Recipe- Bake The Perfect Vanilla Cake At Home

I used to have a Vanilla Cake on the blog. It was a one bowl cake and as with many blog recipes I tested it twice before posting and loved it. Then something happened that made me take it down. I made it once and it was ok. A friend made it once and it was ok. Not bad, not great, just ok. I try to avoid the business of ok. I figured out what was wrong. For one, because it was a dump and mix one bowl kinda cake it was too easy to over mix. It was also too easy to mess it up with a smidge more flour. Overmix a cake with a little more flour and congratulates you now have an edible brick. Okay so maybe I am exaggerating, but point is that cake had to go. This Perfect Vanilla Cake though – this is here to stay.

I am going to confess something. You may find this funny, you may find it relatable. When I was growing up buying chocolate for baking was a luxury. We didn’t do it routinely and for a kid like me who was forever baking I would always use cocoa powder and oil/butter where recipes called for chocolate. It seemed totally natural to me at the time. The only exception I made was this classic Chocolate Mousse . I always bought chocolate for that.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
10 tbsp Melted Butter
3 tbsp Oil
2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
3 Egg Yolks
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Buttermilk
150 g Bittersweet or Dark Chocolate (or 3/4 cup chocolate chips) Melted in the microwave
2 cups Icing Sugar
1/2 cup Butter (8 tbsp) room temperature
1/2 tsp Instant Coffee
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup Whipping Cream
Chocolate sauce or Caramel sauce for drizzling
Chopped candied / honey roasted peanuts
Sprinkles (for the top)

Method

* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour two 8-inch pans (or two 9-inch ones)

* Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

* Beat the butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed till well combined then increase the speed and whip for 3-4 minutes.

* Add the eggs and egg yolks in three additions, whipping for a minute between each addition. The mixture should look nice and fluffy.

* Mix in the Vanilla Extract

* Now with the mixer on low add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in two additions each, alternating between the two. So: first half the flour, then half the buttermilk, then the remaining flour and remaining buttermilk.

* Mix until JUST combined and then stop. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to stir in any streaks of flour.

* Divide the batter between your pans and bake for 30-35 minutes for an 8-inch pan or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

* For a 9-inch pan this should be somewhere between 25-28 minutes.

* Melt the chocolate in a medium sized bowl till just smooth.

* Add the icing sugar first then the butter and coffee powder and mix on low until well incorporated. This will take 3-4 minutes

* Now add the vanilla extract, the salt and the cream and whip on medium speed.

* The icing will become nice and fluffy. Taste – if it is too sweet you can adjust the taste with a little cocoa powder or coffee and if it is too dark for you then add a little icing sugar. Mix just enough to incorporate.

* Once the cakes have cooled completely use a large knife to remove the domed tops.

* Now spread half the icing between the first and second layer.

* You can also pipe large stars on the outside rim and then just fill the middle like I have.

* If you are using any of the optional add ins put them in now.

* Place the second cake layer on top and decorate the top with the remaining frosting finishing with your toppings of choic