I love birthdays. It’s so fun to celebrate with loved ones and I especially enjoy celebrating the birthdays of my closest family and friends. This week, the Baron celebrated his birthday and in honor of his special day, I had him choose whatever crazy, out of the ordinary, ultimate cake he wanted. The sky was the limit! But I should have known better. Rather than throwing me a challenging cake request, he simply requested a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Little did I realize that sometimes the simplest dish can be the most challenging. In the end, the birthday boy got his cake, the Best Ever Butter Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting, to be exact. It was a buttery cake with a tender crumb, adorned with colorful sprinkles atop creamy, glorious chocolate frosting…
This cake was definitely the best ever and it was so easy too! The Baron requested a single layer cake which I baked up in a 9×9 square pan. The batter could have baked in the standard 9×13 but I prefer the height the cake had in a smaller pan. The use of cake flour made the crumb light and airy and the buttery flavor was thanks to the Plugra butter used. Joel and I had fun making the cake for The Baron and it’s a recipe I will make for cupcakes and as a base for other cakes too.
As for the frosting, only chocolate would do to pair with the butter yellow cake. I went with a chocolate buttercream frosting, using Plugra butter once again. It came out light, fluffy and dark cocoa powder really cut through some of the sweetness. Although I wasn’t given some crazy cake request as initially anticipated, it melted my heart seeing how happy he was with his simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting. The simplest things are often the best things in life…
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted Plugra Butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
8 egg yolks
3/4 cups half & half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (I used vanilla paste)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 9×9 square pan.
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Bake pan in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top spring back when lightly tapped. Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.
- recipe slightly adapted from Lauren’s Latest
- 1 cup unsalted Plugra butter. softened
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons half & half
European butter makes the best desserts probably because it is higher in fat. I can just imagine how delicious and tender this cake is with it.