Best Yellow Cake
Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers, 22 to 24 cupcakes, two 8-inch squares or a 9×13 single-layer cake
4 cups, plus 2 T. cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp.baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
***Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with circles of parchment paper, then grease parchment***
1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. 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.
3. Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 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.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream together the following:
1/4 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
(That makes it stiff enough to pipe but if you want it thinner for spreading, add 2-3 tablespoons of milk)
*recipe from Jenn Medlock
