Monday, April 5, 2010

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

I just finished my Wilton II course.  It is mostly about making flowers.  We used royal icing which I like so much better than the shortening buttercream that we usually use.  I have used this class and the last class to test out different cake recipes.  One of them- a mathca cake- I totally ditched putting on the blog because it was horrible.  I would much rather have my matcha coconut cake.  I dont think I like matcha staight up.  I much prefer it with coconut or chocolate. 

This cake here was the best out of all the cakes I made for this class and the last class.  This is a yellow cake that just has the best flavor.  It is a sturdy dense cake but still manages to be fluffy.  It would be amazing with raspberry or apricot smeared on it along with some REAL butter buttercream!  Oh my.  I will so be making this one again.  It is my new 'go to' yellow cake!


Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
adapted from this book below.


3 3/4 cups cake flour
2  cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray pans with cooking spray or butter and flour. I used the Wilton oval pans and 9" round.

2. Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix on low speed briefly to blend; then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk until well blended. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the cake batter at a time, folding it in completely after each addition.

4. Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Let cakes sit for about ten minutes then turn the layers out onto wire racks by placing a rack on top of a pan, inverting it, and lifting off the pan. Flip them back over so the domed side is up onto another wire rack.  Let cool completely.  At this point you can freeze the cakes to make them easier to frost and handle.

14 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

This is a truly gorgeous cake, Lori. I love the lightness that buttermilk adds to the cake batter. I'm really glad you shared this with us. It's my kind of cake. Have a great day...Mary

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

I love what butter milk does to a cake too and this one sure seems like the one everybody will love..
Ur wilton classes sound super exciting and love those flowers so muc...

Maria said...

Pretty cake! I hope you had a nice Easter weekend!

The Blonde Duck said...

Is it sad I like cake with sprinkles in it?

Those flowers are so cute!

LittleRed said...

What a great job with your class! And I have a Matcha cake on my to do list....if only I can track down the recipe now. Coconut and matcha sounds yummy!

vanillasugarblog said...

gorgeous lori. you're coming along perfectly.
i need to get that darn cookbook.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Have I told you recently how awesome you are? Yeah, you are. I have been testing out yellow cake redcipes to make for my brother's (wedding but not a reception) party. He will only eat yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I've tried two different recipes in the past two weeks and neither was outstanding. I'll be giving this a try! It makes three layers, right? How does it freeze?

Btw, your cake looks wonderful. You did a great job!
~ingrid

Lori said...

orgot to mention that Ingrid. It freezes really well. Wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil after it has cooled and it will stay fresh for 6 to 8 weeks.

Lori said...

Oh and Blonde Duck. Combine a 1/4 cup or more of sprinkles to the batter and you will have confetti cake.

hungryandfrozen said...

This looks so delicious. A good plain cake recipe is worth holding on to :)

grace said...

i always appreciate a beautifully-decorated cake, but the taste is the most important part. truly, this looks perfect from the outside in!

Lisa said...

Oh..I'm such a vanilla gal and your beautiful cake conjures up memories of many a birthday celebration. I just made a cake myself..but it's still a blank canvas of buttercream. I literally have decorator's block..lol

kat said...

I love buttermilk in baked goods!

Mimi said...

What a beautifully decorated cake. I love cakes that use buttermilk, they are so moist and tender. I have that cookbook so I'll give it a try.
Mimi