Yellow Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Thought of the day… “Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!” -Author Unknown

Update (25-May-10): Increased vanilla in cake from 1/3 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon.

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My biggest food weakness is desserts… I LOVE THEM!

Unfortunately, I cannot eat chocolate… I love it, but can’t eat it. The last time I had any significant amount of chocolate was 1987. As a result, I look for non-chocolate recipes.

I have also stopped buying most cake and frosting mixes because they have partially hydrogenated fats. I have some of at the “natural foods” store that doesn’t have these bad fats, but have been looking for good scratch recipes.

If anyone has a white or yellow or lemon cake recipe they really like, please post a link in the comments section. I’d love to try it!!

In my search I found Pioneer Woman’s Fourth of July cake and it’s what I would call “yellow” maybe it is “white”. Her cake is huge – 12×17 and serves 36. That is just too big; plus I don’t have a 12”x17”x1/2” baking pan… TastyKitchen allows you to scale it, but instead used my MacGournet recipe software so I could get the nutrition as well as the scaling and tweaking.

As I mentioned, I don’t have a 12”x17”x1/2” baking pan, but I can make her large cake recipes using the Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan (15 1/2″ x 10″) along with their Small Bar Pan (8 3/4″ x 6 1/2″). They’re stoneware and great for baking. I use them for cookies and short cakes and they don’t burn and cook evenly.

Being a stickler for measurements (call me one with mild OCD), I too the measurements for both pans. I calculated that I could cut approximately 2 1/4 inch squares and the Large Bar Pan serves 35 and the Small Bar Pan serves 12. So I then scaled the recipes so I could make just the Small Bar Pan cake. It is perfect for a small cake. I tweaked it more than how the TastyKitchen scaling did.

Here’s how I made it… Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (approx 177 degrees Celsius)

Cake cast of characters:

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Yes, my sugar is brown. I used the following sugar it’s “evaporated cane juice” and can be used as a white sugar replacement. I got it at Costco. The bag is huge (10 pounds) and I don’t do a lot of baking…

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In a mixing bowl, mix 1 stick of unsalted butter and 3/4 cup sugar together on high until light and fluffy, about a couple of minutes. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix after each addition.

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Add 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

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In a separate bowl, mix together 3/4 cup sifted flour, 4 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

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Turn mixer to low and gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, one scoop at a time. Mix after every addition.

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Keep adding the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Do not overmix!

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Grease and flour a sheet cake pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan. Spread the cake batter evenly over the pan.

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Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees, until a toothpick comes out clean. Completely cool on cooling rack.

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Basic Buttercream Frosting cast of characters:

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I’ve shown two types of vanilla. Pure vanilla is brown. If you want white frosting, you can use clear vanilla but it is imitation. This time I used the clear. It really DOES make a difference in taste. I wish I’d use the pure vanilla, but wanted white frosting.

Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Save your butter wrapper – we’ll discuss below.)

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Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 2 minutes.

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Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature and stir before using)

Frost the cooled cake and enjoy it…

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… as for the butter wrapper… I save mine in a plastic bag in the fridge. They are great for using to grease pans…

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Pioneer Woman’s original recipe can be here, but here is my deviation on the cake followed by my buttercream recipe.

Mini Yellow Cake

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Serving Size: 12

Summary:

Original recipe calls for 12×17 pan, but instead I bake this in the Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan + Small Bar Pan. Cut each iced cake into approximately 2.25″ x 2.25″ squares (Large Bar Pan makes 35 servings, Small Bar Pan makes 12 servings). Entire recipe makes approximately 47 servings.

To make the “mini” cake alone, I scaled this down from the Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan + Small Bar Pan to just the Small Bar Pan. Cut each iced cake into approximately 2.25″ x 2.25″ squares (Small Bar Pan makes 12 servings).

Ingredients:

1/2 stick Unsalted Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

2 whole Eggs

1/4 cup Sour Cream, Not low fat

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

3/4 cup Flour, Sifted

4 teaspoons Cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, mix unsalted butter and sugar together on high until light and fluffy, about a minute or so. Add eggs, two at a time. Mix after each addition.

Add sour cream and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, kosher salt and baking soda. Turn mixer to low and gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, one scoop at a time. Mix after every addition. Keep adding the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Do not overmix!

Grease and flour a sheet cake pan.

Pour the thick cake batter into the pan. (It’s much thicker than regular cake batters.) With a knife or offset spatula, spread the cake batter evenly over the pan.

Place the pan into a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I baked mine for exactly 20 minutes, so you probably want to start checking then.

CAKE NUTRITION FACTS (Per MacGourmet Deluxe v1.2.4)

Servings: 12

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 135

Total Fat: 5.18g

Cholesterol: 47mg

Sodium: 82mg

Total Carbs: 19.48g

Dietary Fiber: 0.20g

Sugars: 12.78g

Protein: 1.95g

Basic Buttercream Frosting for mini cake

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Serving Size: 12

Yield: 1 Cup

Ingredients:

1 sticks butter, unsalted, softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes.

3. Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth.

Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature and stir before using)

FROSTING NUTRITION FACTS (Per MacGourmet Deluxe v1.2.4)

Servings: 12

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 132

Total Fat: 7.12g

Cholesterol: 20mg

Sodium: 1mg

Total Carbs: 16.63g

Dietary Fiber: —

Sugars: 16.35g

Protein: 0.08g