It was my niece, Nicole’s birthday. Birthday means cake.
I am often tasked with making birthday desserts since I like to bake. My sister says I’m a better baker than her and I say she’s a better cook than me, so we easily balance out a gathering!
Since we have little kids involved in the various celebrations, I will often make cupcakes or other hand-held concoctions. But Nicole specifically asked for a yellow cake with chocolate frosting – and since I always take requests, that’s what I did!
No problem!
Since there can easily be a dozen or more people at a family gathering, I wanted to make sure there was enough cake for everyone. Since I have more than enough cake pans – I’ve been collecting them for years – I figured a 10″ cake would be the perfect size. Split layers to make a 4-layer cake.
Okay… I went overboard.
There was enough cake for a couple of parties with leftovers.
While once upon a time I made wedding cakes and fairly over-the-top decorated cakes, I’ve kinda lost my knack for doing them. Simple but flavorful is the newer mantra…
Naturally, I didn’t get a photo of a slice of the cake – at the time, I wasn’t thinking about a blog post – but a single slice was more than an average human could handle. Not being an average human, I ate an entire slice and felt like Jabba the Hut afterwards. It was worth it, but still…
The recipe is all in metric weights and measures. It is just so much easier to accurately measure something than scoop or spoon. Get a scale – they’re cheap!
I did have leftover frosting. Put it in the ‘fridge and when it gets hard, scoop out rounds and roll them in cocoa powder or dip them in chocolate – they make fabulous soft-center bon-bons!
Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
The Cake
- 763 g Cake flour
- 625 g Granulated sugar
- 20 g Baking powder
- 8 g Salt
- 283 g Unsalted butter
- 150 ml neutral oil
- 8 large eggs
- 5 large yolks
- 40 ml Vanilla extract
- 600 ml Buttermilk
Chocolate Buttercream
- 710 g Unsalted butter – 570 g room temp + 140 g melted
- 63 g Cocoa powder
- 7 mg Salt
- 300 ml Milk
- 1125 g sifted Powdered sugar
- 150 g Semisweet chocolate – melted & cooled
For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 10″ round pans. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt then set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment.
Add the oil and vanilla, mix to combine then scrape the bowl down. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well before adding the next. Scrape the bowl down once more and mix again.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter in alternating batches while mixing on low.
Divide batter evenly between the pans.
Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes or until the centers are set and springy.
Allow to layers cool in pans for a few minutes then invert into a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Buttercream
Cream the butter:. Beat the 570 g softened butter on medium-high until pale and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes).
Add cocoa & salt and mix until fully blended.
Add sugar & milk alternately. Start with half the sugar, then half the milk, repeating until smooth and fluffy.
Add melted chocolate last. Beat until fully incorporated and glossy.
Adjust consistency with a tablespoon of milk at a time — thick for piping, softer for spreading.
For the Assembly
Split layers to make 4 total.
Pipe or spread the buttercream onto the first layer, add the next layer on top and repeat until the cake Is built. Cover the cake with buttercream then use an offset spatula to swirl the buttercream around for a decorative effect.
It was a success!