If you are used to the same old "cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy" method for making yellow layer cakes, then consider this - a cake that needs just 3 tablespoon of butter, bakes in 1 pan for a tall single layer that you can slice in half to make a two-layer cake, and ULTRA moist texture with rich vanilla flavour?
That's THIS cake!
Here are some reasons why you should make this Moist Yellow Vanilla Cake:
1) Less dishes! You only need 1 pan to make it. That also means you only have to worry about lining 1 pan - the less prep the better in my books!
2) Room temperature butter not required! So, if you forgot to take the butter out of the fridge last night, then you can still make this cake right now!
3) It's soft, moist and tender and NOT dense and bready.
4) The vanilla and lemon flavour is so clean and strong because it's not muted by a ton of flour.
As you can see, I paired this cake with Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache frosting which is UNREAL and so delicious AND it needs just TWO ingredients! Once you nail this cake, then the frosting will knock you off your feet!
I also added lemon zest to this cake to create a wonderful, bright lemon flavour! If chocolate and lemon seems like a strange combination for you, then please take a moment to reconsider.
Lemon compliments SO many things - it has a floral, fruity, tangy taste that isn't as overpowering as other citrus like orange, lime and grapefruit. In fact I DO NOT LIKE chocolate and orange (blaaahhh - I'm sorry. Please don't hate me for it!)
BUT - chocolate and lemon is lovely, and in particular it must be DARK chocolate. The bitterness with the tanginess, and the natural tropical fruitiness of dark chocolate just makes sense here.
Did you know that raw chocolate actually has a lot of tropical fruit notes like passionfruit, pineapple and banana?
About the cake itself - it is simply just a delicious moist butter cake made with a different technique than you're used to which makes it light and fluffy instead of dense and doughy. You will love it!
The method starts with beating eggs with sugar before mixing in warm melted butter and milk. Finally you gently mix in the dry ingredients and bake it off! It's so simple and more similar to a sponge cake, but with WAY more flavour and ultra moist.
I hope you jump out of your comfort zone and try this recipe - I'm confident you will be hooked!
Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup 118ml milk
- ¼ cup 56g unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest optional
- 1 cup 142g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup 150g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon 30ml fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the base of an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides.
- Combine milk, butter and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes to infuse.
- Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl. Add salt and whisk to blend evenly.
- Combine whole eggs, yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Increase to high speed and beat for 4 minutes until pale, thick and tripled in volume. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour in the warm milk mixture and mix just until incorporated. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture until combined and batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until evenly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, invert to release the cake and allow to cool completely. Once cool, slice in half horizontally and spread your favourite frosting between the layers, and then on top to cover it!
Mary
Kristina if I wanted to make a cake that has 7 layers like cookie dough frosting, fudge, vanilla mouse, and a layer of vanilla cake. My question is would sponge cake be more dense? The layers are
1. Chocolate chip cookie base
2. Layer of fudge
3. Layer of cookie dough frosting
4. Layer of vanilla cake split in half
5. Layer of vanilla mouse
6. Layer of vanilla cake split
7. Layer of fudge on top
christina.marsigliese
Hi Mary! Sorry, I don't quite understand your question. Can you please elaborate on what you mean by more dense?
ciondolo pandora
Keep up the amazing work! Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next.
jo
Hi! How would i need to adjust the recipe if i wanted to bake this as a 6" layer cake? Thanks!
christina.marsigliese
Hi Jo, it depends on how many layers.
Keri-Lee Stroebel
How about a 4 layer x 6" cake?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Keri-Lee! You would need to at least 2.5x the recipe to have enough batter.
ダッチワイフ
ダッチワイフ
Andrea
Hi Christina,is it ok to bake this cake in an 7inch tin? It sounds really good and I would love to try it but only have 7inch or 22inch. Thank you
Beatriz Gee
If the lemon juice is not added to the cake batter, will the cake texture change. What is the purpose of the lemon juice?
Ivan
Hello
I don't want to waste two egg whites and don't have anything else to make. Is there a way to make this with four whole eggs or something else to remove the need for egg yolks?
Eleonora
Very easy to make and the best lemon/vanilla flavor!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much Eleonora!
Valerie
Hi. How long do i need to bake for 6 inch round pan?
christina.marsigliese
Maybe 5-10 minutes longer. I wouldn’t recommend it as it will be too much batter for the pan and might collapse.
Anonymous
Ok. Thank you
Shavonda Luma
Saved as a favorite, I love your site!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much Shavonda!
Christina
Hi Christina! My name is also Christina. I’ve made your Best chocolate cake and it was a hit! I was wondering if this recipe would be suited for 24 cupcakes? Many vanilla cupcake recipes I’ve tried lately don’t rise very high or I’m left with something that resembles a cornbread muffin, except my white wedding cupcakes. They come out moist and perfect, but I can’t seem to perfect a yellow vanilla cupcake. Help?
christina.marsigliese
Hi Christina! I have two incredible vanilla cupcake recipes. One is in Scientifically Sweet Occasions cookbook, and the other is in Scientifically Sweet Chocolate cookbook.
Eolande
You are a great writer!
Anna
This cake was amazing! Thank you for this recipe ? It smelled amazing right out of the oven and it took a bit of restraint not to eat it before putting the frosting on. I'm with you on orange and chocolate - meh. One of the most memorable chocolate bars I've ever had was a lemon and black pepper with dark chocolate. So good!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much Anna! I'm so glad this recipe worked out for you. And the chocolate with lemon and pepper sounds so intriguing!