There comes a time in every woman's life when, for reasons we will never understand, we get a strange notion to bake a cake from scratch.
It could be for a 40th or a first birthday party, a school bake sale or a dinner party, but one thing is for sure: a shop-bought cake simply will not do.
The danger, when this mood hits, is that you will flounce off to the internet and return with a recipe so complicated and unmake-able it would make Mary Berry wince.
What you really need is a good, solid, simple recipe that never fails to produce a delicious, moist, fluffy cake.
Luckily for you, we've found it.
Here's what you'll need:
For the Yellow Buttermilk Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
For the Fudge Frosting:
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 – 4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
Instructions (cake)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans and set aside. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until creamy. Add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer down to medium-low and add in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla.
- Stop mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low, add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix until flour is just combined and then stream in the buttermilk. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 22 minutes or until golden. Cool cakes on a wire rack.
Frosting
With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and melted chocolate until creamy. Carefully add in the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth and combined. Add more or less milk until desired consistency is achieved.
Use frosting to assemble the cake like so...
Need help frosting your cake? Here's the secret to becoming the neighbourhood Nigella overnight...
Image and recipe by The Cake Blog. 
