The BEST moist yellow cake recipe I’ve ever had, probably because there is one unusual ingredient: brown sugar. It makes the cake less traditional but a lot more MOIST. (Hallelujah!) I’m in love with this brown sugar yellow cake and the ridiculous amount of chocolate frosting that goes with it. Originally published June 1, 2018.
Table of Contents
- This Brown Sugar Cake Recipe will rock your world
- Why you’ll love this Recipe for Yellow Cake with Brown Sugar
- What does brown sugar do to a cake?
- Brown Sugar Cake Ingredients
- How to make Yellow Cake (with Brown Sugar)
- Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing variations
- Brown Sugar Cake Recipe Tips
- Serving Yellow Cake
- Storing Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing
- More cake recipes you need to try!
- Brown Sugar Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting Recipe
This Brown Sugar Cake Recipe will rock your world
So as a food blogger, I get a lot of questions from people making my recipes. Most of them are just your average clarification on the recipe, but sometimes you get a question that makes you scratch your head. Recently someone asked if they could make The Best Chocolate Cake I’ve Ever Had…without chocolate. “I want a yellow cake. Can I make this without the chocolate?” Ummm…
Well. Actually. It turns out you can. I would be eating a real piece of Humble Pie right now if I weren’t so busy stuffing my face with this amazing brown sugar yellow cake. It has the exact same texture and insane moistness as my favorite chocolate cake, minus the chocolate. (Pass the Pie. I was thinking you were a little crazy, Shannon, Lover of Yellow Cake, but I’ve been fully converted.)
I looked up a couple other yellow cake recipes just to see what kind of disaster Shannon was in for when she tried to omit the cocoa from my chocolate cake. And I was shocked to find that my chocolate cake recipe is almost identical to several yellow cakes I found–same butter amount, same liquid amount, same flour, etc. But instead of using all white sugar, my cake has half white sugar and half brown sugar. When is brown sugar EVER a bad idea??
Why you’ll love this Recipe for Yellow Cake with Brown Sugar
I hate dry cake. I refuse to eat it – it’s just not worth it! That’s why I love this cake. The brown sugar makes it soooo moist and tender, which can be hard to get in a yellow cake. Even the edges are a little like a brownie, not dry at all. I love frosting it with chocolate buttercream but you could use any kind of frosting you like.
What does brown sugar do to a cake?
If you use brown sugar in a cake instead of the usual white sugar, you’ll notice that it’s more tender and moist and is darker in color. You can see from the photos that this definitely isn’t a “white cake.” Not apologizing. The flavor is absolutely amazing.
Brown Sugar Cake Ingredients
Here’s a list of everything you’ll need to make this brown sugar cake and chocolate frosting to ice it. Scroll down to the recipe card for more ingredient details!
- Salted butter
- White sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Eggs
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- Brown sugar (I like dark brown, light is also fine!)
- Sour cream
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream
How to make Yellow Cake (with Brown Sugar)
The method for this brown sugar yellow cake is different from your average yellow cake.
- First you boil some water and butter together (that’s part of what gives it that fudgy texture).
- Then you stir together the dry ingredients, and add the baking soda and baking powder to the eggs.
It’s a little odd, but the result is a brown sugar flavored yellow cake that is incredibly moist. As I say about the original chocolate cake, the edges are almost brownie like, but somehow still manage to be cake. There are no dry edges.
There’s a reason I’m including a photo of the non-frosted underside of this cake. The edges are unreal, even when they don’t have frosting on them.
I maintain that the amount of frosting called for in this recipe is the proper amount, although Eric, my brother Nathan, and even the kids said it was a bit excessive. But I have a strict No Bite Left Behind Policy. I need EVERY SINGLE BITE of my cake to have frosting on it. That means lots of frosting. My friend Melissa took a slice of this brown sugar cake home with her after visiting one day, and I texted her later, “Everyone says the cake has too much frosting…is that even a thing??” and she said, “Not if you’re me! If you don’t like frosting, don’t eat cake.” I like your style Melissa. (We know she has good taste. She’s the one who gave me this 30 Minute Pesto Penne with Chicken.)
(Can you tell I’m not into crumb coats? My strategy is to pile on more and more frosting…)
Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing variations
Want to switch things up? I’m ok with that. Here are some ideas:
- Skip the chocolate. I have to admit, I’m not sure why you would, but there are other frostings. Some of my favorites include Maple Frosting with Pecans, Buttercream Frosting, and Cream Cheese Frosting.
- No vanilla bean paste, no problem. Use vanilla extract instead – it will still taste great! Feel free to substitute some of the vanilla extract with almond or coconut extract.
- Use less frosting. I’m a little frosting obsessed; you may not be. You can frost the cake with less frosting than this recipe calls for and refrigerate the rest for another time.
Brown Sugar Cake Recipe Tips
This cake is one of my absolute favorites. Here are a few tips to make sure it turns out perfectly!
- Help the layers release easily from the pans. After greasing and flouring the cake pans, trace the bottom of the cake pans onto parchment paper, cut out the circles, and put them in the bottom of the pan.
- Remove air bubbles from the unbaked layers. Before baking, drop the cakes on the counter from a few inches above to get out some of the air bubbles.
- Make the cake easier to frost. After baking and cooling to room temperature, wrap the cakes securely in plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour or 2.
- Keep your cake plate clean. If you don’t want your cake plate to get frosting all over it, line the bottom cake with strips of parchment paper that you can pull out when the cake is completely frosted.
Serving Yellow Cake
Make sure you have plenty of milk on hand, or ice cream. Cake is rich and you need something cold and creamy to go with it!
Storing Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing
This cake can be kept on the counter for 3-4 days. I don’t imagine it’ll last much longer than that, but you can freeze individual slices! Wrap them well in plastic wrap and store in a ziplock bag. Voila, you can have your cake and eat it later too.
Do you guys have any weekend plans? We’ll just be doing the usual, yard work and church on Sunday. Sometimes I love having no plans for the weekend. We just got back from a kid-free 2 week vacation in Australia, so we’ve been spoiled anyway. (And yes, it was so fun!!) I hope you get to make this Chocolate Free Chocolate Cake soon!
More cake recipes you need to try!
The Best Chocolate Cake I’ve Ever Had << I still make this claim. It’s almost exactly today’s recipe, except with chocolate. It’s so moist it’s brownie-like, while still being cake.
Peach Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting << this cake is delicious and uses frozen peaches!
Upside Down Almond Crunch Cupcakes << why are we still frosting the tops of cupcakes? Turn those babies upside down for triple the frosting.
The Best Homemade White Cake Recipe of Your Life!! << no joke
Cherry Garcia Cake from Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons
Lemon Pistachio Cake from Scientifically Sweet
Hawaiian Sunset Cake from Momma Lew
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Brown Sugar Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup salted butter, 2 sticks
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, spooned & leveled
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, *
- 1 cup brown sugar, I like dark brown
- 1/2 cup sour cream
For the frosting
- 1 & 1/2 cups salted butter, 3 sticks, softened
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans with butter or nonstick spray, then coat with a small amount of flour, tapping out the excess over your sink. Then trace the bottom of the cake pans onto parchment paper, cut out the circles, and put them in the bottom of the pan.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in the water and whisk until combined. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for about 30 seconds. Remove pot from heat and let sit aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the white sugar, flour, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Slowly sprinkle baking soda and baking powder over the top while you whisk. Beat until there are no lumps. The mixture may foam, and that’s ok!
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste and 1 cup brown sugar.
- When the butter mixture in the pot has cooled enough to handle, stir it into the flour mixture. Then add the egg mixture. Each time mix only until combined.
- Lastly, fold in the sour cream. DON’T over mix!!
- Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans (I use a scale to make sure they were even). Drop the cakes on the counter from a few inches above to get out some of the air bubbles.
- Bake at 325 for about 34-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
- Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully loosen edges with a knife and invert onto a cooling wrack. Let cakes cool completely.
- Wrap the cakes securely in plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour or 2. (This is only so that it’s easy to frost the cake. If you are in a hurry and presentation isn’t an issue, frost as soon as they are cool!)
For frosting and assembly:
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to cream the butter for 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the cocoa and 4 cups of powdered sugar in increments, adding the cream in between. Beat well after each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- Add 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste. Beat well.
- Add the 5th cup of powdered sugar if you like. Frosting consistency is kind of a personal preference, and sometimes it depends on my mood!
- Smear a bit of frosting on the bottom of a cake plate. Place 1 cake on top, then cover the top with about 1 cup of frosting (I like to use an offset spatula).
- Place the other cake on top, then frost the outside and edges. If you don’t want your cake plate to get frosting all over it, line the bottom cake with strips of parchment paper that you can pull out when the cake is completely frosted.
This cake looks awesome!! I often bake for others and a 13×9 cake or a bunch cake seems to go a little further. Could you bake it in either of those pans and adjust the time? What is your recommendation? Thanks!!
Hi Lisa! yes you could definitely bake this in a 9×13! I haven’t tried it though so can’t give you time recommendations. Start with 20-25 minutes and go from there!
I baked this cake today, but made my own faux chocolate frosting (carob powder instead of cocoa powder). It’s quite moist and so very delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Hey Marsha, I’m so glad you liked the cake! That’s a great idea to sub carob powder, I’ve never tried that. Thanks for the tip!
Does this work in 2 8in pans well?
Looks absolutely amazing!
Hey Coco! Yes I think 2 8inch pans would work great! You may have to adjust baking times so keep an eye on it. I hope you love the cake!!
It seems to be one of the most delicious cake recipes I have ever seen. I’ll try it out.
It’s a good one Edvaldo! You are going to love it!
This cake turned out moist and buttery. Loved it! Followed cake recipe as is; used my own chocolate icing recipe.
Hey Heather, that’s awesome! So glad you liked it and that it turned out moist. Nobody likes a dry cake :) Thanks for commenting!!
I made this cake for a bake sale. It turned out more like a pound cake, but the flavor was still wonderful! The frosting is the best EVER! I sold every piece at the sale and got lots of compliments.
How well does this cake hold up? I would like to stack it and top with fruit and I’m planning on using a Swiss meringue buttercream. Will it collapse or sink? It looks very moist and not dense so I wonder if this will be an issue
Hey Kayla! I’ve never tried it this way so I can’t be sure. If you plan to do a light fruit topping, I think it will be okay, but I would definitely serve it right away after adding the topping. Let me know how it goes!
I am back. I just realized you had already answered the question I had about the vanilla bean paste. Sorry ☹️ about that. I should have paid better attention to what you wrote. I must have been having a senior moment,
👵🏻
Haha, no worries Sandy! How did the cake turn out? I hope you loved it as much as I do!
With the Brown sugar yellow cake, can this have a substitute for the vanilla bean paste?
Just wondering if I could make this into a sheet cake?
Like a Texas type sheet cake.
Hi Charlotte! Yes I believe you could, but I’m not sure if the batter would fill it perfectly. Just make sure you don’t fill the pan too much and you will be good to go! And of course you will have to adjust the baking times.
This is currently in my oven. My husband has been begging for a yellow cake/ choc frosting… And after my last one had a key ingredient missing (shame on me) he requested this. He has had a rough day and I certainly hope this brings a smile to his face tonight!! Thanks for the recipe!
I hope it brings a smile to his face too Jess! I’m glad you picked this recipe, I think he will love it. Let me know how it goes!
I made the cake on the weekend and it was a huge success. Everyone loved it. Very moist and the icing was a hit. Thanks so much.
Hey Louise! I’m so happy to hear that the cake was a success! That is the best. Nothing better than cake on the weekend. Thanks for stopping by to leave a comment and review! :)
Can I make cupcakes using this recipe. I like to bake for my co-workers.
Hey Sharon! I bet your coworkers love you :) I’ve never made cupcakes, BUT, there are lots of people who have made the original Best Chocolate Cake I’ve Ever Had, who say that they have baked it as cupcakes, and the recipes are very similar. You might want to look through the comments to see if anyone has tips or amounts. (A the bottom of the post you can click to see more comments.) You could also check out this pin, there are a few comments at the bottom (click comments to see more) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/242068548699049217/
Made this for my dad’s birthday, everyone raved about it. Awesome flavours!!
Aaah yay I’m so glad you got to try it out Andrea! What a lucky dad you have :) Thanks so much for commenting with your review! Bloggers live for this stuff ;)
DUDE. This looks ridiculous. The frosting to cake ratio looks perfect to me! I may have to make this on Sunday. I’m usually all about chocolate but I do love the yellow cake chocolate frosting combo.
I know, I always think I’m a die-hard chocolate cake fan, but when someone hands me a super moist yellow cake with a ton of chocolate frosting…mm. Let me know if you try it!!
I’m not able to Pin this because something is too long or big. Could you check it out? The cake looks “climb through the computer screen” delicious! Thanks
Hey Susan! I’m sorry you weren’t able to pin! Thanks for letting me know. I can’t figure out what’s wrong, it seems to be pinning fine when I try it… here is my pin, can you pin it from here? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/117656608999430526/ I hope you get to try the cake soon!!