Classic Birthday Cake

Made this a few days ago—my first pandemic cake. I cut recipe in half and used two 8 inch cake pans. Beautiful and delicious. The cake and frosting are very tender which means the chocolate frosting while “chocolaty” does not overpower the almost-delicate-cake. Follow recipe exactly and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best and easiest “yellow cake with chocolate frosting” recipes ever. P.S. If you do cut recipe in half, baking time in the two 8 inch cake pans is 25 minutes.

This makes a really big, spectacular cake. I made it for a staff gathering, and it was devoured within minutes. Next time I might double the frosting because I'm a glutton.

I wanted to make this in three 6-inch pans instead of 9-inch, so I cut the recipe by 1/3 and it came out perfectly! Here are the measurements for others looking to do the same. For family birthdays, I’ve found a 6-inch three layer cake to be the perfect amount of cake. 150 g butter 311 g flour 1.5 scant t baking powder 1 t salt 1 t baking soda 1 c buttermilk 119 mL vegetable oil 1.5 scant t vanilla 266 g sugar 73 g brown sugar 3 eggs 2 yolks

I added a lot more confectioner's sugar to the frosting than the recipe. I made it a bit sweeter and allowed for better whipping (a lot of the comments seemed to say the frosting was too bitter and heavy). 185 grams is very little for buttercream.. I probably added nearly double. Also, be careful adding warm chocolate to buttercream. If it separates, some time in the fridge and then beating the bejeezus out of it works to save it.

LINE THE PANS! I was surprised that the recipe didn't call for a circle of parchment or wax paper, but went against my better judgment and just used a generous coating of non-stick spray. Three beautiful cake layers stuck to the bottom of the pans. There is not enough crumb coat in the world to sort out this mess. What a disappointment.

This made a HUGE and really delicious cake for my Grandmother's 80th birthday. The buttermilk and sour cream in the cake batter and frosting, respectively, added a sophisticated tang which elevated the cake for adult enjoyment. My whole family loved it! I did not have the trouble that some other reviewers did with dryness or texture - the cake was beautifully moist and almost jiggly. I imagine those issues are due to overbaking or overmixing.

Bittersweet chocolate was not great w this. Loved the salt in the icing but would use semi sweet next time. Recipe should also say the middle of your cakes will still be wet after 40 minutes. They finish cooking out of the oven.

Love this recipe so much. I have made this many times for birthday celebrations: it’s dramatic, delicious, simple. I initially tried it with cake flour based on the note in her cookbook, but the middle of the cakes sank—these are big cakes and I think the cake flour is too light to support their bulk. All-purpose flour is the way to go, in my experience. What makes the cake is the frosting which is decadent but light, chocolatey enough and not saccharine, gritty, or greasy—my usual gripe.

This was fantastic! Best birthday cake ever. I used cake flour, which made for a really delicate crumb. Highly recommended. I made a classic buttercream frosting since we're not huge sour cream fans. Make this!

This was my first time making cake from scratch. I had access to a stand-mixer, which was a lifesaver. I followed the directions exactly as stated. The cake came out very well! The cake itself is lovely. Initially, I didn't think the frosting was for me. I could taste a little too much tang. However, I liked that it wasn't too sweet. A day later, the frosting was perfection–– the flavors mellowed out. I would highly recommend making this the night before serving!

If you’re looking for a tangy, not too sweet cake this might be what you’re looking for. But if you’re looking for a light/airy/moist cake with a creamy or sweet frosting this isn’t it. I made it for a birthday party and everyone enjoyed it, but I feel like if I’m going to make a cake that doesn’t come from a box I want it to be perfect. This felt a touch dense/stodgy (similar to a pound cake) and the frosting with the sour cream was not quite right to me. Was beautiful tho.

As a less experienced baker, I wish the first step of this recipe (and many others) would be “take the butter out of the refrigerator two hours in advance to get it to room temperature”. This gets me every time.

Hi there! For a buttermilk substitute I’d recommend 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar and enough milk to fill up to 1 cup. Sour cream in the buttercream would probably work with creme frâiche, mascarpone, or Greek yogurt!

Lesson learned: that chocolate sour cream mixture needs to be cool before it goes into the creamed sugar or it will melt all the butter! I did this and had to let the soup cool completely, then re-beat with some extra confectioners sugar to firm it up. Yeah yeah the recipe says “don’t let the chocolate get hot” but it really wasn’t clear why they was so important to me! Also, my cake turned out terrible. Texture of polenta cake. Nor sure where I went awry.

Was not moist, cook for less time and add more moist ingredients