Moist Yellow Buttermilk Cake
Don’t reach for that box of cake mix when it’s so easy to make a yellow buttermilk cake using instant pudding. Sure, it may take a few minutes longer but the end result is an extra moist cake with fresh ingredients and topped with delicious whipped cream (dairy or dairy-free).
To make your cake fail-proof we’ve come up with a few tips for you. First, if you don’t have any buttermilk, simply add 1 tsp of lemon juice to a cup of milk and let it set on the counter for 5 minutes.
If you soften butter in the microwave, make sure not to melt it or holes will form in the cake!
Alternating dry ingredients with the buttermilk makes for a lighter cake. When the batter’s ready, eyeball the amount that goes into each pan. Just make sure they’re pretty evenly divided so they’ll cook at the same rate.
Moist Yellow Buttermilk Cake Recipe
Ingredients
cake
- 2 eggs, plus 4 yolks
- 1 1/3 cups buttermilk, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups sugar
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, 1½ sticks
icing
- 16 oz whipped topping
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9" round cake pans and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, 1/3 cups buttermilk and the vanilla, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, salt, baking soda and sugar. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed. Next add softened butter and remaining buttermilk. Once mixture is combined, mix for 2 minutes to fully incorporate. Add the egg mixture in 3 batches, scraping after each addition.
- Divide the batter equally into 2 prepared cake pans. Bake for 25–30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Remove the cakes to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 10–15 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans and cooling completely on the rack.
- While the cakes are cooling, combine the whipped topping with the milk and vanilla. Add the instant pudding mix and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy.
- When the cakes have cooled, spread 1 cup of icing on only the top surface of the first cake. Place the second cake on top and cover the entire cake with the remaining icing. Cut the cake into large slices and enjoy!