Super-Moist Yellow Cake With Rich Chocolate Frosting

This one-bowl yellow cake can be whipped up in 15 minutes, bakes in 30, and sports a rich chocolate frosting that comes together quickly while the sponges cool.

The majority of homemade layer cakes use a technique called creaming, in which fat (usually butter) is beaten with sugar until light and fluffy. This yellow cake recipe relies on reverse creaming, where the dry ingredients are mixed with room-temperature butter until sandy before the wet mixture is incorporated into the fat-coated flour. This technique aerates the batter more effectively and prohibits gluten development, resulting in a tender cake that stays moist.

You’ll notice this recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda. When tested with just baking powder, the cake rose less and was denser in texture. Adding baking soda gave the cake extra lift, producing a fluffier, lighter crumb—but only because of the inclusion of buttermilk. Baking soda needs an acidic ingredient to cause the desired reaction, so don't be tempted to swap it out.

The easy frosting comes together in the blink of an eye, with more buttermilk to highlight the fruity notes of cocoa powder. It’s a rich, flavorful chocolate frosting that’s not too sweet, seasoned with just the right amount of salt for balance.

Editor’s note: For a cake of this size, ¾ cup sugar may not sound like a lot, but the light sweetness balances well with the rich chocolate frosting. For more of our favorite cakes, check out our cake recipes finder→