Classic Birthday Cake
This is my favorite combination- yellow cake and chocolate frosting, topped with lots of sprinkles of course! I grew up having a boxed cake mix and canned frosting, which I still wouldn’t say no to. However, the homemade version is truly better. The cake is tender with larger crumbs and a wonderfully buttery taste. The icing is smooth, without that aftertaste you have from processed things. Plus, if you have kids at home, nothing is more fun than baking from scratch.
Tips:
I love the nostalgia of a sheet cake, but this can be made into cupcakes or an 8” 2-layer cake. Adjust cooking time to about 18 minutes for cupcakes and 28 minutes for the 8” cakes. Use the toothpick test to make sure the cakes are cooked before cooling them and frosting.
Add some sprinkles to the batter to make a funfetti cake.
Make the buttermilk by place a teaspoon of white vinegar in a measuring cup, then add milk until you reach the 1/2 cup marker. Mix and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before using.
Classic Birthday Cake
PREP 15 minutes
COOK 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9- x- 13-inch metal baking pan. Set aside.
To make the Cake: Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed.
Add the butter and shortening to the dry ingredients in the mixer. Turn the mixer on low and continue to mix while you move onto the next step.
In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Add the liquid ingredients to the mixer in three stages. Allow the batter to mix for 2 minutes in between each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl before adding the liquids.
At this point you can add 1/4 cup of sprinkles if you want a Funfetti version of cake. Otherwise place the batter into the sheet pan, smoothing out the top.
Bake the cake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
Allow the cake to cool completely, in the pan, until you are ready to frost.
Use our chocolate buttercream recipe, whipped cream or anything you like to frost the cake.