💬 Featured Comment: "Golden chocolate please!! never got the hype of yellow cake with chocolate icing, until I had yours!! Oh my gosh. What dreams are made of!"--Casey
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In the baking world, there's nothing more comforting than a classic yellow cake, just as moist and soft as Grandma used to make. It's a perfect pairing with creamy and fluffy chocolate buttercream. At Amycakes Bakery we called this classic combination "Golden Chocolate" cake, and it was one of our favorite flavors.
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What is Yellow Cake?
Yellow cake is a moist and fluffy cake that uses egg yolks and butter, which give it a rich and buttery flavor. Unlike my most popular Vanilla Almond Cake, which uses a combination of egg and egg whites, this Golden Chocolate Cake recipe uses a combination of egg and egg yolks. The extra egg yolk provides the classic yellow color and enhances the richness of the cake.
Golden Chocolate Cake Ingredients
Like all of my cakes, this cake recipe includes classic cake ingredients plus my favorite secret bakery ingredients for making moist cake:
- Flour & Sugar
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda
- Instant Clearjel (a type of cornstarch that creates a soft and moist cake texture) or Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- Salted Butter
- 2 Eggs (divided) plus an extra egg yolk
- Buttermilk (I use Braum's A2 buttermilk)
- Vanilla Extract
- Vegetable Oil
- Light Corn Syrup (enhances the texture and rise)
About the secret bakery ingredient in this recipe
This bakery recipe uses Instant ClearJel, a type of cornstarch that serves as both a thickener and a binder. It's tasteless and has no artificial ingredients.
You can also use Instant Pudding mix (when it's listed in the recipe), which contains Instant Clearjel as the second ingredient!
It's often used by professional bakers because it produces a smoother and glossier consistency than cornstarch, tapioca, or other starches. Even better, it enhances moisture and texture in cakes and thickens and stabilizes frostings. Here are a few brands I recommend:
Hoosier Hill Farm Instant Clearjel on Amazon
*Please make sure the clearjel you purchase is labeled as instant
Although it's not often available in grocery stores, it's sold in a variety of online stores--just make sure whatever you purchase is labeled as INSTANT (cooktype and original clearjel will not work the same). It's also frequently found in Amish Markets. (Learn more about Instant Clearjel in Baking→)
Layer this Cake using the Cut and Stack Method
I bake all my cakes in sheet pans and cut them out with cake rings. I talk about this in detail in 5 Easy Steps to Baking and Layering Cakes Like a Pro, but here's a quick rundown:
1. Bake the Cake in a Sheet Pan
2. Wrap and Freeze the Cake in the Pan
3. Cut Desired Cake Size with Cake Rings and Layer the Cake from Frozen
4. Crumb Coat the Cake
5. Decorate and Serve
How to Make a Golden Chocolate Layer Cake
All my cake recipes are small-batch recipes, and this 6" cake feeds 7-8 generous servings. By baking the cake in a ¼ sheet pan using the Cut and Stack Method, we can get 3 layers of cake with ¼ inch of fluffy chocolate buttercream between the layers. Double the recipe by pressing the "2x" within the recipe card if you'd like to make an 8" cake baked in a ½ sheet pan, or check out my other cake pan recommendations.
Use the Golden Cake with other Flavor Variations
The Golden Vanilla (yellow) cake used to make this Golden Chocolate combination is delicious with other fillings and frostings, too, Pair it with my House Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for a classic yellow cake, or fill it with one of my fruit compotes--The golden cake with vanilla frosting and my strawberry compote filling was one of my most popular wedding cake flavors at Amycakes Bakery!
⭐ Serving and Storing Amycakes Bakes Cakes ⭐ Nearly all of my cakes are best at room temperature! They’ll still taste yummy out of the fridge, but will be firm and a different texture due to all the yummy butter in the cake and buttercream. I want to make sure you enjoy the soft and moist cake texture that is intended by eating the cake at room temperature cake. You can refrigerate the cake after decorating it, but allow it to come back to room temperature 2-3 hours before serving. (Keep in mind the buttercream can melt in warm conditions). I keep my leftover cake out of the fridge for up to 24 hours, but I’ll refrigerate or freeze anything that won’t get eaten within that time.
Other Comforting Layer Cakes
Here are a few more of my favorite layer cakes with a super soft and moist texture.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Golden Chocolate Cake! It's a super-moist, old-fashioned cake from scratch, with rich and decadent chocolate buttercream. It's perfect for any occasion! I look forward to hearing what you think of this recipe!
Thanks for Reading. ❤️
📖 Recipe & Step-by-Step Instructions
Golden Chocolate Cake (Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 233 grams (1 ¾ cups) All-Purpose Flour (I use Gold Medal)
- 2 Tablespoons Instant Clearjel or 3 Tablespoons Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix (See Note #1)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Buttermilk
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon(s) + 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Creamed Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 cup(s)) Sugar
- 1 stick (4 oz) Salted Butter (at room temperature)
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Light Corn Syrup
- 3 Egg YOLKS
Whipped Ingredients
- 2 Egg WHITES
- ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
Chocolate Buttercream and Decorations
- 1 x batch prepared Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream (please note the batch size)
Decorations (optional)
Instructions
Make the Golden Vanilla Cake
- Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Line ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper, and then spray bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the sheet pan with cooking spray.
- Sift Dry Ingredients in a bowl and then whisk until well blended.
- Combine and stir Wet Ingredients in a separate bowl or pitcher.
- With a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer, cream sugar and salted butter together just until creamy and fluffy. Add oil and corn syrup and beat until incorporated. Add 3 egg yolks and cream until well blended, scraping sides of the bowl as needed. Avoid over-creaming at each step.
- On low speed, alternate adding Dry ingredients and Wet ingredients to the Creamed Ingredients, a little at a time. I do ⅓ Dry, ⅓ Wet, and so on, adding one-third at a time and blending on low after each addition. Continue to mix just until the batter looks well blended and smooth (avoid overbeating). Scrape sides of the bowl as needed.
- Using a whip attachment and a clean bowl, whip the 2 egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. (Make sure your bowl and beaters are clean and free from grease so that the whites will whip).
- Carefully fold the Whipped Whites into the cake batter, one-half of the whites at a time. The batter is ready when no egg white streaks remain and it should look smooth and uniform.
- Spread into prepared pan and make sure the batter is evenly distributed. An offset spatula works well for this.
- Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of preheated 325-degree oven for 18 minutes, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Set the timer for an additional 8-10 minutes. Check the cake at this point. If it is jiggly at all when lightly touching the top of the cake, continue baking for 1-6 more minutes. The cake is done when a paring knife or toothpick comes out mostly clean when stuck quickly in the cake. A couple moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet. Allow to cool completely. Brush lightly with simple syrup (optional, Note #3).
- Wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap and freeze cake in the pan for 2 hours or overnight. (You can even bake the cake up to a week ahead of time and freeze). The cake will be much easier to layer if it is cold or frozen. To wrap the cake, place another sheet of parchment on top of the cake (this will prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the cake), and wrap the whole pan with plastic wrap. (I pull the plastic wrap out and place the pan on top of it. Then I wrap 2-3 ways horizontally and one way vertically so that there are two layers of wrap on all sides of the pan including the bottom).
Layer, Decorate and Serve the Cake
- The easiest way to layer the cake is to layer the cake from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen.
- Cut out your desired cake size with cake rings using the Cut and Stack Method--leave the cake in the sheet pan, and using a slight sawing motion, cut the frozen cake into your desired cake size with cake rings (You can use a knife and the cake rings as a guide for any halve pieces that you cut.) In a 1x batch, I typically cut 3 layers with a 6" cake rings for a 6" cake--two full layers and one layer made from two halves (as seen in the recipe video). The crispest layers are cut from frozen cake, but you can let it thaw slightly before cutting your cake rounds if needed.
- Use your two half-circles of cake to make the bottom cake layer (fill in with scraps if needed to make a level surface). Fill your cake layers with a little over ¼ inch of prepared Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream. An offset icing spatula (I use the small and medium-size on all my cakes) helps with this. I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. Read more in my article: How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro: 5 Easy Steps. The Remaining cake scraps can be used for cake truffles if desired.
- Spread a final layer of buttercream over your set-up crumbed cake, and decorate as desired. I drizzled mine with a 0.5x batch of my Easy Chocolate Ganache Drizzle and added gold crystal sprinkles. I used an 822 Star tip to add extra-tall rosettes to the top of the cake.You can let the cake set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature (avoid warm temperatures). This cake has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
1 + ½ tsp=½ Tbsp
3 tsp= 1 Tbsp
- Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. Make sure what you purchase is labeled as "Instant." Cooktyle Clearjel is a different product that does not work the same in cakes.
- When baking cakes in a sheet pan, the cake bakes more evenly (flatter on top and with no dark edges), and you get to choose your cake size after baking by cutting the cake out with cake rings.
- Simple Syrup is optional, but I use it to seal in the moisture for cakes that will be refrigerated or frozen. While the cake cools, make a simple syrup by combining 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the sugar is dissolved after whisking, about 20-30 seconds. You can also make a larger batch of this (1 part sugar to 1 part water) and keep it in the fridge if you're doing a lot of cake baking. Always cut the cake with cake rings before brushing the cake brush simple syrup, to avoid the cake being too sticky when cut.
Tia says
Hi,
Is it possible to use beef gelatin powder that has been bloomed and melted instead of the instant clear jel?
Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Tia, I do not think that would work the same way as instant clearjel, as instant clearjel thickens instantly without requiring heat. However, I haven't tried it!
britton says
In 40 years of baking this is the best yellow cake I have ever had, so moist and great flavor. I would love if you had a marble cake recipe.
Amy says
That is wonderful to hear, thank you!!
britton Browne says
This is by far the best yellow cake I have ever made. I have been trying for 40 years too find the perfect cake and this is it. Such perfection. I would love if you had a marble cake recipe you could share.
Amy says
Thank you so much for your comment, Britton! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the yellow cake recipe!
Christina says
This cake is delicious. I followed the recipe exactly ans it came out perfect. I paired it with chocolate pastry cream filling and vanilla buttercream on the outside. Thank you Amy for so kindly sharing your incredible recipes so that even hone bakers can create bakery quality cakes. Your strawberry banana cake is next on my list, I already know it will be amazing!
Amy says
That's awesome, thanks so much for your comment, Christina! That flavor combination sounds delicious, too! 🙂
Marie says
Look no further! This is the BOMB yellow cake recipe - super moist, great flavor - all my guests loved it!
Amy says
Thank you so much for your comment, Marie! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Jennifer Edge says
Made your yellow cake today - it was delicious. I noted it had a slight banana flavour - I used Madagascar Bourbon vanilla for the 1st time, do you think it would cause this? There was nothing else out of the ordinary. I have Googled trying to see if other people have found this with any recipes and haven't had any luck. Thanks! Jenn
Amy says
Hi Jennifer! I"m glad you liked the yellow cake! I have never heard that about a banana flavor. It sounds like it could be that particular vanilla extract, as that is not an extract that I have tried before. I use an affordable vanilla blend from Sams in my cake batters, and reserve my pure vanilla extract for my buttercreams and frostings. Hope that helps! 🙂
Nicholas says
My work as a pastry chef has me constantly trying new recipes as seasons change, and I was looking for the perfect cake for new project. Normally i check multiple recipes and combine the aspects I want into what serves my purpose, and when i find a recipe perfect on its own I always cite the source in my notes in case anyone asks.
In this case, this recipe is so perfect for my current needs i not only wrote the source down but also wanted to come back and praise what a beautifully perfect cake this is for making a deluxe cake form of strawberry shortcake! I wanted something softer and spongier than a standard gold cake, but sturdier than a chiffon and less likely to get soggy, and this nails that balance right on the nose! Even the owner, who doesn’t like sweets (keto diet, pffft) was impressed. I love this cake and think i may have just one more site i can safely trust in the future, now one of three I will cite by name when conversing with others. It’s so nice to not have to tinker and tweak something to make it work!
Amy says
This really made my day, thank you for taking the time to comment! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Brittany Watt says
In my oven is the third cake I’ve made with this recipe in the last few months. It looks like a lot of steps but it’s really not. It’s worth every bowl used. I could eat this cake every day! There is no other site I use for cake/frosting recipes now.
Amy says
What a wonderful comment, thank you! So happy to hear that you've enjoyed the Golden cake and recipes on my blog. 🙂
Wendy says
Hello! Can this recipe be made as cupcakes? Thank you!
Amy says
Thanks for checking! While it can and they would still be delicious, this recipe is meant for a cake and the cupcakes do not rise very tall with this recipe (recipes with egg whites folded in tend to shrink a bit as cupcakes). I do have a golden vanilla cupcake version of this recipe that I plan to share in the future!
Darrrll says
I don't have instant clear gel and can't get it today. Is there anything I can use to replace or can I omit it??
Amy says
Hi Darrell, you can substitute 3 Tbsp Jello Vanilla Instant Pudding for the 2 Tbsp instant clearjel in a 1x batch of the cake batter. Instant Pudding has Instant Clearjel (modified cornstarch) as the second ingredient. In the frosting, just leave the instant clearjel out, and if you need a thicker frosting, add a little extra powdered sugar until you reach your desired thickness. 🙂
Darrell says
Thanks Amy. I will do just that.
Melissa says
This is the one I’ve been waiting on. Nine years ago we had the most delicious wedding cake made by Amy and this weekend I got to make it for our family. I used the strawberry compote recipe for the filling and vanilla buttercream. It was so easy and fun to follow the recipe. What an absolute joy to share these cakes with loved ones again. AmyCakes was a part of many family celebrations. Thank you so much for sharing!
Amy says
This made my heart happy, thank you Melissa!! 🙂
Serena says
I love a great yellow cake!
Amy says
Thank you! 🙂
Abby says
I do not have a sheet pan or cake rings. Can I bake this in 2-8inch round pans or maybe a muffin pan?
Amy says
You definitely can still use round pans—I have not tested them in all the round sizes, but I have some recommendations here: https://amycakesbakes.com/double-batches-and-cake-pans/#pan-chart
For a 1x batch, I recommend using two 8” round pans or four 6” round pans. The baking time may have to be adjusted. The thicker the batter is in the pan, the more chance there is for cake batter to sink, which is why I recommend more layers when using round pans so it is closer to 3/4 inch high of batter in the pans. 🙂
Cassy says
Oh, my very favorite! I'm so excited to make it!!
Amy says
Yay, thank you Cassy! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂