Classic Vanilla Butter Cake with Mocha Buttercream
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Recipe type: Baking
Author: The Cake Mistress
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour 10 mins
Serves: 12
Recipe for yellow butter cake with classic buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
  • CAKE:
  • 6 large eggs, separate the yolks and whites, room temperature
  • 242 g Whole Milk, room temperature (just under 1 metric cup)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 240 g Plain / All Purpose Flour
  • 60 g Cornflour
  • 300 g Caster Sugar
  • 20 g Baking powder (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
  • 5 g Salt
  • 170 g Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • BUTTERCREAM:
  • 6 large Egg Yolks
  • 200 g Caster Sugar
  • 118 g Water
  • 454 g Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
  • Mocha flavour: beat in 180 g melted dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons dissolved instant espresso coffee
  • Optional: 25-35 ml of liqueur flavour of choice.
  • NB. Best to have an electric mixer to assist, and a kitchen/candy thermometer.
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 180c (160c fan-forced/ 350F). Grease and line two 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Weigh your egg yolks, and add as much egg whites to them to weigh a total of 112g. (I had around 75g of egg yolks with 6 eggs). Beat lightly together to combine, along with 1/4 cup of milk and the vanilla.
  3. Sift the plain flour and cornflour together at least three times over (we're making "cake flour" here) into a large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the caster sugar, baking powder and salt, blending on low speed until evenly mixed. Add 3/4 of the milk, and the softened butter, again blending on low until the dry ingredients are evenly coated. Crank up the speed to medium, and beat for 90 seconds.
  4. Scrape the cake batter down the sides of the bowl. Pour in the egg mixture a third at a time, beating for 20 seconds each time. Scrape the sides again.
  5. Pour half of the batter into each cake tin. Smooth the tops. Bake together for 25 - 35 minutes. If you have a small oven like mine and they're squeezed onto one rack, you might need to rotate the cakes 3/4 of the way through so they both bake evenly.
  6. The cake is done when the top springs back when lightly pressed at the centre, and a skewer comes out clean. The cake will start shrinking away from the sides of the tin, but this should happen after it's removed from the oven. Leave them to cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes (it's delicate when hot). Run a knife along the sides of the pan to loosen any stuck cake from the sides, then remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack, right side up.
  7. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream. Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until thickened and pale. In a small saucepan, add the sugar and water. On medium/high heat, gently stir the mixture constantly until it comes to a boil, then STOP STIRRING. Leave it to continue boiling until it reaches just under 115c/238F. Get the beater going on medium speed, pour the sugar syrup slowly down the side of the mixer bowl, avoiding the beater blades (or you'll get spun sugar and gritty crystals!). Beat on high speed until incorporated and the side of the mixer bowl is cool (we don't want to melt the butter when we add it). When room temperature cool, gradually beat in the butter on medium speed, and beat in any flavourings.
  8. You'll end up with more buttercream than necessary to frost this cake, but that's alright. Lay down one cooled cake layer onto your serving plate. Slather a thick even layer of buttercream with a spatula. Place the other cake layer on top. Add more buttercream on the top and down the sides of the cake. Slap on messily with a spatula for a cool effect, or smooth it down.
  9. NOTES:
  10. The unfrosted cake can be wrapped and kept 2 days in an airtight container, 5 days refrigerated, or 2 months frozen. But best eaten the day it's baked.
Recipe by The Cake Mistress at https://thecakemistress.com/blog/freerecipes/cakes/buttercake-classic-buttercream/