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.

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 - 12x17 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:

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...

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.

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

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.

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 cake batter into the pan. Spread the cake batter evenly over the pan.

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

Basic Buttercream Frosting cast of characters:

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.)

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

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...

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

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 12x17 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