Old Fashioned Birthday Cake
A not overly sweet yellow cake is adorned with milk chocolate frosting. It’s a recipe reminiscent of simpler times, but the flavor has stood the test of time itself! This Old Fashioned Birthday Cake will be your new family tradition.
I’ve become a lover of all simpler things lately. There’s a trend on Instagram called ‘underconsumption’ which I really love. Basically- it’s the opposite of everything traditional social media entails. The underconsumption trend shows normal looking homes, a messy living room, and not so perfect recipes. My husband’s birthday was celebrated this week and he is a big ‘less is more’ type of guy. He loves simple. You know what he wanted? Homemade chicken noodle soup, cake, and to sit and watch his favorite show. I love that. We’ve been together 16 years and he has taught me a lot, one of the lessons I love lately is the lesson to slow down, and enjoy the simple things.
That’s a very long winded story as to how I arrived at this old fashioned birthday cake, but that’s the story behind this cake and it’s my blog so I’ll type what I want. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!
Easy Yellow Cake Batter Recipe
Old fashioned birthday cake is centered around a tall piece of yellow cake. Homemade cake has a texture hard to beat. It’s eggy, it’s light but has a denser crumb, and the best part? It’s made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. I will say, following the recipe for this is important. Baking is a science!
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Butter (or shortening)
- Eggs
- Vanilla
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and butter. Whisk until fluffy. 1 by 1, add in each egg and lastly add vanilla. Beat again until fully combined. Add the dry mixture to the flour mixture and lightly whisk with milk until no lumps remain. That’s it!
I used an 8×8 ceramic baking dish (from Home Goods) but you could also use a standard 9×13 inch casserole dish for a less tall cake if you desire.
Once the cake has baked throughout, allow for it to fully cool before frosting it. For the frosting, I used a homemade milk chocolate frosting. It’s pretty simple to make, and I like to use the time when the cake baking to make it.
I use a thin spatula to frost the cake, and don’t worry, it looks best when it’s a little rustic. Top with some sprinkles, and serve. Old fashioned birthday cake served with some vanilla ice cream, you are a beautiful little thing!
If you like this recipe and still have a sweet tooth, you’ll also love our double chocolate zucchini cake, and our date snickers!
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Hope you enjoy this cake as much as we do! – Kathi and Rachel
Old Fashioned Birthday Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13 inch cake pan (or, 8×8 for a taller cake)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Prepare a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl/stand mixer (or using a bowl with an electric handheld mixer), combine butter and sugar. Mix on medium until fully combined and fluffy.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing each one until fully combined before adding the next. Add vanilla extract and mix again. Mixture should be fluffy.
- Combine the sugar/butter/vanilla mixture with the flour/baking powder/salt mixture. Add 1 cup milk. Mix on medium until a soft and fluffy cake batter is reached, with minimal lumps. Do not overmix.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Perform toothpick test around 20 minute mark to ensure cake is not overdone.
- Allow to fully cool before icing. Chocolate icing recipe can be found here. Top with sprinkles, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
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