A classic yellow cake recipe makes an essential cake recipe for any kitchen. Made of simple ingredients, this makes the best yellow cake for every occasion.
There’s just something about a freshly baked cake topped with swirls of chocolate frosting that brings a smile to my face. Usually, it signals a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, a party of some sort, a celebration. But then, there are times that I think that by the end of a hectic week of my son’s classes and long hours studying, my husband working, and all that goes in and out of a week for any family, the weekend is reason enough to celebrate! Those are the times that I pull out this classic yellow cake recipe that is incredibly moist, tender, and perfect every single time. It’s like the little black dress of cakes – but the favorite one in your closet. You know the one? The one that makes you look slimmer, is the most comfortable and you always get compliments when you wear it out? Yes, that’s like this cake.
Made of simple ingredients, this classic yellow cake recipe is easily one of the easiest cakes to make. This one bowl cake can easily be mixed by hand, hand mixer or even a stand mixer, making it a perfect go-to cake recipe. I love that it is also one that my family calls “the best”!
Here’s my Classic Yellow Cake recipe. I hope you love it as much as my family does!
Classic Yellow Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large (200 g) eggs
- 2 large (28 g) egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon (2.6 g) kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons (12 g) baking powder
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (454 g) buttermilk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons (11.75 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two or three 9-inch round baking pans or a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick baking spray or by coating with butter and lightly flouring, shaking away any excess flour and discarding.
- Cream together butter and sugar until a light yellow in color, about 2-3 minutes. Incorporate eggs one at a time, being sure they are fully incorporated before adding the next. Then, incorporate egg yolks the same.
- Whisk together salt, baking powder, and all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. Spoon half of the mixture into the butter, sugar and egg mixture and stir until combined. Add half of buttermilk, then add the remainder of the flour mixture followed by the remainder of the buttermilk. Stir in the vanilla.
- Divide the cake batter between the baking pans or pour into the 9×13 baking sheet pan.
- Bake until the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes for two 8-inch pans, 30 minutes for two 9-inch pans, and 35 minutes for a 9×13 baking pan. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 8-10 minutes in the pan placed on a wire cooling rack. Then, turn the cakes out on the cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Made this once and it was fabulous! I’d like to make it again using yolks left over from making angel food cake. Do you think I can substitute some of the whole eggs with egg yolks, and if so what do you think the proportions would be? Thanks so much!
Hi Sara,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake when you made it!
I have not made the cake by just substituting egg yolks when whole eggs are required in the recipe, so I can’t say how it would turn out if that was done. Thanks so much!
Robyn, this Yellow Cake is amazing. I made it last weekend and it was delicious! Keep up with your delicious recipes!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much, Sabine!
This recipe makes the best cupcakes! Light and fluffy with great flavor!
Great to hear that you like it, Tina! Thanks so much for sharing about cupcakes with this! xo
I am a little nervous about using 2 cups of buttermilk, seem like its going to be a bit too much liquid.
I have made this cake many, many times and have never had a problem with there being too much buttermilk, Theresa.
I made this cake today and the center took forever to cook so I kept it in the oven for an additional 15 minutes more. Because of that the edges came out dry and hard while the center was hard to icing as it kept falling apart. Not sure what I did?
I just made this cake for the first time with a strawberry filling and a whipped cream vanilla frosting…. IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING!!!! Moist, tender and completely flavorful!. My boyfriend (who is just a little kid who LOVES cake) has already ate 3 slices, I had to literally take the knife from him and put the cake away! This is a wonderful easy recipe, and will be my secret weapon in my baking arsenal for a long time to come, thanks so much for sharing it!
I’m so glad you both love it, Charlene! xo
Can I substitute the butter for vegetable oil it for a kids party and they normally don’t like cake that have more of a pound texture.
I need light, fluffy
Please respond ASAP
Im supposed to make this cake for a party, but dont have any buttermilk! Can I use regular whole milk instead?
Hi Lauren,
You can make Homemade Buttermilk Substitute if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. Hope you enjoy the cake! Thanks so much!
Hi Robyn
I’m thinking about making this cake for my mom’s birthday, except I want to use the yellow cake as just a base. I was wondering if chamomile tea would be a good flavor to add into the batter. Also, should I just brew the tea with the water and just use the tea as my water?
Hi Rachel,
I’ve not used that with it, so I can’t say how it would taste or how it would turn out. There’s no water in this recipe, so it might not turn out well. If you do try it, I’d like to hear how it is.
Thanks so much!
Very late. Steep your tea bag in warmer buttermilk. Takes on all the flavor so don’t need to use water at all
Hi, can this be made into a rum cake and baked in a Bundt pan? If so, would I swap out some of the buttermilk for rum? Or just add the rum to the standard recipe? Thanks in advance for your help ?
I’ve not made this into a rum cake before Vanessa, so I can’t say for sure how to make substitutes for it. Thanks!
Can I use milk insteas of buttermilk?
Hi Donna,
The buttermilk does make a difference in this recipe. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own substitute using lemon juice or vinegar. I’ve posted that recipe here: https://addapinch.com/homemade-buttermilk-substitute-recipe/. Hope you enjoy the cake.
what recipe do you like to use for the chocolate frosting?
Hi Jan,
I love this with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks! xo