The cake was decent enough with a moist tender crumb. However the icing was horribly grainy and difficult to work with.
Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing
The key to making this cake's rich icing is to stir it vigorously once it has cooled to the proper temperature.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
1 cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco,
plus more for pan
2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for pan
4 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch processed
cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. baking soda
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease two 9" round cake pans with shortening; dust with flour. Shake out excess flour and line pan bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit; set aside. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat together 1 cup shortening and 2 cups sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each, until incorporated; add 1 tsp. vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low; alternately add flour and buttermilk in 3 batches. Mix until smooth. Divide batter between pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in middle of cakes comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely. Remove cakes from pans; set aside.
2. Whisk together remaining sugar and the cocoa, and then the milk, in a 2-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan; cook, without stirring, until thermometer reads 242°. Remove pan from heat. Stir together remaining vanilla and the baking soda; add to chocolate mixture, along with the butter, and stir until butter is melted. Let icing sit until it cools to 120°. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon (or in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle on medium speed) until icing thickens considerably but is still loose enough to be spread. Working quickly, place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake stand and use a butter knife to spread one-third of icing over top. Place second cake layer, top side down, on top of first, and spread remaining icing over top and side of cake. Chill until icing sets, about 2 hours.
SERVES 8 – 10
Ratings & Reviews (6)
I really loved this cake (and so did my guests). The cake had a tender, moist crumb and the frosting was amazing - mine didn't turn out grainy as one reviewer noted (I did add a teaspoon of corn syrup to the sugar-icing mixture before cooking it, though working with boiled sugar can be tricky). Only comment I would add, be sure that your self-rising flour is really fresh - my cake sank a bit in the middle, most likely because the leavening agents in the flour weren't the freshest. Otherwise a great All-American cake.
I used this recipe for a dinner party, and it did not turn out well at all. The cake was decent, but the frosting was grainy and very difficult to work with. The frosting kept separating from the cake and turned hard rather quickly. I have made many cakes before with frosting, so this incident is new to me. My guests ate one slice, and I had to dump the rest. Won't be using this recipe again, because it was disappointing.
I am a professional cake artist, and I love to try different cakes to serve my personal guests. I pride myself on butter cakes, and was disappointed that this cake used shortening. I bit my tongue and tried my hand at this cake, and its wonderful. The texture, crumb, and taste was phenomenal. The frosting can be a bit tricky for a beginner, but with practice it is wonderful. If the icing stiffens up to much, you can pour it back in the mixer and add a little bit of milk, and if you happen to add to much milk add a little powdered sugar. My guest love this cake and it has a personal place in my collection of recipes.
Worst cake recipe ever. I have been baking cakes for a long time, and I will have to say this is one of the most difficult in terms of icing a cake I have done yet. The cake turns out really well and is super moist and light. The frosting however, is like fudge and rips apart the cake spreading crumbs everywhere. This results in a cake that you want to throw away in the trash instead of presenting to guests.
Cake was good, I would add another tsp. of vanilla. I also had the problem with the icing, it turned out grainy. I followed the recipe to the letter. Perhaps my candy thermometer is not accurate. Everything went south as it was cooling.
Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing
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