Buttery yellow layers made with whole eggs and extra yolks, the one that belongs under chocolate frosting.
Classic Yellow Cake Layers
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Buttery yellow layers made with whole eggs and extra yolks, the one that belongs under chocolate frosting.
Prep
25 min
Cook
30 min
Cooling
1 hr
Total
1 hr 55 min
Yield
12 slices
Diet
—
Ingredients
Adjust yield
slices
Scales from a half to a double batch. Laminated and yeasted doughs are easiest to handle one batch at a time; bake extra pans in rounds.
- 2 ¼ cups (255.0 g)cake flour
- 2.0 tsp (8.0 g)baking powder
- ½ tsp (3.0 g)baking soda
- ½ tsp (3.0 g)fine sea salt
- ¾ cup (170.0 g)unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (300.0 g)granulated sugar
- 3.0 (150.0 g)large eggs
- 2.0 (36.0 g)large egg yolks
- 1.0 tbsp (15.0 ml)pure vanilla extract
- 1.0 cup (240.0 ml)buttermilk, room temperature
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Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter two 8-inch round pans, line the bottoms with parchment and butter the paper; dust with flour and tap out the excess.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high 4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, mixing just until combined.
- Divide between the pans and bake 28 to 32 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans 15 minutes, run a knife around the edges, turn out onto a rack, peel off the parchment and cool completely before filling.
Tips
- Room-temperature butter, eggs and milk make a smooth batter that rises evenly; cold eggs curdle it.
- The layers are done when a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs and the top springs back.
- Level domed tops with a serrated knife before stacking.
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Recipe FAQ
How long does it take to make classic yellow cake layers?
Plan on 25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour to rest. The recipe makes two 8-inch layers (12 slices).
How should I store classic yellow cake layers?
Wrap cooled layers tightly and keep at room temperature up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 months; frost them cold from the freezer for the cleanest crumb.
Can I make classic yellow cake layers ahead?
Bake the layers a day ahead, wrap and chill; cold layers are easier to fill, stack and frost.
Can I use a different form of vanilla?
Yes. This recipe uses 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (15 ml). Each teaspoon of pure vanilla extract can be swapped for 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, the seeds of half a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder. Paste and seeds add the classic dark specks.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.
318
Calories / serving
16.8g
Fat
38.5g
Carbs
3.7g
Protein
33.7g
Sugar
Whole recipe (12 servings): ~3816 cal · 202g fat · 462g carbs · 44g protein · 404g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
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