Smitten Kitchen Best Yellow Layer Cake

I've looked high and low for a perfect yellow cake recipe. Have made this cake twice now, with perfectly delicious results both times. Deb at Smitten Kitchen proclaims this to be the best yellow layer cake, and I agree. You've never checked out Sk? Deb is a wealth of knowledge and a great resource for say, layer cake tips.

My "Go-To" Chocolate frosting is the Hershey's recipe for "Perfectly Chocolate" Choc frosting. It's fool proof, and I always have the ingredients on hand. This is a cake you'll make over and over. Happy July!

Best Yellow Layer Cake
Smitten Kitchen
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Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, and, in theory, 22 to 24 cupcakes*, two 8-inch squares or a 9×13 single-layer cake

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9 inch round pans with circles of parchment paper. Spray the lined pans with cooking spray and lightly flour.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap or drop pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Tips:

-*This cake made two perfect 9 inch layers. No overflow. In Deb's notes, she says it should make about 2 dozen cupcakes, but she had not yet tested the amount of cupcakes. A few of her reader reviews said it made closer to 3 - 4 dozen cupcakes.

-Make sure to use 2 inch high cake pans. Purchase a good set of cake pans at a restaurant supply, craft store or my fave (and least expensive option- Ross or TJ Maxx). The pans will not fit inside of each other. They are straight up and down on the sides, therefore making the pans not so easy to store in your cabinet, but resulting in better shaped cakes.

"Perfectly Chocolate" Hershey's Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (whole is best)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in a large bowl . Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Yields about 2 cups frosting.

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