Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream (Better Than The Box!)
Ah that nostalgic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. You know the one? With a Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines box cake mix and a matching tub of frosting. Now were you a family that smeared the frosting on right out of the container or did you get it a little melty first? To be fair, I think we did both, but I preferred the drizzle of the melted chocolate. Anyways, it’s a taste that even now I can recall, without knowing the last time I would have had that specific boxed combo. Sadly, I’m sure that now – since my palette is so refined and all that – it would probably be a letdown but once can reminisce you know?
On one of those reminiscing paths, I thought: “I’d love to have a moist and trusty yellow cake recipe.” This reminded me of this combo with chocolate frosting and, yeah, that’s my spiel for how we ended up with this delicious recipe. I hope you love and enjoy it as much as I do!
Please rate and review below if you do!
YELLOW CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
Yellow cake is a type of vanilla cake, though many times you’ll find that a standard vanilla cake only uses egg whites. Yellow cake said “Excuse me, no ma’am” and takes the whole egg plus a few extra yolks, with that glorious egg yolk adding richness in both color and moisture.
Now personally, I don’t love heavy chocolate vibes. Oftentimes it’s just too rich for me. So while I did grow up on those frosting tubs of rich (and who knows what’s inside) frosting, this chocolate buttercream isn’t that dark. It’s perfectly light and creamy, balancing beautifully with the yellow cake for a light but flavor-packed slice.
Why is there cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the buttercream? Cocoa powder provides that deep chocolate flavor while the melted chocolate makes for a smoother frosting. By using both, the result is a creamy buttercream, rich in flavor without being overpowering.
INGREDIENTS
- Flour: Provides structure to your cake
- Cornstarch: Makes for a softer result in your cake’s texture
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Necessary rising agents to get your cake to puff while baking
- Salt: Essential for bringing out the subtle flavors of a vanilla cake
- Unsalted Butter: Softened butter helps with the fluff of your cake when you whip air into it while adding a delicious flavor of course. It’s also a key player in the BUTTERcream frosting
- Canola Oil: Aids in moisture without overpowering on flavor
- Mayo: The sneaky ninja ingredient that adds moisture to your cake (but don’t worry, no mayo flavor!)
- Sugar: What’s a cake without a little sweetness?
- Egg + Egg Yolks: Egg whites add air and structure to a cake (check out this pavlova if you’ve not seen an egg white in action) while the yolks add color, moisture, and flavor – and we want this baby yellow!
- Vanilla Extract: See note about yellow cake being a vanilla cake
- Buttermilk: The acidity from the milk helps with the rise and fluff of the cake
- Powdered Sugar: As always, my preferred sugar for sweet, smooth frosting
- Cocoa Powder: Adds a rich chocolate flavor and color
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Brings that sweet, smooth chocolate energy to your frosting
- Heavy Cream: There to loosen the buttercream up, but only a smidge
Wait, is that mayo? Yep! Essentially, mayo is a combination of oil and eggs. It was actually heavily used in recipes as a substitute for those ingredients during the Great Depression when many ingredients were scarce. Bonus for all of us though as it saves us on eggs and makes for an incredibly moist cake.
HOW TO MAKE YELLOW CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
Preheat your oven to 350F while you prepare your cake pans. Grease each 9-inch round pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. This will make it easy to remove them from the pan once they are baked.
For the cake, start by mixing your dry ingredients. Add your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a bowl, whisk together, and set aside. In a larger bowl, cream together your softened butter and sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy – you’ll notice the color becomes lighter as you beat more air into it. Add in your whole eggs and extra yolks, mixing until combined before adding in the remainder of your wet ingredients – oil, mayo, vanilla, and buttermilk.
Pour your dry ingredients into the bowl with your wet ingredients and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix your batter. If you mix more than you need to, you’ll risk making your cake too dense. Divide your batter between your two cake pans and use a spatula to evenly spread out.
Bake your cakes for 20-25 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove them from their pans and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Once your cakes are cool, make your chocolate buttercream by adding your softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beating for a few seconds to smooth it out. Sift in your powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Melt your semi-sweet chocolate In a microwave-safe bowl, heating it for 30-45 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds, until melted. With your mixer on, pour your melted chocolate into your frosting and beat until combined. Finally add in your salt and heavy cream, mixing until smooth. Frost your cake however your heart desires and enjoy!
3 reasons you’ll love this dessert
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Keep a close eye on your cakes as they bake. Even though this yellow cake is packed with moisture in the form of whole eggs, butter, oil, and mayo, you want to be careful not to overbake it, as it will dry out easily
- This cake is the perfect base for more than just this delicious chocolate buttercream. Swap in for some whipped cream and macerated strawberries (just strawberries tossed in sugar so they get all juicy) or add in a layer of cranberries with the chocolate buttercream for a fruity twist on this classic
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
You can make the batter for your yellow cake up to a day in advance and leave it covered in the fridge. Your chocolate buttercream will last in the fridge for at least a week, so make it in advance as you need to. You can also freeze your prepared buttercream for up to 3 months!
Covered at room temperature, your baked and frosted cake will last around two days. If wrapped tightly it can last up to a week in the fridge or up to three months in the freezer.
MORE CAKE RECIPES
This Lemon Rosemary Loaf Cake is my new favorite and takes the classic lemon loaf to herby new levels. If you want something mini for say an afternoon tea, try these Mini Chocolate Cakes with Raspberry Glaze. I could honestly eat half of them in one sitting. Or if you want to try your hand at a cake roll, give my take on my grandma’s Pumpkin Cake Roll a try!
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatulas
- Hand or Standing Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- 2, 9-inch Round Cake Pans
- Wire Rack
- Fine Mesh Sieve
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 egg yolks room temperature
- ¼ canola oil
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 6 tbsps cocoa powder sifted
- 6 tbsps semi-sweet chocolate
- ⅓ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and grease and line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper
- In a bowl, whisk together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat your softened butter and sugar together for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy
- Add your eggs and yolks to the butter mixture and combine before adding in your oil, mayo, vanilla, and buttermilk
- Pour your dry ingredients into the bowl with your wet ingredients and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix your batter
- Divide your batter evenly between your greased and lined cake pans and spread evenly with a spatula
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs
- Leave the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before removing them and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack
- Once your cakes are cool, make your chocolate buttercream. Add your softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beat for a few seconds to smooth out. Sift in your powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined. In a microwave-safe bowl, add your semi-sweet chocolate heating it for 30-45 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds, until melted. With your mixer on, pour your melted chocolate into your frosting and beat until combined. Finally add in your salt and heavy cream, mixing until smooth
- Frost your cake as desired and enjoy!
Very light and moist with delicate flavors