My grandma used to make the best Southern Yellow Cake with the most delicious creamy chocolate frosting. As delicious as hers was, she did not make it entirely from scratch. She would always use Duncan Hines box cake mix. She always made it with lots of LOVE. I have tried to emulate her recipe for years using box cake mix, but to no avail.
Recently, when planning my family’s Easter meal, my wheels started turning and I decided to make the southern yellow cake with chocolate frosting…from scratch. It was the perfect dessert for Easter Dinner. The taste was the closest that I have ever gotten to my grandma’s yellow cake and chocolate frosting. The yellow batter was fluffy and buttery. The frosting was thick, but went onto the cake smoothly.
Fluffy Cake Batter
Whenever my grandma made this, she always made a two-layer cake and added a bit of food coloring for that pop of yellow. I decided to make this recipe as a sheet cake instead. I did not need to use any yellow food coloring. And, I am so glad that I did not have to use any!
Since I had to start from scratch, planning this recipe took some work. Let me tell you honestly that it took a lot of trial and error. I first had to decide what kind of milk I wanted to use. I decided on buttermilk which was a great choice for this cake. If you do not have buttermilk, then whole milk works too! I am proud of this one and am proud to be able to share with you this delicious Southern Yellow Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting. I am even prouder to say that it is just like grandma used to make it. That’s right, just like my grandma used to make it.
Ready for the oven
Chocolate Frosting
Before you get started, let me give you a few pieces of advice so you do not get too overwhelmed. The goal here is to keep the cake light and fluffy. You achieve this by mixing the wet ingredients together really well, but when you add the flour, you need to gently fold with a spatula or whisk until everything is just combined. Over mixing will cause the batter to get too tight and will result in a dry cake. Trust me, I am guilty of having over mixed my cake batter one too many times and have certainly regretted it.
I made the chocolate frosting from scratch as shown in the recipe directions. However, you can surely use a container of your favorite store bought frosting. To really perfect this cake, you are going to need to have a lot of patience. This is not something that you can simply just make on a whim. No, you must make this with love and care for it to truly turn out great. I am proud of my southern style cake creation and I think grandma would be proud too.
Upon trying your first slice of this southern yellow cake, you will want to eat more and more. This cake won’t last for very long in your kitchen. Enjoy!!