This is the best yellow cake recipe! Made completely from scratch with simple ingredients, it’s dense and moist with a perfect crumb! Topped with chocolate buttercream frosting it's the ultimate birthday cake. Ditch boxed mixes and make this homemade yellow cake instead.
Line two 6” round (3” deep) cake pans with parchment paper and grease well. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside
In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy (60 seconds).
Add sour cream, milk and canola oil and stir until combined.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Divide the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Place cake pans on a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature (takes about 30 minutes).
Once cool, lift cakes out of the pans and remove parchment paper. Let cool completely on the wire cooling rack.
Once cool, with chocolate frosting and serve.
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Notes
*Nutrition values calculated for cake alone, not with frosting.How to Double the recipeThis recipe can be doubled and baked in two, round 9" cake pans. FreezeI often bake this homemade yellow cake recipe a few days before I need to frost it and store it in the freezer. Wrap each cake layer tightly with plastic wrap, put them in a ziplock bags and store in the freezer.Even if you plan on frosting this yellow cake the same day you bake it, I still recommend freezing it before frosting. How to DecorateI use either this chocolate buttercream frosting or homemade vanilla frosting to decorate this yellow cake recipe. I use the following tools to decorate (after my kids choose their design):
All-purpose flour. Cake flour or bread flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour.
Salted butter. Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted, if desired.
Granulated sugar. I suggest regular white sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
Canola oil. Oil keeps this yellow cake very moist. You can substitute equal amounts of melted butter or another neutral oil if desired, however canola oil will yield the best results.
Sour cream. Full-fat, plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream. I recommend using full-fat ingredients.
Whole milk. Again, full-fat whole milk is the best choice. You can substitute 2% milk but nothing with a lower fat content.
Vanilla extract. You can switch up the extract and use almond, orange, etc. if you prefer a flavored yellow cake.