Buttery vanilla cake with Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream

Yield
10-12 slices
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
1 hr 15 mins
Total time
1 hour 45 mins + cooling and decorating time
RecipeVideoPrint

This is my golden vanilla cake 2.0. I've renamed it to "Buttery Vanilla Yellow" because that's exactly how I wanted to taste and feel. My inspiration was really boxed yellow cake. This was the cake I grew up eating and most commonly associate with yellow cake. I wanted to replicate that feathery texture, but give the cake a homemade vanilla taste. 

The key to achieving such a tall order was to focus on the mixing method. I went with a combination of two methods. The taste took some tweaking as I didn't want an overly sweet cake but rather a yellow cake with a little more depth of flavor. The resulting cake is feathery when you cut it, has the texture of a soft "squishmallow" (to quote my daughter), and a buttery and vanilla forward flavor enhanced with a bit of acidity from the buttermilk.

You can follow the recipe below to make the same exact cake I did in my video, or you can use my cakeculator to come up with your own combination or size of cake that you need.

Buttery Vanilla Yellow Cake Specifics:

Mixing Method: Creaming + whipped egg whites
Cake Texture: Spongy and moist crumb, and medium-high moisture 
Flavor Profile: Buttery, tangy, and sweet with floral vanilla
Appearance: medium to dark yellow (depends yolk color), medium air pockets, and medium-sized crumb 
Difficulty Level: Medium
Good Frosting Pairings: Classic is a chocolate buttercream, but really anything 
Filling ideas: Jams, or curds; fresh berries; ganaches
Best for: Children's birthday cakes, anyone who loves a classic American buttery cake

What is the mixing method?

My buttery vanilla yellow cake uses a combination of the creaming method and folding in whipped egg whites. To get that ultimate moist yet spongy crumb, I tried almost every combination of mixing methods and this combo was the best. 

The creaming method is probably the most familiar mixing method for cakes in the US. Although it's commonly used not just for cakes, but also various kinds of cookies and baked treats.

First, the butter (or sometimes shortening) is mixed with sugar for a few minutes. The sugar is in granule form, and when mixed with a solid fat, ends up creating tiny air pockets in that fat. The more fine your granules are, the more pockets you can potentially make. This is important because the leavening agents (baking soda or powder) in a cake recipe don't create any air pockets, they only expand existing ones.

We next add in the egg yolks, which emulsifies the ingredients into a smooth and cohesive batter before alternating the dry (flours, baking soda, salt) and wet (buttermilk) ingredients. 

The last step whip the egg whites with sugar (this is known as a meringue) and then fold that into the batter. This is another solid way to add air pockets to the batter. Instead of air being trapped in fat as with the creaming method, with this egg foaming method, we are trapping air in the water of the egg whites, which is then stabilized by the egg white proteins. These too expand in the oven with the additional use of leavening agents. 

What is the texture like?

This cake is a moist with and spongy crumb. The spongy crumb is soft yet study; it's probably one of my most durable cakes and should do well with stacked layers or even carving. This is mainly from the crumb framework that we built by using both the creaming method with a meringue folding method mentioned in the previous section. 

This is a cake with medium moisture. It is delightful served as is, but should you need to use a syrup for extra flavoring or just want a super moist cake, it has the structure to withstand extra liquid. 

What is the flavor of this buttery vanilla yellow cake?

With a yellow cake, you really can't hide anything. Vanilla is already a pretty subtle flavor so to prevent this cake from tasting overly saccharine-sweet and flour-ey, I did a couple things. 

First, I increased the butter content from my original vanilla cake. This definitely puts this cake into more of the buttery realm of cakes, much like a pound cake, but without the density of a pound cake. 

The second thing I focused on was the acidity of the cake. I know it may sound weird to think about tart or acidic cakes, but it really brings a pleasant flavor profile to the cake. It's not pronounced like the sugar and butter, but it's just an element that helps balance the sweetness of the cake.

In my original (golden vanilla cake) recipe I used sour cream, but that also brings a little bit too much fat with it and not enough acidity, so I went with buttermilk for this cake. The acidity also does a couple other things for the texture of the cake, which I hope I can cover in more detail in another post. But yeah, the lactic acid contained in the buttermilk is magic for this cake. 

The resulting cake tastes of butter first, then a sweet floral vanilla with a hint of tanginess and baked nutty flour.

What is the difficultly level of this cake?

This is a medium difficult cake. The texture of the cake is predominantly reliant on how you bring the batter together, and I use two specific methods to bring air into this cake.

First is the creaming method, which is a pretty common method for baked goods, but be sure to pay attention to the texture of the butter, and the texture when done creaming the fats and sugar. 

Second is whipping the egg whites and sugar to create the meringue. It's important to whip the egg whites alone for a bit until it looks like shaving cream to allow the bubbles to form a little, then add in the sugar to stabilize.

Don't worry though! I'm a very visual learner myself and my video shows every single step of both of these processes. 

What frosting goes well with this buttery vanilla yellow cake?

I think it'd be more useful to ask what frosting DOES NOT go with this cake. Classically, this cake goes great with chocolate frosting. Some people like it heavy and go for a ganache based frosting. I went a little lighter with a Swiss meringue buttercream in my vid because I really wanted to highlight the flavor of the cake, and chocolate ganache can be very overpowering. 

Who is this cake best for?

This is a classic cake so anyone who has a classic palate, including children, would absolutely love this cake. It's strong enough that if you wanted to highlight the cake by just using it with some freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries (my summertime favorite) you could do that. It would also work well as layers for more complex desserts or layer cakes because it's quite subtle in terms of the flavors. 

Here's a yellow cake I made. It's 3 layers of 8 inch rounds. I then filled the cake with caramel Swiss meringue buttercream and did my top coat with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.

Step by step:

Video

Read this before you begin

Measure by weight, if possible.

Measuring by weight is the best way for you to replicate my recipes. I develop recipes using ingredients (even liquids) measured in grams, which is why you see them listed first in the recipe cards. For measurements under 5 grams, I will typically only list the volumetric measurements (teaspoons, etc.), as most home scales are not precise for such small weights.

In most cases, I have converted grams to volumetric measurements (aka US customary units) for bakers who prefer this method. However, the measurements are not as precise and may have awkward proportions. The recipes should still work, but for the ultimate precision, try to use weight.

This is the OXO scale I use daily. I also purchased this budget version of a good scale, which I keep at my Mom’s house for baking. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.

Use room temperature ingredients.

All my ingredients should be used at room temperature, or 65-75 °F/18-24 °C. I will always indicate if you need something outside this range. If no details are given, room temperature is the default. 

Pay attention to the ingredient descriptions.

I try not to be brand-specific, but I will always note an interesting result from a type of ingredient, be it negative or positive. 

A specific note regarding salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for everything on this site except for frostings. In frostings, you want the salt to dissolve more easily, and kosher salt tends to leave granules behind. If you substitute table salt (more finely granulated) for recipes that list kosher salt, you must use half the volume indicated in my recipes.

Substitutions are hard.

That’s not to say they’re impossible, though. For instance, in many cases, substituting reduced fat for whole milk (and thus reducing fat by less than 2%) will probably be fine. Using applesauce for oil or even Greek yogurt when sour cream is listed will definitely alter the fat content and adversely affect the crumb texture and density of the cake.

I experiment for hours to get these recipes to work for us. First, try to make them as written or use one of my tested substitutions, which I often dedicate a section to. Then, if necessary, you can make modifications afterward. Even then I would be pretty cautious, as substitutions are one of the hardest things to investigate in recipe development.

Read all the recipe instructions before beginning.

I’m in the “Pre-read the Chapter before Class Lecture” club... and I invite you to join! Baking new recipes can be intimidating, so let’s set you up for success. I want you to think about timeframes. Most fillings and frostings can be made ahead of time, and give you an extra day for mental space. Also, as you become a more proficient baker, you can anticipate and recognize steps. (“Oh, this has a meringue step, so I’ll need an extra clean bowl…” etc.) Ensure you go down the ingredient list and have everything at the right temperature.

Buttery Vanilla Yellow Cake

Yield
10-12 slices
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
1 hr 15 mins
Total time
1 hour 45 mins + cooling and decorating time
Download PDFSave to Pinterest

Ingredients

Buttery Vanilla Yellow

  • 3 1/2 cups (405g) cake flour*
  • 6 tablespoons (48g) cornstarch**
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda***
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 large (102g) egg whites
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar (for meringue)
  • 3/4 cups (168g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) white granulated sugar (for butter)
  • 6 tablespoons (66g) oil (flavorless like canola/vegetable)
  • 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 9 large (153g) egg yolks, room temp****
  • 18 tablespoons (276g) buttermilk, any fat percentage, room temp*****

‍For the Frostings: if you want, you can make all your unflavored Swiss meringue first then split the frosting into two bowls and add flavoring. I did that to save time.

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar (caramel sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1g) lemon juice, strained (caramel sauce)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) heavy cream (caramel sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter (caramel sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt (carmel sauce)
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1/2 cups (85g) chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt

Buttery Vanilla Yellow

  • 3 1/2 cups (405g) cake flour*
  • 6 tablespoons (48g) cornstarch**
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda***
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 large (102g) egg whites
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar (for meringue)
  • 3/4 cups (168g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) white granulated sugar (for butter)
  • 6 tablespoons (66g) oil (flavorless like canola/vegetable)
  • 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 9 large (153g) egg yolks, room temp****
  • 18 tablespoons (276g) buttermilk, any fat percentage, room temp*****

‍For the Frostings: if you want, you can make all your unflavored Swiss meringue first then split the frosting into two bowls and add flavoring. I did that to save time.

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar (caramel sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1g) lemon juice, strained (caramel sauce)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) heavy cream (caramel sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter (caramel sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt (carmel sauce)
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1/2 cups (85g) chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt

Instructions

Bake the cake:

  1. Move your oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter the insides of three 8" cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Dust a very light coating of flour inside the pans.
  3. In a bowl, sift together cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the salt for 30 seconds. Set that bowl aside.
  4. Now let's prep the eggs.

    This recipe requires more yolks than egg whites (for tenderness and a beautiful yellow color!). Separate your eggs for the amounts listed in the recipe and reserve the extra whites for another use. The yolks you can place in a small bowl and set aside.

    For the white(s), we're going to make a little bit of meringue. Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk your egg white(s) on medium speed until it looks like shaving cream, then pour in the sugar (labeled 'for meringue') about 1/2 tsp at a time. Wait about 5 seconds before adding the next bit of sugar and whisk on high speed until you reach stiff peaks. Set that aside for now.
    ‍
  5. In a large bowl (either with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer), cream together on medium-high speed the softened butter and sugar (labeled "for butter") for about 2-3 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes. The mixture should be very white in color and slightly fluffier.
  6. Add in all of your egg yolks and mix on medium-high speed until yellow in color and slightly thickened, about one minute more.
  7. Now we're going to alternate dry (flour mixture) and buttermilk.
    1. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until almost all the flour has been mixed in. Scape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the flour is gone.
    2. Add half the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    3. Add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, and scrape.
    4. Add the rest of the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    5. Add the final 1/3 of the flour, which I like to do by hand with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
  8. Now it's time to fold in the meringue we made in the beginning. Add about half and use a spatula to gently fold in into the batter. Repeat with the remaining meringue and fold until you see no steaks of white.
  9. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans.
  10. Bake for about 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. (Start around 30 mins.) If you do not have three pans, you can bake them one after another. Just let the batter sit out at room temp until you're ready to bake it.
  11. Move the pans to a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool in the pans completely.
  12. Loosen the edges of the cakes using an offset spatula or butter knife, and flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack so you can peel off the parchment bottom. Make sure they are completely cool before assembling and/or frosting.

Make the Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. First, let's make the caramel sauce (I've listed those ingredients first and they have a caramel sauce next to their names.)

    Add granulated sugar to a small saucepan and pour lemon juice on top. Rub in with your fingers.
    On medium heat, stirring the whole time, melt (caramelize) the sugar until it reaches a golden amber color.
    Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in your warmed cream while gently stirring.
    Stir in your unsalted butter.
    Cool completely and add kosher salt. The saltiness of salty caramel sauce is really a preference, so feel free to add more if you like it on the salty side.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add about 75% of your prepared and cooled caramel sauce. Taste to see if you like it. I like to use all of it for a strong salty caramel flavor, but you can also use that extra carmel to drizzle on top of your cake filling for a beautiful and stronger effect.

Make the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt you chopped chocolate with 30 second intervals, stirring between every melting step. Once it is all melted, set aside to cool.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add your salt and melted/cooled chocolate. Stir on low speed until uniform in color and texture.

Adriana's Notes

*This recipe is best when using cake flour as the crumb is light and velvety when you do. I prefer unbleached flour (I just prefer the taste) and use King Arthur Flour's Cake Flour in my video. I have tested this cake with bleached flours and those work just as well and will yield a cake slighty lighter in color with a slightly more delicate crumb. You will get a slighty coarser crumb when using all-purpose flour.

**Cornstarch (aka corn flour) allows us to add starch and structure to a cake without adding any gluten, which when overworked, can lead to a chewy crumb. I use this technique in my chiffon cake to get a light and airy crumb.

***Be very careful measuring your baking soda; do not over-measure. I like to actually under-measure just a tad because this will add a bit more acidity to you cake. Don't worry, there's still baking powder in this recipe so your cake will still rise if you under measure just a little.

****The biggest factor I've found in ensuring that you get a yellow cake is to use really yellow/orange yolks. If you can find high quality free-range eggs with beautiful orange yolks, this is the recipe to use them in.

*****For volume measurers: I'm working on a converter from TB to cups. For now, here is your conversion. 12 TB = 3/4 cup; 16 TB  = 1 cup; 18 TB = 1 cup + 2 TB; 20 TB = 1 + 1/4 cups; 24 TB = 1+1/2 cups

Ingredients
Instructions

Buttery Vanilla Yellow

  • 3 1/2 cups (405g) cake flour*
  • 6 tablespoons (48g) cornstarch**
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda***
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 large (102g) egg whites
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar (for meringue)
  • 3/4 cups (168g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) white granulated sugar (for butter)
  • 6 tablespoons (66g) oil (flavorless like canola/vegetable)
  • 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 9 large (153g) egg yolks, room temp****
  • 18 tablespoons (276g) buttermilk, any fat percentage, room temp*****

‍For the Frostings: if you want, you can make all your unflavored Swiss meringue first then split the frosting into two bowls and add flavoring. I did that to save time.

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar (caramel sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1g) lemon juice, strained (caramel sauce)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) heavy cream (caramel sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter (caramel sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt (carmel sauce)
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1/2 cups (85g) chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt

Buttery Vanilla Yellow

  • 3 1/2 cups (405g) cake flour*
  • 6 tablespoons (48g) cornstarch**
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda***
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 large (102g) egg whites
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar (for meringue)
  • 3/4 cups (168g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) white granulated sugar (for butter)
  • 6 tablespoons (66g) oil (flavorless like canola/vegetable)
  • 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 9 large (153g) egg yolks, room temp****
  • 18 tablespoons (276g) buttermilk, any fat percentage, room temp*****

‍For the Frostings: if you want, you can make all your unflavored Swiss meringue first then split the frosting into two bowls and add flavoring. I did that to save time.

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar (caramel sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1g) lemon juice, strained (caramel sauce)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) heavy cream (caramel sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter (caramel sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt (carmel sauce)
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1/2 cups (85g) chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt

Bake the cake:

  1. Move your oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter the insides of three 8" cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Dust a very light coating of flour inside the pans.
  3. In a bowl, sift together cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the salt for 30 seconds. Set that bowl aside.
  4. Now let's prep the eggs.

    This recipe requires more yolks than egg whites (for tenderness and a beautiful yellow color!). Separate your eggs for the amounts listed in the recipe and reserve the extra whites for another use. The yolks you can place in a small bowl and set aside.

    For the white(s), we're going to make a little bit of meringue. Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk your egg white(s) on medium speed until it looks like shaving cream, then pour in the sugar (labeled 'for meringue') about 1/2 tsp at a time. Wait about 5 seconds before adding the next bit of sugar and whisk on high speed until you reach stiff peaks. Set that aside for now.
    ‍
  5. In a large bowl (either with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer), cream together on medium-high speed the softened butter and sugar (labeled "for butter") for about 2-3 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes. The mixture should be very white in color and slightly fluffier.
  6. Add in all of your egg yolks and mix on medium-high speed until yellow in color and slightly thickened, about one minute more.
  7. Now we're going to alternate dry (flour mixture) and buttermilk.
    1. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until almost all the flour has been mixed in. Scape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the flour is gone.
    2. Add half the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    3. Add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, and scrape.
    4. Add the rest of the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    5. Add the final 1/3 of the flour, which I like to do by hand with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
  8. Now it's time to fold in the meringue we made in the beginning. Add about half and use a spatula to gently fold in into the batter. Repeat with the remaining meringue and fold until you see no steaks of white.
  9. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans.
  10. Bake for about 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. (Start around 30 mins.) If you do not have three pans, you can bake them one after another. Just let the batter sit out at room temp until you're ready to bake it.
  11. Move the pans to a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool in the pans completely.
  12. Loosen the edges of the cakes using an offset spatula or butter knife, and flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack so you can peel off the parchment bottom. Make sure they are completely cool before assembling and/or frosting.

Make the Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. First, let's make the caramel sauce (I've listed those ingredients first and they have a caramel sauce next to their names.)

    Add granulated sugar to a small saucepan and pour lemon juice on top. Rub in with your fingers.
    On medium heat, stirring the whole time, melt (caramelize) the sugar until it reaches a golden amber color.
    Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in your warmed cream while gently stirring.
    Stir in your unsalted butter.
    Cool completely and add kosher salt. The saltiness of salty caramel sauce is really a preference, so feel free to add more if you like it on the salty side.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add about 75% of your prepared and cooled caramel sauce. Taste to see if you like it. I like to use all of it for a strong salty caramel flavor, but you can also use that extra carmel to drizzle on top of your cake filling for a beautiful and stronger effect.

Make the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt you chopped chocolate with 30 second intervals, stirring between every melting step. Once it is all melted, set aside to cool.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add your salt and melted/cooled chocolate. Stir on low speed until uniform in color and texture.

Recipe Card - Adriana's Notes

*This recipe is best when using cake flour as the crumb is light and velvety when you do. I prefer unbleached flour (I just prefer the taste) and use King Arthur Flour's Cake Flour in my video. I have tested this cake with bleached flours and those work just as well and will yield a cake slighty lighter in color with a slightly more delicate crumb. You will get a slighty coarser crumb when using all-purpose flour.

**Cornstarch (aka corn flour) allows us to add starch and structure to a cake without adding any gluten, which when overworked, can lead to a chewy crumb. I use this technique in my chiffon cake to get a light and airy crumb.

***Be very careful measuring your baking soda; do not over-measure. I like to actually under-measure just a tad because this will add a bit more acidity to you cake. Don't worry, there's still baking powder in this recipe so your cake will still rise if you under measure just a little.

****The biggest factor I've found in ensuring that you get a yellow cake is to use really yellow/orange yolks. If you can find high quality free-range eggs with beautiful orange yolks, this is the recipe to use them in.

*****For volume measurers: I'm working on a converter from TB to cups. For now, here is your conversion. 12 TB = 3/4 cup; 16 TB  = 1 cup; 18 TB = 1 cup + 2 TB; 20 TB = 1 + 1/4 cups; 24 TB = 1+1/2 cups

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Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Frosting

No dye black cake (that tastes like Oreos)

Homemade Funfetti Cake (A Delicious Sprinkle Cake!)

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Buttery Vanilla Yellow Cake

Yield
10-12 slices
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
1 hr 15 mins
Total time
1 hour 45 mins + cooling and decorating time

Ingredients

Buttery Vanilla Yellow

  • 3 1/2 cups (405g) cake flour*
  • 6 tablespoons (48g) cornstarch**
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons baking soda***
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 3 large (102g) egg whites
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons (60g) white granulated sugar (for meringue)
  • 3/4 cups (168g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
  • 1 1/2 cups (300g) white granulated sugar (for butter)
  • 6 tablespoons (66g) oil (flavorless like canola/vegetable)
  • 3 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 9 large (153g) egg yolks, room temp****
  • 18 tablespoons (276g) buttermilk, any fat percentage, room temp*****

‍For the Frostings: if you want, you can make all your unflavored Swiss meringue first then split the frosting into two bowls and add flavoring. I did that to save time.

Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar (caramel sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1g) lemon juice, strained (caramel sauce)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) heavy cream (caramel sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter (caramel sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt (carmel sauce)
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 1/2 cups (85g) chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cups (121g) egg whites, fresh
  • 1 cups (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoons (1g) kosher salt

Instructions

Bake the cake:

  1. Move your oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter the insides of three 8" cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Dust a very light coating of flour inside the pans.
  3. In a bowl, sift together cake flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the salt for 30 seconds. Set that bowl aside.
  4. Now let's prep the eggs.

    This recipe requires more yolks than egg whites (for tenderness and a beautiful yellow color!). Separate your eggs for the amounts listed in the recipe and reserve the extra whites for another use. The yolks you can place in a small bowl and set aside.

    For the white(s), we're going to make a little bit of meringue. Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk your egg white(s) on medium speed until it looks like shaving cream, then pour in the sugar (labeled 'for meringue') about 1/2 tsp at a time. Wait about 5 seconds before adding the next bit of sugar and whisk on high speed until you reach stiff peaks. Set that aside for now.
    ‍
  5. In a large bowl (either with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer), cream together on medium-high speed the softened butter and sugar (labeled "for butter") for about 2-3 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes. The mixture should be very white in color and slightly fluffier.
  6. Add in all of your egg yolks and mix on medium-high speed until yellow in color and slightly thickened, about one minute more.
  7. Now we're going to alternate dry (flour mixture) and buttermilk.
    1. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until almost all the flour has been mixed in. Scape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all the flour is gone.
    2. Add half the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    3. Add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, and scrape.
    4. Add the rest of the buttermilk, mix, and scrape.
    5. Add the final 1/3 of the flour, which I like to do by hand with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
  8. Now it's time to fold in the meringue we made in the beginning. Add about half and use a spatula to gently fold in into the batter. Repeat with the remaining meringue and fold until you see no steaks of white.
  9. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans.
  10. Bake for about 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. (Start around 30 mins.) If you do not have three pans, you can bake them one after another. Just let the batter sit out at room temp until you're ready to bake it.
  11. Move the pans to a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool in the pans completely.
  12. Loosen the edges of the cakes using an offset spatula or butter knife, and flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack so you can peel off the parchment bottom. Make sure they are completely cool before assembling and/or frosting.

Make the Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. First, let's make the caramel sauce (I've listed those ingredients first and they have a caramel sauce next to their names.)

    Add granulated sugar to a small saucepan and pour lemon juice on top. Rub in with your fingers.
    On medium heat, stirring the whole time, melt (caramelize) the sugar until it reaches a golden amber color.
    Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in your warmed cream while gently stirring.
    Stir in your unsalted butter.
    Cool completely and add kosher salt. The saltiness of salty caramel sauce is really a preference, so feel free to add more if you like it on the salty side.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add about 75% of your prepared and cooled caramel sauce. Taste to see if you like it. I like to use all of it for a strong salty caramel flavor, but you can also use that extra carmel to drizzle on top of your cake filling for a beautiful and stronger effect.

Make the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt you chopped chocolate with 30 second intervals, stirring between every melting step. Once it is all melted, set aside to cool.
  2. Prepare your double boiler. Make sure you can fit your stand mixer (or other heatproof) bowl on the top so that the bottom is exposed to steam but not directly touching the water. Bring the water beneath to a gentle boil.
  3. To the bowl of your stand mixer (or other heatproof bowl) add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Mix with a spatula. It will be viscous (pretty gooey) and thick. Place on top of the double boiler and check to make sure that the steam is getting to the bottom of the bowl properly.
  4. Continuously stir with the spatula. The eggs will thin out, all the sugar will melt, and the mixture will become more opaque. Use a thermometer to make sure you reach 165. Remove from double boiler.
  5. Place the bowl in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Whisk on high speed for 10 minutes until the bowl has cooled to the touch, the meringue has more than tripled in volume, and starts to ball up around the whisk. Set aside to cool completely.
  6. Add in the butter, one TB chunk at a time. The frosting will lose volume at first, and then start to come together and look and feel little like firm freshly whipped cream, leaving tracks in the frosting.
  7. Add your salt and melted/cooled chocolate. Stir on low speed until uniform in color and texture.