• IMPORTANT: For this yellow cake recipe I would highly recommend using gram measurements, especially for the flour for accurate results. It has a high fat/liquid ratio so slight adjustments to the quantities can throw off the balance of the cake 🙂

Yellow Cake

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 1 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
• In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, add in butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
• Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
• Add in egg yolks and mix until well combined.
• Add in vanilla, vinegar and buttermilk and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
• Finish off by adding in your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold with a spatula until just combined. Avoid overmixing (only mix until you can't see anymore streaks of unmixed flour and the batter is uniform).
• Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins. Drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 38-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
• Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes, before turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• In a microwave safe bowl add in chocolate (break into smaller pieces if using a chocolate block), and melt in the microwave for 30 second bursts at a time, mixing in between each burst until the chocolate is almost melted (be careful not to overheat it otherwise the chocolate can burn - you can use a bain marie/double boiler if you prefer). Let the chocolate sit for a few minutes and then mix until smooth. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add in butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are combined, and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix for a full 10 minutes. Scrape the bowl down half way through. The frosting should be fluffy and smooth (see note 3 if it's not).
• Add in the cocoa powder and cooled melted chocolate. Mix until well combined and smooth.

Assembly (see video for demonstration)

• Trim off the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife so that they're nice and flat. I like to trim the edges too but this is optional.
• Place the first cake layer onto a serving plate/cake stand and spread out a generous amount of frosting.
• Place the next cake layer on top and spread out more frosting on the top and sides of the cake.
• Using a 1M piping tip, pipe some cupcake swirls on the top of the cake (or any piping you like). Slice and enjoy!