Yellow Cake and Chocolate Frosting

My dad's favorite cake is yellow with chocolate frosting. When he was a little boy his mother asked him what cake he wanted for his birthday and he replied with the first kind he thought of. He got a yellow cake with chocolate frosting every year after that. This year when I asked him what he wanted, he replied with the same answer.  

This cake has a wonderful texture. It is is on the denser side, but in no way feels "heavy." When coupled with this chocolate frosting it is heavenly. The frosting is rich and thick and has a similar consistency to the store bought frosting, only much much better. 

Enjoy!



Yellow Cake
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs and 1 yolk
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9" round cake pans*
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
4. Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla. Set aside
5. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.  Then add half the milk mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.  Alternate between the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beater often.
6. Pour batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top with a metal spatula
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean
8. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack and let cool completely

*Optional: line the bottom of pans with parchment paper, then remove to cool completely on wire racks


Chocolate Frosting
3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift sugar and cocoa together in a large bowl. In another bowl combine 1 cup of sugar mixture with butter and 2 tablespoons cream, beating well. Continue adding 1 cup sugar mixture and 2 tablespoons cream at a time until all ingredients are combined and frosting is fluffy. 

_____________________
The Chocolate Frosting comes from Food Network.