Yellow Celebration Cake

This is a classic. This yellow cake with ganache frosting is delicious and, best of all, comes together without too much fuss. If I’m honest, I will often choose a white cake over the yellow version but, the fact that this one uses whole eggs and a straightforward cake method wins me over when I am pressed for time. That would be 95% of the time. The ganache frosting is also a winner and one I’ve come to use more and more. It is a real crowd pleaser.

The recipe is from Joanne Chang. I knew of her from her bakery, Flour, which I visited when I was in Boston. I was pleasantly surprised with her cookbook, it is no-nonsense book, filled with comprehensive instructions and tutorials. The resulting recipes have, so far, all been great.

Adapted From Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

For the Cake:

345g unsalted butter, COOL room temperature

350g sugar

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

390g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp kosher salt

240ml buttermilk (sub w/ 225ml milk + 1tbsp lemon juice)

For the Icing:

340g dark chocolate, finely chopped

240ml heavy cream

230g unsalted butter, cool room temperature

130g icing sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

Yellow Cake

  1. Heat oven to 180C/350F. Grease 2x 8” cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Set aside.

  4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Scape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  5. With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg mixture little bit at a time, beating well between additions to make sure the egg is well incorporated into the mix before adding more. This will help prevent your batter from split. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  6. Add the flour in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk added in-between each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition and make sure to mix until just combined.

  7. Divide evenly between the cake pans and bake in the over for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Fluffy Ganache Frosting

  1. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside.

  2. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until small bubbles start to form around the sides of the pan. Pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit for 1 minute and then stir the chocolate into the cream until totally smooth and melted. Let sit at room temperature until cool, about an hour.

  3. Once the chocolate has cooled down, using a large bowl, beat the butter on medium (with a paddle attachment if using a standing mixer) until fluffy. Add the icing sugar, salt and vanilla and continue to beat until well incorporated (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again for a few seconds.

  4. Add in the room temp chocolate mixture and beat for about 2 minutes, until completely combined. Scrape the bowl and beat on medium-high for 1 minute or until the frosting starts to thicken.

Assemble the cake

  1. Trim the cool cakes so that they are even.

  2. Place one cake layer on a cardboard board, plate or cake stand and spread about 1 cup of frosting over the top of the cake, using an offset spatula to spread it evenly.

  3. Place the second cake layer on top of the first, top-down. Spoon about 1 cup of the frosting over the top of the cake and spread it on the top and sides, covering with a thin crumb coat. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set.

  4. Use the remaining ganache, spreading it evenly all over the cake.


Laurence ReevesComment