Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting {2 Year Blog Anniversary}

This is a pretty special blog post, and I still can’t believe it’s been two years. There have been a lot of crazy moments, and I’ve been lucky enough to share this journey with all of you.

I guess I should start off with a few thank yous. Thank you for the endless support. Thank you to my friends and family. Thank you to whoever is reading this. I wouldn’t be here without all of you.  It’s funny because I still remember my first post and when I asked my mum to start a blog

I still remember the first person I told this dream to. I still remember all of that. Sometimes those moments feel like yesterday, sometimes it feels like an eternity ago and sometimes it feels like a dream; a dream too good to be true. But I always think about the why, and what made me start a blog, and I still can’t find the reason.

It’s just something that felt so right at the time I guess and always has been explainable. I do believe that we are who we are due to our experiences. Often we do not realise the significance of them at the time until moments later.

I am very sorry for the lack of photographs, but this cake turned out better than expected. I decided to keep things more simple and not do a drip. It is also more of a classic American-style cake. So it’s lighter than a butter or pound cake, but denser than a sponge cake, and is paired with a rich chocolate frosting. Thank you again for everything. I’m grateful for every single opportunity and  the privilege to inspire so many of you. That’s the main reason why I blog.

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Adapted from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book by Sarah Kieffer.

Yellow Cake

• 3 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups (285g) plain flour
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature cut into 2cm cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC. Grease and line four 6-inch round cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, sour cream, and buttermilk.
3. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low until combined.
4. On low speed, add the butter one cube at a time, beating until the mixture resembles coarse sand. With the mixer still running on low, slowly add half the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and beat until well incorporated, about 30 seconds. With the mixer running on low, add the rest of the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. increase the speed to medium and beat for 20 seconds (the batter may still look a little bumpy). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and use a spatula to mix the batter a few more times.
5. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. the pans gently on the counter 2 times each to help get rid of any bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown and pull slightly away from the sides and a wooden skewer inserted in the centres comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for 30 minutes in the tins, then turn cakes onto a wire rack and remove baking paper. Then allow to cool completely.

Frosting

• 300g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups (330g) icing sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 220g dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids), melted and cooled

1. In an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed for five minutes or until light and pale in colour.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Mix high on high speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
3. Add the cooled melted chocolate and beat until well combined. Beat on high for a final three minutes making sure everything is well combined.

Assembly: 

• Fresh flowers
• Figs
• Blueberries

1. Trim and level cakes, with a serrated knife and cake leveller.
2. Add a little bit of buttercream to your cake stand or platter.Then place your first layer of cake on the cake stand.
3. Spread buttercream on the first layer and then add the next layer of cake. Repeat until you have used up all the cake layers.
4. Spread a thin layer of buttercream around the sides and all over the cake (this is a crumb coat). Put the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes, or until the crumb coat has firmed up.
5. Use the remaining buttercream to frost the cake until it is completely smooth.
6. Then slice and enjoy!