So my husband’s birthday was last week, and he always requests the same cake every year – yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I always save recipes as I come across them, and knew exactly which one to try this year when his birthday came around 🙂
This one, from Annie’s Eats looked perfect! I like everything I’ve tried from her blog, so I knew this would be a winner. I am pretty sure you can’t go wrong with any yellow cake, but this one came together quickly and was really moist and delicious.
I looked at the frosting recipe, and realized I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to search for a different chocolate frosting recipe, and I came up with Smitten Kitchen’s Instant Fudge Frosting. Once I read you make it in the food processor, I was sold! It was so easy, and I’m pretty sure it’s some of the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had!
If you have a yellow cake lover in your life, try this soon. You won’t be sorry you did! I like to enjoy my cake with a glass (or mug in this instance) of cold milk 🙂
So without delay, here are the recipes for my husband’s birthday cake!
Yellow Butter Cake (From Annie’s Eats, originally from Martha Stewart Baking Handbook)
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1¼ cups milk
Directions:
To make the cakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the edges of the pans, tapping out the excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to blend well and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk. Beat each addition just until incorporated.
Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans to help remove the cakes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and peel off the parchment. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. Level the cakes if necessary.
To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a serving platter. Top with 1 cup of the chocolate frosting and smooth over the top of the cake. Top with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting as desired. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.
Instant Fudge Frosting (From Smitten Kitchen, adapted from a Sky High recipe)
Makes about 5 cups
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate, then process until the frosting is smooth. (Seriously, that’s it. Could this get any easier?)
The Grays in Doha 