"Moist" Yellow Cake for Anna & Alice's Birthday

They say a yellow cake is supposed to have a fine crumb, which makes the cake appear dry to some. Maybe I am that "some" or maybe I made the cake horribly wrong because it seemed really dense. Other sites attribute a dense cake to:

1. Too much flour
2. Over beating the egg whites
3. Not enough liquids
4. Oven temperature too low

In any case...at least Anna and Alice turned out looking beautiful and tasty!
Happy Happy Birthday, Alice and Anna!!!

11 oz all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 C)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
3 large eggs, whole
1 cup whole milk

Frosting: whipped cream

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the rack in the middle. Coat 2 (8-inch) cake pans with butter and flour, and tap out any excess flour. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.

Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium-high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat another 5 minutes. Add yolks one at a time, letting each incorporate fully before adding the next. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

Return the mixer to medium-high speed and add whole eggs in the same manner, allowing 1 minute between additions. Stop the mixer again and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. (The mixture should be very pale in color.)

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and turn the mixer to low speed, mixing until the flour is just incorporated. Add 1/2 of the milk, and mix until just incorporated. Continue with remaining flour mixture and milk, alternating between each, until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until cake edges slightly pull away from the pans and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out dry with just a few crumbs, about 25 to 40 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and let cool on a wire rack, about 10 to 15 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of each cake, and turn out onto the rack to cool completely (at least 1 1/2 hours) before frosting.

Adapted from Chow.com
Their site includes a link to bittersweet chocolate frosting, which also looks yummy


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