 egg yolk with 2 egg whites? Thank you
Angie says
March 7, 2019 at 2:43 amWanted to know the use for lemon juice. Will it not alter the taste?
Amanda says
March 24, 2019 at 1:54 pmI’m wondering the same thing. I don’t want it to taste like lemon at all.
Amanda says
March 25, 2019 at 1:45 amLemon juice in the milk, turns it to Buttermilk l
Kim says
March 25, 2019 at 2:38 amAlthough I’m not 100% sure for this recipe, typically milk mixed with lemon juice or vinegar is a substitute for buttermilk.
Carol says
March 27, 2019 at 4:34 amIs frosting made with baking chocolate or maybe a bar or so of Godiva?
Thanks
Melissa says
April 18, 2019 at 5:52 pmDo you think using melted chocolate vs cocoa powder makes the frosting more creamy?
Melissa Gutierrez says
June 1, 2019 at 4:24 amThis yellow cake was sooo good!! It lasted 3 days in the fridge and even then, it tasted fresh! I didn’t care for the frosting too much. Too dark for me. But the cake is totally worth making! Thank you for your recipes!