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Starlight Yellow Cake
Tall, golden brown, and incredibly tender, this classic yellow cake has a soft, velvety crumb that pairs beautifully with your favorite chocolate frosting. The simple batter relies on basic pantry staples like butter, milk, and vanilla, so you won't need a special trip to the store. You can bake it as a simple sheet cake for a casual dessert or stack it into layers for a birthday celebration. It's a reliable, old-fashioned favorite that never disappoints.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish, two 9-inch round pans, or three 8-inch round pans with shortening, then dust lightly with flour. Properly greasing and flouring the pans ensures the delicate cake releases without tearing.
- 2Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, softened butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds while scraping down the sides. Increase the speed to high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping occasionally, before pouring the batter into the prepared pans. Beating on high incorporates air into the batter for a lighter, fluffier crumb.
- 3Bake the 13x9-inch pan for 35 to 40 minutes, the 9-inch pans for 25 to 30 minutes, or the 8-inch pans for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the center springs back to a light touch.
- 4Let a 13x9-inch cake cool directly in the pan on a wire rack. If you're making round cakes, cool them in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out onto wire racks. They'll need about 1 hour to cool completely.
- 5Spread your preferred frosting over the cooled 13x9-inch cake, or use it to fill and frost the round layers.
Notes
- Variation: For a cherry version, fold 1/2 cup of dried cherries into the batter before baking.
- Swap: To make a peanut butter cake, substitute the softened butter with an equal amount of peanut butter.
- Troubleshooting: A pale, flat cake usually means there's too much liquid or fat, not enough leavening, or the pan is too large.
- Troubleshooting: If the cake sinks in the middle and browns too much, it likely has too much leavening, excess liquid, or it baked for too long.