Most American-style cakes are variations
of a basic yellow cake, the "yellow" referring to the
use of egg yolks in the batter, as opposed to "white"
cakes, which use only the whites. This simple recipe can be slightly
varied to create spice cake, lemon cake and orange cake, to name
just a few.
All-American, All-Purpose
Yellow Cake
- Butter and flour for preparing cake pans
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (see tips)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Remove butter and eggs from refrigerator
about 2 hours before starting recipe. Heat the oven to 350*F
(175*C). Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Butter two
9-inch cake pans, cover the bottom of each pan with a circle
of parchment, butter the parchment and coat the pan with flour,
shaking out the excess.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and
salt.
- Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric
mixer at medium speed for 30 seconds. Continue beating and gradually
add the sugar. Beat until light-colored, about 3 minutes. Add
eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. The mixture
should appear thick and dull. If it appears separated or grainy
and shiny, the butter and/or eggs were too cold. To remedy this,
wrap the bowl with a kitchen towel soaked with hot water and
continue mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
- Add about 1/3 of both the flour mixture
and milk and beat on low speed or by hand until just incorporated.
Add the vanilla and then the remaining flour and milk in two
batches, beating between additions. Scrape down the sides of
the bowl and stir by hand to finish.
- Divide the batter between the prepared
pans. Twist the pans back and forth on the work surface to distribute
batter and then smooth surface with a rubber spatula. Place pans
in oven a few inches apart, and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating
the pans 180 degrees after 15 minutes. Check the cake after 22
minutes. The top of the cake should be golden brown and spring
back when lightly pressed in the center, and a cake tester should
come out clean. The cakes should start shrinking back from the
sides of the pan.
- Remove the pans to a cooling rack. Let
rest for 5 minutes. Run a small knife or metal spatula around
the sides of the pans and invert cakes onto lightly greased racks.
Remove parchment paper. Reinvent cakes onto cooling rack. Let
cool for at least 1 1/2 hours or until completely cooled.
Makes one 2-layer cake; serves 12.
Spice Cake Variation:
Follow the master recipe, making the following changes: Sift
together with the dry ingredients 2 teaspoons Dutch processed
cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon
allspice and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Reduce vanilla to 1
teaspoon.
Lemon Cake Variation:
Follow master recipe, but reduce vanilla to 1 teaspoon. When
adding the vanilla, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
from 1-2 lemons and 1 teaspoon natural lemon oil or extract if
you cannot find the oil.
Orange Cake Variation:
Follow master recipe, but reduce vanilla to 1 teaspoon. When
adding the vanilla, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest
and 1 teaspoon natural orange oil or extract if you cannot find
the oil.
Tips:
- Make sure that the butter is at the proper
temperature before creaming. If you have an instant-read thermometer,
the butter should read 67 degrees. If not, bend the stick of
butter. It should be malleable but not soft. Cold butter will
not cream properly, and the batter will appear separated when
the eggs are added.
- Cake can be baked in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch
cake pan for 30 to 40 minutes or for cupcakes, bake for 15 to
25 minutes.
