Homemade Yellow Cake and Variations

Submitted by SweetsLady

"I was in search of a great yellow cake made from scratch that would taste good if not better than the box. I use this one all the time for my catering business. It makes a thick cake. 6/3/08 Made some changes to make it better."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 cake
• Serves: 15-20

ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons butter flavor shortening
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs

directions

1. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, and pudding.
2. Add eggs in one at a time.
3. Add in sour cream and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Add flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with milk starting and finishing with flour mixture.
6. Pour into well greased and floured 13x9 pan.
7. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
8. Variation for White Cake: Use 4 egg whites instead of the 3 whole eggs.
9. Variation for Spice Cake: Add 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4+1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4+1/8 teaspoon ground cloves to the flour mixture.
10. Variation for Chocolate Cake: Use chocolate pudding mix and 1/3 cup cocoa. (I then up the milk a little.).

Reviews

[Buttons1mbc]

I had to make a wedding cake. I usually use pound but my niece wanted a vanilla layer cake. I have a recipe but it is very light in texture. This recipe was delicious, moist and dense. It was firmer than a traditional layer cake but not as heavy as a pound. It was exactly what I needed. This recipe will replace my orginal recipe. It really was good.

 

[Ahrrie]

I absolutely love this recipe. I was asked to make a cake for my roommate's mom's thanksgiving dinner and so I've been looking for a good scratch recipe that would be moist and light and pair well with the ricotta cheese icing. This one works wonderfully. In fact, its actually replaced any other cake recipe I used before! Thank you so much for sharing with us!

 

[Teresa B.]

I have a small cake business...I love cakes with cake flour, pudding, and sour cream...this is basically the perfect cake!! I have been searching for a scratch yellow cake recipe that I am confident selling to customers and this will definitely replace my previous one. Thank you!

 

[rinanowell]

I can't wait to try this recipe on cupcakes! Can you share your buttercream recipe? Mine comes out too airy from over-whipping so I usually turn to cream cheese frosting, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something else.

 

[bakedapple42]

I used your recipe, with quite a few variations, to make a "green" pistachio cake for a St. Patrick's Day dessert. I substituted buttermilk and almond milk for the sour cream and milk, added more vanilla, used a box of pistachio pudding mix plus a few drops of green food color, and baked it in a Bundt pan for 60 minutes. Even with all the substitutions, it still came out lovely. Thanks for such a versatile recipe.