100th post! Homemade Yellow Cake with Whipped Buttercream Frosting

This is my 100th blog post!  I really never thought I'd get so into cooking like I have since I started this blog back in December.  I feel so much more confidence in the kitchen that I feel like I can bake absolutely anything!  And for my 100th post I decided to do something special.  Since I've never made a homemade frosted cake, I decided to make a homemade yellow cake and top it off with some whipped buttercream frosting.


I stumbled on a baking forum post describing how to make the perfect 3 layer homemade yellow cake, but since I've only got 2 cake pans, I decided to scale back the ingredients and make it 2 layers.  For the frosting, I used a basic buttercream frosting recipe and just adjusted the ingredients while I was mixing it.

To make the cake, I mixed together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Since I add brown sugar to just about everything I make, I decided this would be no exception and I swapped out half the white sugar for light brown sugar.

Next I added in the milk, oil, butter, and vanilla and mixed it for 2 minutes on medium high using my stand mixer.

Once it was well blended, I added in the eggs and beat it for about 3 more minutes.  The batter looked very thick and creamy.

I sprayed 2 nonstick cake pans with baking spray and poured the batter in.

Once the pans were in the oven, I let the cakes bake for 10 minutes then swapped their positions so they would bake evenly.  They were ready after just over 20 minutes of baking, and I set them on a hot pad to cool.

While the cakes cooled down, I got to work on the frosting.  I cleaned out the Kitchenaid mixing bowl and set 1/2 cup softened butter in it.  I beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until the butter was whipped.  

Next, I gradually added the powdered sugar, allowing the the frosting to mix after each cup.  I added in the vanilla extract, and gradually added in the milk as well.  After 3 cups of sugar, I felt the frosting was at the perfect consistency and placed it in the fridge until the cakes were fully cooled down and ready to frost.

To set the cake up for frosting, I emptied one of the cake pans onto a plate.  Because the cake rose during cooking, it was an uneven height and therefore wouldn't stack well.  I used a knife and cut off the "hill" from the top of the cake to make the surface flat, then added some frosting to go inbetween the layers.

I repeated the slicing with the second layer, then flipped it over so that the crumbly side would be inbetween the two layers.  Now, since I knew the cake would crumb easily, I decided to frost the outside of the cake by scooping frosting into a sandwich bag and cutting off the corner so that it could be easily applied without tearing up the cake. I don't have any fancy frosting bags or metal tips to use, but this worked perfectly.

Once I got the frosting added, I just spread it out with a knife to cover up any spaces.  And voila, a homemade cake is born!

Yes, it turned out as great as it looks!  The cake was dense, but soft and very flavorful.  I'm sure if I tried cake flour it would make it fluffier, but the flavor was just fantastic.  It also turned out super cute if I do say so myself.  I'm a sucker for sweets, and this hit the spot.  I'm so glad I was about to pull off a homemade frosting--it was really much easier than I expected.  I shared this cake with my family and everyone loved it.  And now that I've made it to 100 posts I think it's safe to say I've made baking a habit!

Homemade Yellow Cake with Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the cake:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt and mix. Add in milk, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla and beat using a hand or stand mixer for 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat for 3 minutes. Pour into cake pans sprayed with nonstick baking spray and bake for 20-25 minutes, until you can poke the center of the cake with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter using a mixer for 3-5 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, beating between each new addition. Mix until the frosting reaches desired consistency.