Featured Image - Recipe for Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting

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Every now and then, I get a hankering for a Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting. Here’s one you can make homemade from scratch. And homemade is always better! 

Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting Ready to be Sliced

What makes this cake so delicious? Butter. And buttermilk. And did I mention butter? Yeah, this cake is loaded with it. In the cake batter and in the wonderfully, rich chocolate frosting.

Cake Baking Strips Help Ensure a Flat, Even Cake Top

If you bake many layer cakes, you may want to invest in some cake pan baking strips to place along the sides of your round baking pans. These cloth strips work well to ensure moist, level cakes with no crowns, splits, or cracked tops. They really do work, and I wish I would have spent the few dollars to buy them sooner.

More Layer Cakes

Ingredients For Moist Butter Cake With Chocolate Frosting

(As a Walmart Affiliate, I earn from qualified purchases at the links below. See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

A Note about Eggs

Farm Fresh Eggs

So, how do you get that nice dark yellow color in the cake? Use farm fresh eggs for best results. They have lovely dark yellow yolks–or at least that is the case for the ones I’ve used. According to a recent Google search, it is due to what the hen eats. Some farmers may even add marigold petals to boost the orange-yellow color. Wow, I learned something today!

If you don’t have access to farm fresh eggs, you could add a smidge of yellow food coloring. Not too much, though, or your cake might look artificially colored. And you don’t want that.

 

Instructions For Making This Moist Butter Cake

Line Baking Pans with Cake Baking Strips to Ensure Flat, Even Cake Tops

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 – 9″ round cake pans with waxed paper. Spray with cooking spray. If desired, place cake baking strips on the outside of the pan, following product instructions.

Ingredients for this Recipe

Gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. 

Prepare the Cake Batter

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.

Carefully, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and beat the yolks into the batter one at a time. Stir in the vanilla extract.

I like to use separate bowls when separating the egg whites from the yolks. Save the egg whites to make an Angel Food Cake or add them to an egg omelet. 

Add Dry Ingredients to the Creamed Butter Mixture
Spoon Batter into Prepared Cake Pans

In a small bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or when toothpick test comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning onto cooling racks. When cool, frost with chocolate frosting.

Make the Chocolate Frosting

To make the frosting, in a large mixing bowl, cream together the melted chocolate and softened butter until smooth and creamy.

Add Baking Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Vanilla to the Frosting Mixture

Add vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Slowly add buttermilk and whip together until frosting is light and fluffy.

Icing A Two-Layer Cake

To ice a layer cake, begin with the bottom layer, placing the top side down on the cake plate.

If desired, you may place strips of waxed paper around the bottom of the cake to prevent any icing smudges. 

To Frost the Cake, Begin with the Bottom Layer
Next, Frost Sides of the Cake

Divide the frosting into thirds, and spread 1/3 on the bottom layer. Next, place the second layer top side up and spoon 1/3 of the frosting along the edges so that you can frost the sides of the cake. Be sure to fill any gaps between the layers.

Finish by Swirling Top with Remaining Frosting

Finish by swirling the remaining frosting on the top in a decorative fashion.

Some people like to frost a cake with clean swipes, with no lines showing. Others like to give the frosting a swirl to give the cake more dimension. If you’re really ambitious, use a Wilton cake decorating tool for a professional decorative look.

Serving Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting on Mikasa Antique White Dessert Plate

This frosting recipe will make enough to ice a two-layer cake and will serve 12. This Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting is even better the second day. Store in an airtight cake container. It will keep for several days. Serve with a large glass of milk or with a bowl of peaches.

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Featured Image - Recipe for Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Moist Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Every now and then, I get a hankering for a moist buttery cake. Here’s one you can make from scratch!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Serving Size 12

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large egg yolks (farm fresh eggs work best for yellow color)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups buttermilk

Chocolate Frosting

  • 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (melted)
  • 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Line 2 – 9" round cake pans with waxed paper. Spray with cooking spray. If desired, add cake baking strip to the outside of the cake pans.
  • Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Prepare the Cake Batter

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Beat the eggs yolks into the batter, one at a time. Stir in vanilla extract.
  • In a small bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add flour to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing just until blended.
  • Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or when toothpick test comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning onto cooling racks. When cool, frost with chocolate frosting.

Make the Chocolate Frosting

  • To make frosting, in a large mixing bowl, cream together the melted chocolate and softened butter until smooth and creamy.
  • Add vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.
  • Slowly add buttermilk and whip together until frosting is light and fluffy.
  • Makes enough to frost a two-layer cake.

Icing a Two-Layer Cake

  • To ice a layer cake, begin with the bottom layer, placing the top side down on the cake plate.
    If desired, you may place strips of waxed paper around the bottom of the cake to prevent any icing smudges. 
  • Divide the frosting into thirds, and spread 1/3 on the bottom layer.
  • Next, place the second layer top side up and spoon 1/3 of the frosting along the edges so that you can frost the sides of the cake. Be sure to fill any gaps between the layers.
  • Finish by swirling the remaining frosting on the top in a decorative fashion.
    (Some people like to frost a cake with clean swipes, with no lines showing. Others like to give the frosting a swirl to give the cake more dimension. If you’re really ambitious, use a Wilton cake decorating tool for a professional decorative look.) 
  • This cake recipe will serve 12.

Notes

*Unless otherwise stated, all recipes on this site use salted butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 573kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 656IU | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 2mg

 

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