This past Sunday was my daughter’s 5th (!) birthday. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! It makes me sad to see my baby growing so quickly. But, at the same time, I love watching her grow and turn into her own person. She is full of life and loves experiencing so many different things. She totally takes after me when I was a kid. I am in so much trouble!
We didn’t do anything big for her birthday. I am not a huge party fan. I will wait until she wants a party and can invite her own friends. So, we kept it simple. Although, an auntie, uncle and grandpa did come come up for cake and ice cream after dinner. (Since I’ve been on a baking binge lately, it was good to have more mouths to feed sweet things to.) I let my daughter pick out the cake she wanted. I gave her many options, showing her photos. She takes after my husband with her love of chocolate. This is the cake she wanted immediately after seeing it. I think mostly because of the sprinkles? She was stoked to help me make it.
This cake was a fabulous choice on her part. It is moist, smooth and perfectly chocolately. I was a little hesitant about the frosting at first, but I knew better than to second guess Kyra’s judgement (I mean hello, I ate this frosting of hers soo many times over the years when I worked for her!). It was amazing. It’s velvety, it’s that good. It was so good that I didn’t even get a chance to take a picture of the inside! This is a perfect cake to make for any occasion!
Recipe from Lily’s Café Cookbook, revised edition by Kyra Alex
Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
This tender and moist cake is the perfect party cake. Quick and simple to make, and perfect with a thick and creamy chocolate frosting with a scattering of sprinkles.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the frosting
- 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. To make the cake; grease three 9-inch cake pans and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Alternating with the buttermilk, stir the flour into the butter mixture, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour into the greased pans, smoothing out the top.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks. Let cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting; beat the butter and eggs together with an electric mixer until only small chunks remain. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave , stirring until smooth. Beat the melted chocolate into the butter mixture until completely smooth.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake plate, spread a generous amount of frosting over the top until smooth and even. Repeat with the two remaining layers, spreading over the sides at the end. Scatter sprinkles around the edges, if desired. Serve.
Notes
Store, well covered, in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
