Classic Yellow Cake Batter (2024)

FAQs

What flavor is classic yellow cake mix? ›

Both white and yellow cakes are vanilla cakes—assuming they contain vanilla extract or paste. Vanilla cake is a catch-all term for sponge cakes that have a vanilla flavor. French vanilla cake is also a vanilla cake, but with a more distinct flavor.

Yellow cake gets that cool yellow hue from egg yolks and butter. So what is the flavor of yellow cake? While yellow cake and white cake are both vanilla flavored, yellow cake tends to be much richer and moist because of the full eggs and butter combo.

Enhance With Extracts

Pure vanilla extract and pure almond extract are great options, but you could also try lemon extract or orange extract paired with fresh citrus zest. Although more expensive, vanilla bean paste or fresh vanilla beans will provide even richer flavor to a boxed mix.

After several rounds of recipe testing, I found the secret to the most delicious yellow birthday cake is a combination of cake flour, extra egg yolks, whipped egg whites, and buttermilk. Cover this cake with my rich and creamy chocolate buttercream for the ultimate celebratory birthday cake!

What's the difference between yellow cake mix and butter yellow cake mix, you ask? Simply put, butter mixes require butter in the ingredients; yellow cake mixes can use any type of fat, though they typically call for vegetable oil.

As food editor Shilpa Uskokovic explains, unbleached flour can make a cake “coarse, faintly crumbly like cornbread, and noticeably sweeter because of the lack of acid,” than cakes made with bleached flour (like the mixes from Jiffy, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Great Value, and Duncan Hines).

The Eggs Have It

Those shelled ovals make almost all the difference between white and yellow cakes. White cake uses only, or almost all, egg whites. Yellow cakes get their color and more custardy flavor from using whole eggs, including the yolks (sometimes extra).

Add Milk, Coffee, or Soda

Boxed cakes often call for water, but swapping it out for equal amounts of milk, coffee, or even soda will give you a moister, more tender, and flavorful cake. For white cake mix, you can use whole milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.

If healthfulness is a big factor in your cake consumption, this might be a winning argument for you for homemade over boxed mix. MAKE OR BUY? Honestly, we could go either way with this one. The box mix is about $1.50 cheaper and requires less effort, energy, and attention.

Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

What happens if I put an extra egg in cake mix? ›

Boxed cake mixes tend to be lighter in consistency, but if you're craving that thicker, moister, denser cake, then all you have to do is add an extra egg to your mix. The additional fat in the egg yolk helps create a more tender and moist cake that is full of flavor.

Replace water with other liquids: If you're not going the dairy route, replace the water with another liquid for added flavor. Use coffee for a deep, dark chocolate cake, or ginger ale in light and bright yellow cake. Combine with dairy to get the added fat by using 3/4 cup liquid and 1/4 cup sour cream or buttermilk.

To take any mix up a notch, anywhere water is called for, milk can generally be used in a 1:1 substitution. If your mix already calls for milk and you don't have it, another dairy product might do the trick, like half-and-half.

The best frostings for yellow cake

I, of course, love using my Dad's famous chocolate buttercream for this yellow cake, but here are some more frosting recipes you can try: Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Cream Cheese Frosting. Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.

To start, note that both white and yellow cakes are vanilla cakes. Subtle differences in the flours and fats determine which cake is better suited for certain frostings (or even certain occasions). French vanilla cake is also a vanilla cake, but with a more distinct flavor.

You may be wondering what's the difference between an angel food cake and a regular cake. What makes them different is that angel cake has no fat in the batter, even fat coming from eggs because this cake has no egg yolks, so it's a non-fat cake. It only uses egg whites as a leavening agent.

As a professional baker, I too was impressed with the crumb on both the Pillsbury and Betty Crocker cakes, but Betty Crocker has a more even texture, better flavor, and is more moist.

The good news is that vegetable oil can be used for the butter in chocolate and yellow flavors of Super Moist Butter Recipe package directions. Although there may be slight differences in texture and flavor, you know your cake will be delicious!

Ingredients: Pound cake has more fat than regular cake, and has four ingredients: butter, eggs, flour, and sugar. Regular cake has the same four ingredients plus more ingredients. Regular cake also has baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk or milk.

Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Leavening (Baking Soda, Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Contains 2% Or Less Of: Canola Oil, Dextrose, Salt, Propylene Glycol Esters Of Fatty Acids, Corn Starch, Mono- and diglycerides, Artificial ...

What cake mix has the least amount of sugar? ›

Zero Sugar Moist Supreme® Classic Yellow Premium Cake Mix

Formally Sugar Free, now introducing Zero Sugar. Pillsbury™ Zero Sugar Moist Supreme^® Classic Yellow Premium Cake Mix is the perfect dessert for those looking to manage their sugar intake!

This is where things get a little confusing, because you see, both white and yellow cakes are actually vanilla cake.

WHEAT STARCH, CANOLA OIL, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONO- AND DIESTERS, SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, FRACTIONATED PALM OIL, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE CELLULOSE GUN, XANTHAN GUM, DEXTROSE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ASCORBIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, YELLOW 5 LAKE, RED 40 LAKE.

Everyone agrees on this: Birthday cake is vanilla. Birthday cake has sprinkles.