Rich Vanilla Cake Recipe
I spent years, seriously, years, looking for a good scratch vanilla cake recipe. Every one I tried turned out way to heavy. SO frustrating. Finally, about a year or so ago, I came across a recipe for "Fluffy Yellow Cake" in the March 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine.
The recipe below is my adapted version because theirs is a little more fussy than I like to be in the kitchen. But the basic idea, of whisking the egg whites separately is what makes this cake different from all of the others I tried. It is pretty rich, what with all of the butter and egg yolks, so I wouldn't call it light and fluffy, but it is definitely not a rock!
What You Need:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch (optional, or just use 2 1/2 cups flour)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs (you will use all 6 yolks, but only 3 whites)
Combine the first five dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar.
The recipe below is my adapted version because theirs is a little more fussy than I like to be in the kitchen. But the basic idea, of whisking the egg whites separately is what makes this cake different from all of the others I tried. It is pretty rich, what with all of the butter and egg yolks, so I wouldn't call it light and fluffy, but it is definitely not a rock!
What You Need:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch (optional, or just use 2 1/2 cups flour)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 eggs (you will use all 6 yolks, but only 3 whites)
Combine the first five dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar.
vanilla or strawberry or caramel icing?
Whisk the whites in the mixer bowl until frothy. Slowly add 1/4 cup sugar, and whisk until the whites hold a stiff peak.
Like this.
Remove the whipped whites from the bowl, and set aside.
*I love this picture, but it is a little bit of false advertising. I made a 1.5 batch when I took this particular photo. So, this is actually five whisked whites. But how cool is that?!
In the mixer bowl, combine 6 egg yolks, 3/4 cup melted butter, 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp. white vinegar added), and 1 Tbsp. vanilla.
Slowly add the powdered mixture until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites.
Fold in the remaining egg whites carefully so you don't deflate them.
Mix slowly and carefully until no white streaks remain.
This recipe yields about 5 cups of batter. That would allow you to bake it in an 8"x3" round pan for 55 minutes or so at 350-degrees. Or you can pour it into a 9"x13"x2" sheet pan, and it will bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350-degrees. Because I tend to bake my cakes in different pans for different occasions, I always default to the directions for the pan for baking times. I use this chart from Wilton because most of my pans are Wilton pans.
I have to apologize for the lack of finished cake photos in this post. I used this cake to make the Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes, and I neglected to take any plain cake photos. I will add some next time I use this recipe. Promise.
Click the Links Below to See:
Recipe Index with all of my recipes
Basic Cake Decorating Recipes & Ideas
Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes
And don't forget, if you shop at Amazon.com through my link, you support this blog and its contents. Thank you!
Whisk the whites in the mixer bowl until frothy. Slowly add 1/4 cup sugar, and whisk until the whites hold a stiff peak.
Like this.
Remove the whipped whites from the bowl, and set aside.
*I love this picture, but it is a little bit of false advertising. I made a 1.5 batch when I took this particular photo. So, this is actually five whisked whites. But how cool is that?!
In the mixer bowl, combine 6 egg yolks, 3/4 cup melted butter, 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp. white vinegar added), and 1 Tbsp. vanilla.
Slowly add the powdered mixture until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites.
Fold in the remaining egg whites carefully so you don't deflate them.
Mix slowly and carefully until no white streaks remain.
This recipe yields about 5 cups of batter. That would allow you to bake it in an 8"x3" round pan for 55 minutes or so at 350-degrees. Or you can pour it into a 9"x13"x2" sheet pan, and it will bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350-degrees. Because I tend to bake my cakes in different pans for different occasions, I always default to the directions for the pan for baking times. I use this chart from Wilton because most of my pans are Wilton pans.
I have to apologize for the lack of finished cake photos in this post. I used this cake to make the Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes, and I neglected to take any plain cake photos. I will add some next time I use this recipe. Promise.
Click the Links Below to See:
Recipe Index with all of my recipes
Basic Cake Decorating Recipes & Ideas
Vanilla-Dark Chocolate Mini Cakes
And don't forget, if you shop at Amazon.com through my link, you support this blog and its contents. Thank you!
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