Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

You can't wrong with a classic dessert, like this yellow birthday cake! However, the simplest recipes are often the trickiest to perfect, to really impress people with its flavor and texture. And if there's one thing I LOVE, it's building off of my past recipes to create even better versions of them!

A while back, I perfected the Vanilla Cake (imo😌), so I adapted it to create this simpler yellow cake that is equally just as soft & moist with a balanced sweetness. I also created the best chocolate frosting for this Dark Chocolate Malt Snack Cake, which really does taste like chocolate cake batter! But this brown butter milk chocolate frosting might be my favorite so far. It's decadent without being too sweet, and the brown butter really stands out!

For more birthday recipes, try Birthday Cake Sugar Cookies, Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake, and Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting.

Why you'll love this yellow cake with chocolate frosting

• Soft & Moist Cake Layers: This recipe uses the reverse creaming method, a butter-oil combination, and buttermilk to create the most tender crumb that stays moist for days!
• Outrageously Delicious Chocolate Frosting: I was literally speechless the first time I tasted this frosting. The notes of caramelized butter are prominent and marry beautifully with a high quality milk chocolate. It's not overly sweet (I can't stand cloyingly sweet frostings!), and is a dream to use for decorating cakes - especially when the cake layers are frozen!
• Easy to Decorate: I have to admit something to you - I'm terrible at decorating cakes. Something goes wrong almost every time, and I have a meltdown because I've spent so much time (and ingredients!) on this cake. But this cake?! This cake is a dream to decorate. If you freeze the cake layers overnight (or even just a couple hours), the frosting thickens up on contact with the cake. So the cake layers never slide around, and there's no need for a crumb coat! Within an hour the cake layers will defrost and be ready to cut!

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use a high quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Fat: To make this cake super moist while maintaining that classic buttery flavor, this recipe uses a butter-oil combo. I prefer to use light tasting olive oil, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil. For both the cake and the frosting, use a high quality European-style butter, as it has a higher fat content than American-style butter, and fat equals flavor!
• Dairy: Buttermilk adds moisture and richness from its high fat content. Alternatively, you can use whole milk.
• Egg: The cake needs just one large egg. Bring it to room temperature quickly by placing it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: It isn't a classic birthday cake without a strong vanilla flavor! Use a high quality vanilla extract for the best flavor. I used ifiProvisions Pure Vanilla Extract.
• Milk Chocolate: Use a high quality milk chocolate for best flavor and overall results. I used ifiProvisions Noche 40% Milk Chocolate (use the code SLOANESTABLE for 15% off site wide).
• Sprinkles: Decorate the cake with ifiProvisions Confetti Sprinkles!

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make the best yellow cake recipe from scratch! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Beat the butter into the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.

STEP 2: Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, and mix until just combined.

STEP 3: Bake. Scrape down the bowl, then divide the cake batter between the prepared round cake pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

STEP 4: Cool, then freeze. Immediately turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to decorate. (Frozen cake layers will be much easier to frost!)

STEP 5: Brown the butter. In a large saucepan, place the butter over medium heat. As the butter melts, stir it with a rubber spatula to encourage even cooking. Once the butter has fully melted, it will alternate between rapid large bubbles and gentle small foamy bubbles. The butter will be ready once it turns a dark golden color and the fat solids have darkened and settled at the bottom of the pan.

STEP 6: Add remaining ingredients and chill. Add the milk chocolate, heavy cream, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Stir constantly until everything is melted and fully combined. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press plastic wrap up against the surface and place in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight. (If chilled overnight, microwave in 10 second increments until soft, then use an electric hand mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.)

STEP 7: Assemble the cake. Place the first cake layer on a cake stand. Use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop to add 3 scoops of frosting. Use an offset spatula to spread into an even layer. Repeat with the second cake layer.

STEP 8: Decorate. Add the last cake layer and top with a few more scoops of frosting. Use the offset spatula to smooth out the top, and spread the excess all over the sides. Continue decorating the cake as desired. Top the cake with confetti sprinkles, and enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

• Use cake strips to create flat cake layers. Soak these wilton cake strips in ice water before starting the cake batter. Just before baking, wrap the cake strips around the pan. The cold temperature on the outside of the cake will prevent the edges from baking faster than the center, resulting in an evenly baked flat cake.
• Freeze the cake layers before decorating. Since this is such a moist cake, I highly recommend freezing the cake layers for at least two hours before decorating.
• If the frosting is chilled overnight... microwave it in 10 second increments until it softens up, then use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.
• Use a cookie scoop to assemble the cake. Use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop to add an equal amount of frosting to each layer.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x