This Homemade Yellowcake is ultra-rich, moist, tender, and fluffy! Much better than any box cake mix. This is perfect for a Birthday Cake or for any other celebration, like Easter.
I find cake box shockingly sweet and artificial tasting. Yellow cake, white cake, funfetti cake – I bet that most of you have made it from a box. I have absolutely no issues with a box mix. But there’s no doubt after baking from scratch for many years now that from-scratch cakes are amazing and have even better flavor. So today we are going to ditch that yellow cake mix and make one from scratch!
I tried several yellow cake recipes that I’ve found online for years but I was never quite satisfied with a lot of recipes I’d tried. Many of the firmer textured cakes that were suitable for stacking were too dry.
What is Yellow Cake
Yellow cake is basically a variation on a vanilla cake. In general for flavor, you could consider yellow cake to be a little more “egg-y” and buttery. As for appearance, yellow cake is going to have more of a yellow color that comes primarily from the eggs. You can use whole eggs or a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks to achieve the yellow color.
Ingredients to make Easter Homemade Yellow Cake
Yellow Cake
Bleached cake flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Sea salt
Unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
Granulated sugar
Eggs, room temperature
Egg yolks, room temperature
Vanilla Extract
Sour cream or plain full fat yogurt
Whole milk
Pastry Cream
Egg Yolks
Granulated Sugar/ Caster Sugar
Cornstarch
Whole Milk
Salt
Butter
Vanilla Extract
How to make Easter Homemade Yellow Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter, flour, and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment circles.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, egg yolks, and the vanilla one at a time, beating well between additions until combined.
- Beat in the sour cream until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the whole milk, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes in pans before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Pastry Cream
- Place 1 1/2 cups milk and the vanilla into a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring often until it just starts to simmer. Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
- While whisking vigorously, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture.
- Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil.
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Spread about a third of the frosting in an even layer all over, pushing it out over the edge just slightly.
- Place the other cake layer upside-down onto the frosting so that the top of the cake is nice and flat. With an offset spatula, spread the remaining frosting evenly all over the cake, smoothing the edges.
Easter Homemade Yellow Cake with Pastry Cream Frosting
This Yellow Cake is seriously delicious! I’m in love with the texture of the cake created. It’s such a tender and moist cake. Because I wanted I easter cake I frosted the cake with pastry creamy this a wonderful celebration or birthday cake!
Tips to make the best Easter Homemade Yellow Cake
- There are a few ingredients that help create a moist and tender cake. All the eggs + egg yolks add richness and moisture. The sour cream /fat yogurt also tenderizes as well as adding more flavor.
- Using whole milk will help to create a tender and moist cake as well.
- Start by creaming the butter + sugar together. There are two keys here: use butter at COOL room temperature and scrape down the bowl and paddle often.
- You may need to beat slightly longer after each group of ingredients to really make sure it’s all incorporated.
- It’s very important your refrigerated ingredients are all at room temperature.
I made this Easter Homemade Yellow cake as a layered cake but you can make it as a sheet cake. this is a simple and rich recipe made with butter and whole eggs which yields a golden crumb and tender cake.
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 + 15 minutes |
| Servings |
slices
|
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at cool room temperature or 1 cup
- 1 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 sour cream or plain full fat yogurt, at room temperature
- 3/4 whole milk warm
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar/ Caster Sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Ingredients
Yellow Cake
Pastry Cream
|
|
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter, flour, and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment circles.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, egg yolks, and the vanilla one at a time, beating well between additions until combined.
- Beat in the sour cream until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the whole milk, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes in pans before turning out onto a cooling
- Place 1 1/2 cups milk and the vanilla into a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring often until it just starts to simmer. Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
- While whisking vigorously, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture.
- Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil.
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Spread about a third of the frosting in an even layer all over, pushing it out over the edge just slightly.
- Place the other cake layer upside-down onto the frosting so that the top of the cake is nice and flat. With an offset spatula, spread the remaining frosting evenly all over the cake, smoothing the edges.
