Vanilla Layer Cake with Easy Fudge Frosting
A light and flavorful vanilla cake iced with easy fudge buttercream. Perfect for a birthday celebration!
This weekend my darling baby boy turned one year old. It’s a big milestone for any mom and I was no exception. I had been planning the celebration in the back of my mind since John was a newborn and when it came time to put it into motion, I got a little emotional. How could he be a year old already?
The party was simple, just a backyard barbecue with family. And of course, there was cake. No birthday party would be complete without one. I kept it traditional, a yellow vanilla layer cake iced with an easy fudge buttercream frosting.
The weather was warm and perfect and John enjoyed playing with his cousins and grandparents. We served up hot dogs and brats, potato salad, and lemonade. Then came time to open presents and finally, cake.
The cake was a hit, as I knew it would be. Who can say no to yellow cake with chocolate frosting?
John was unsure about his little cake at first, too many people staring at him. He enjoyed little licks of the frosting from his fingers, but it wasn’t until his Dad put both his hands into the cake that he really got the hang of it. And then he didn’t stop until he, the table, and his highchair were covered in chocolate frosting. I think it’s safe to say he loves cake as much as his mama.
I so love this little boy of mine and we enjoyed celebrating him this weekend. I’m looking forward to many more birthday parties and lots more birthday cake in years to come! Just don’t grow up too fast, John, okay?
baking tip:Easy Fudge Frosting
This is the easiest chocolate frosting you’ll ever make. Simply put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse for one minute until smooth. And no need to sift the powdered sugar!
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Sift the powdered sugar and then beat everything until smooth and creamy, about three minutes.
This recipe was originally posted in February 2011. Photos and content have been updated and slight changes have been made to the recipe.
Vanilla Layer Cake with Easy Fudge Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk (297 ml, 10 fl oz)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups cake flour , sifted (360 grams)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400 grams)
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (226 grams)
For the frosting:
- 6 oz unsweetened chocolate , melted and cooled (180 grams)
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar (563 grams)
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter , at room temperature (340 grams)
- 6 tablespoons whole milk or half and half (90 ml)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two (or three) 8 or 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, ¼ cup of the buttermilk, and the vanilla extract in a bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Add the butter and remaining 1 cup of buttermilk. Mix on low speed until moistened, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and creamy, about 4 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary.
- Add the egg mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, mixing only until incorporated and scraping the bowl down between each addition.
- Divide the batter between the 2 (or 3) prepared pans. Bake until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few dry crumbs, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer (flat side up) on a plate or cake stand. Cover with the fudge frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers. Cover and frost the top and sides of the cake with the frosting.
- Place cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Your cake looks perfect! Very nice job!
This looks beautiful! But I understand your continued search for the perfect yellow cake, as I'm on a similar hunt. The one I've found that looks most promising and sounds like what you're looking for also is from Bakewise by Shirley Corriher. It uses both butter and oil as well as whipped cream in the batter and is even titled "magificently moist." Here is a link to where a blogger has posted it online: http://pieceofcakeblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/and-please-call-me-shirley.html I'm planning to try it for my boyfriend's birthday caramel cake in March. Hope you like it!
Oh my gosh, this cake turned out beautifully! You did a great job with the frosting. I don't think I could ever get mine to look as smooth as yours. This cake looks delicious… Mmm… I could totally go for some cake right now.
Gorgeous, gorgeous cake! I too bake to as a form of feeling better….it's like my therapy! 🙂
I'm delighted that I have discovered your blog!
yellow cake with chocolate frosting is always my favorite. hope all is well over there…summer is on it's way (i keep telling myself) which we can always look forward to 🙂
The frosting looks heavenly delicious!
Wow, Annalise, this cake is heavenly! It just looks so soft and so flavorful. Yellow cake and chocolate are simply my favorite flavor combination, no doubts about it. You did such a beautiful job on this cake!
That cake is so gorgeous it makes me want to cry tears of joy!!! I love your blog and have been following it for quite some time. Please feel free to visit my blog if ever..Jackie
Ooh, I love, love this combination. You know, I have a buttermilk cake recipe that I use for the kid's birthday cakes that I think is pretty delicious. You are definitely welcome to it.
Beautiful cake! I'm also on the hunt for the perfect yellow cake and the best candidate I've found is from Smitten Kitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/) Give it a try!
http://delectabledelightswithrebecca.blogspot.com/2011/06/yellow-cake.html this is my fave! I have a daughter Annalise! 🙂
If you are looking for yellow cake. In Lebanese cooking was have a Semolina Cake. Its delicious. It’s called sfouf. http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/sfoufrecipe.htm
This recipe looks really interesting. I happen to have semolina flour for pasta making, but haven’t actually made pasta with it yet. Perhaps I’ll have to try this cake instead.
If you’re still looking for the perfect yellow cake, I have a wonderful recipe from the Kitchen Klatter Cookbook:
Juliana’s Scrumptious Yellow Cake
2/3 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk
Cream together butter and sugar until like whipped cream. Add eggs and flavoring and beat vigorously. Sift flour with baking powder and salt 3 times and stir in alternately with the milk. Turn into 2 9-inch layer cake pans, well greased and floured, and bake in a 350F oven for 30-35 minutes.
This is a moist, tender and extremely rich cake. Tastes great frosted with sweetened whipped cream.
–Mary
Your cake looks amazing! I was wondering if I could use ‘cake and pastry’ flour instead of all purpose flour for your recipe?
Sure, you should be able to substitute cake/pastry flour just fine. Enjoy!
Do you ever make recipes that are egg free? My 2 year old has severe allergy (anaphylactic shock). This cake with choco frosting looks absolutely delicious.
What a lucky birthday boy!
I thought this WAS the PERFECT yellow cake. Very delicious and moist. In my opinion, you can stop looking. It’s here. I may be a little biased as I am the proud grandma of that little guy but also the very proud ‘mom’ (in-law which I hate that part of the title) to this amazing baker. The day was wonderful. I have loved watching little John grow this past year and can’t wait for what is next with these great kids of mine. Love you! And yes, I worked my a** off this morning trying to get rid of the delicious food you made. 🙂
Thanks for helping to make his birthday special, Grandma Julie!! xoxo
Awww. how cute are the photos of the birthday boy!!! Happy Birthday to John!!!
The cake looks delicious!! The frosting looks so rich, creamy and chocolatey!! Yum!
Happy birthday to your sweet John! I am so glad I got to meet him last year. I love all the pictures of his party and your cake looks fantastic! I will be hosting a birthday party for my mom later this year, and I think this cake would be perfect for her party. Glad you had a great time celebrating!
This looks amazing – I have to make 2 dozen cupcakes soon and yellow cake/chocolate frosting is my fave – could this recipe be done as cupcakes instead?
Thanks!
Julie
Of course! Not sure the exact baking time or yield, but it is definitely doable.
Awww such a sweet baby!! And this cake?? SWOON!
Your cake’s texture looks very much like ones you find in a store bakery (that’s a compliment… they might not taste good, but I love their very fine texture). How do you get that fine texture? All the cakes I’ve ever made have larger holes in them and don’t look nearly as smooth as this one does. Is it the method you use, which is technically reverse creaming? I’ve never tried that method, but Cook’s Illustrated uses it a lot.
I use reverse creaming with a lot of my cake recipes and always have great result. The largest contributor to the fine texture, though, is cake flour. It’s low protein content leaves baked goods very tender.
Happy birthday to John!!! He has grown up so fast, wow. Funny story, the way I found your blog in the first place was when I did a search for a fudgey chocolate frosting…I wanted to find one that used chocolate instead of cocoa powder. This led me to the original post for this recipe and It was the best chocolate frosting I have ever made, and since then every single recipe of yours I have made has never let me down. Glad it was a fun celebration!
Looks like it was a beautiful day to celebrate. The cake looks delicious and I love the frosting all over John. Happy first little man!
The perfect yellow cake? Right here my friend. Happy birthday to my favorite Daily John. I have photos just like that of Smudge, and they’ve become even more precious over time. XO
Those pictures of John are awesome! So cute! Happy first birthday lil’ man. Cake looks delicious!
Ive been on the hunt for a perfect yellow cake and this one looks wonderful! Pinned!
Thanks Averie! It’s a great recipe.
This cake sounds just perfect! I love it! The pics of your little one are adorable!
Thank you!!
I’m thinking of making this cake for my son’s 1st birthday this weekend. Can you tell me what the measurements and baking time is for the small cake? And what size pan did you use for it?
I baked the smaller cake in two 6-inch pans. I don’t remember the exact baking time, but I’d start checking on them after 20 minutes. Happy 1st birthday to your son!
to make the small cake, do you use the same amount of ingredients or would you 1/2 it?
I used the recipe listed here for both cakes, and just put some of the batter in the small pans before filling the big ones. If you wanted to just make a small cake, I’m afraid I don’t know the measurements for that.
Made the cake – my first attempt at a cake not from a mix. Turned out marvelous! Cooled the layers overnight. Today will attempt icing, wish me luck . . .
Woohoo! And good luck with the frosting! I’m sure you’ll do great. 🙂
it worked out very well. . . at least 2 out of 3 layers. The third I baked in a silicone pan, which didn’t want to release the cake (weird, opposite of what happens when I bake bread in it). I baked the layers on day 1, refrigerated for about 24 hours, then frosted on day 2. My friends were delighted with the cake, thanks again!
Aww, happy belated birthday baby John! Children grow up super fast, but no worries, John will always be your baby boy. =)
Hi there! How many people does this cake serve. We are expecting a crowd this weekend and I am wondering if I should attempt to cakes.
Thanks!
I’d say you can get anywhere to 12-16 slices out of an 8 or 9-inch layer cake, depending on how big of slices you want.
Dear Annalise,
I just wanted to say thank you and congratulate you for such a wonderful blog. I was looking for directions on how to make a layer cake for my daughter’s first birthday and came across your post on how to build a layer cake. I knew I didn’t have to look any further. I was impressed by the quality of and amount of detail in your directions which clearly showed you were an expert worth trusting which such an important project 🙂 I followed your instructions and recipe for the vanilla cake with easy fudge frosting. It was a huge success. The cake tasted delicious and looked really nice (see link). My guests were very impressed and I was very proud. I don’t usually write comments or reviews but I just had to say something It was very important to me to make my baby girl a nice, delicious first birthday cake. Thank you so much for your help. Best, Ima.
Hey, i love the recipe i use it all the time..
do you have a recipe you use for chocolate cake?
or do you just add cocoa into this one?
I made this cake last night, refrigerated the layers, then topped it with a marshmallow buttercream frosting tonight. I used your post about building a layer cake and baking it at 300 really made a difference for flat layers! I used 1/2 tsp of almond extract instead of vanilla. It all came out beautifully!!
Yay! So glad to hear you had such great success with my recipe and tips! The cake sounds fabulous. 🙂
In the photo did you double the recipe for the 3 layers or did you use the recipe as is?
I used the recipe as provided here. I like taller cakes, so I’ll often bake two layers and then cut them in half to make 4 layers. Since I also made a little smash cake with some of the batter, this time I opted to instead bake 3 separate 8-inch layers for the large cake. I hope that makes sense?
Thank you! =) I cannot wait to try out your cake
This I like my nephew is turning one in three more weeks I will make this for him this is the big boy needs and I to love cake I hope to post the pictures of my big guy enjoying his own personal cake family of women and this is the first male in years this is show on my side of the family thanks for the recipe
I found your site through a Google search on how to make layer cakes. This recipe looked perfect for what I needed! I decided to adapt it slightly to make a marble cake and baked it in a 9×13 pan. I will have to slice it for the layers, something I am not that great at but will Google it. The theme will be Angry Birds Star Wars and I will use your chocolate frosting recipe! I am sure it will turn out amazing! Thanks for the great recipe and wonderful tips!
What a fun cake you have planned! I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for the kind comment! 🙂
The cake was a huge hit! Everyone loved it and it tasted amazing! I loved how easy the frosting was to make. This is definitely going to be a “go to” recipe for me from now on. You can see a picture of the cake here:
For some odd reason it did not show the url so here it is again. This is an image of the Star Wars Angry Birds cake I made with this recipe. https://plus.google.com/photos/114504743158459766093/albums/6036146384754343905?authkey=CIfW7-LshZ3qTA
The cake looks AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing!
As per Lisa Brooks above, the fine crumb texture of your cake is exactly what I have been trying to achieve, but your instructions of beating the dry ingredients for such a long time typically results in a cornbread like texture. But if you’re sure of it, I am willing to give it a try!!!
Hi Jack! The process of beating the dry ingredients along with the butter and sugar, then adding in the liquids is known as the Reverse Creaming Method and it is used a lot in the cookbook where this recipe comes from – Sky High Cakes. I’ve never had any issues with texture or crumb of this cake. Hope this information is helpful!
hey! i’ve made this cake twice and its alright but a tad dry? any tips? am i doing something wrong?
I baked this as cupcakes. I baked at 350 for 20 minutes & they were perfectly done. They were very tasty, but ended up a funny oval shape…every single one. This recipe probably lends itself better to cake rather than cupcakes. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious. Plus, if you put enough of that delicious chocolate frosting on top you hardly notice the funny shape. Will definitely save this recipe for cake in the future & will keep searching for a good vanilla cupcake recipe.
This is the exact recipe on Sweetapolita.com. Been waiting to try this cake. Think I’ll move it up on my to do list.
Yes! We both adapted it from the same cookbook. And it’s great, you’ll love it!