Happy Easter Cake
This is one of my favorite cakes ever. Nothing fancy, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I don’t know what it is about the combination but I love it. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate cake with white frosting are both divine. This cake recipe is one my Mother developed for me when I was just a little girl. I have made a couple of very minor changes but really it is exactly as my Mom wrote it. I remember this cake in several variations growing up, my favorite and most requested was Boston Cream Pie. The cake does not contain butter but vegetable oil and the eggs are separated and the whites beat until billowy and folded into the batter. The resululting cake is moist and flavorful and very very light. Because I was not using a fruit filling for this cake I gave it a little bit of soaking syrup before frosting, I made a tangerine simple syrup and dabbed it on each layer.
The frosting is a variation of a recipe for Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting by Chef Amy@Come Cook With Me a I hope everyone is having a great day, spending time with friends and family a very Happy Easter to all from Percy and me!!
Tender Yellow Cake
Makes two 9 inch layers or 24 cupcakes
3 large eggs separated and at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar divided
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup + 1 tbs vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup whole milk (1 or 2% work also)
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line your pans with a parchment round, butter the bottom of the pan, lay the parchment then butter again on bottom and sides and then flour the pans.
Beat egg whites until frothy then add 1/2 cup of the sugar (reserving the rest) a tablespoon at a time until egg whites are stiff and glossy
Sift flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt into large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. If using a stand mixer use the paddle attachment.I actually prefer to use my hand held mixer for this recipe. Add the oil, the milk, the egg yolk and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, mixture will be quite thick. Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans dividing evenly, bake for 30-35 minutes. Cake will be golden brown. Be careful not to overbake start checking the cake at 30 minutes. Cake tester will come out clean.
Note: I made 3 8 inch layers baking time is approximately 25 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack remove parchment and cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream
8 oz cream cheese softened at room temperature
8 oz mascarpone softened to room temperature
8 oz unsalted butter softened to room temperature
6 oz dark chocolate melted
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
3 -3 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream butter, mascarpone and cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the confectioners sugar a cup at a time beating betweeen each addition. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and vanilla and whip until completely incorporated. Frost the cake immediately.
Happy Easter from Percy and me!
apuginthekitchen 
Gorgeous cake, Suzanne! Happy Easter to you and Percy. Has he forgiven you yet for the ears? 😀
Happy Easter Kathryn, nope he shuns me and runs if he see’s those ears. LOL. Happy Easter to you and your family, hope you are having a great day. Thank you so much.
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is a classic! Yours is beautiful and I hope Percy, the Easter Pug, gets a little bit for a treat. Happy Easter, Suzanne!
I got him these bakery dog treats and it didn’t agree with him. He got some chicken jerky in his Easter basket that he loves!! Happy Easter to you and your family ❤️
The cake looks beautiful and yummy ! Percy looks very cute 🙂 Happy Easter to you too Suzanne 🙂
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite too. Yours is beautiful and so is the setting. Happy Easter to you and your adorable Percy!
Thank you so much Mary Happy Easter to you and yours❤️
Aw…my heart just melts at that pug and those bunny ears….so precious and special Suzanne you are a gem! As for this cake oh my so, so, so, yumified my dear friend. I’d love a slice with a cuppa java right now with you both! Happy Easter-the house is nuts with people everywhere-LOL Family and friends…we are full ready to bust out the seams. Cheryl xo
Happy Easter my dear friend and thank you so much. We we could have a cup of coffee and a slice of cake together!❤️❤️💐💐
Virtually we are now having and oh my that icing/frosting is to die for, moist cake oh a winner!!! xo
Thank you ❤️❤️🌷🌷😘😘
xo
Wishing you and Percy a very Happy Easter!
Thank you so much Sharon and Happy Easter to you as well.
Lovely presentation Suzanne! I am with you…I love yellow cake and chocolate frosting. Your cake looks delicious. I hope you are having a wonderful Easter 🙂
Thank you Antonia Happy Easter to you also and hope your day is wonderful.
Thank you 😀
OMG that looks soon good – and it’s pretty. Percy looks very handsome indeed with his special Easter ears – what a good sport he is – there’s no way Java or Hugo would agree to that. You always end up with beautiful-looking cakes and well-trained dogs and I ended up today with a totally collapsed cake and maniac dogs… Happy Easter to you and Percy from me, Hugo and Java.
Happy Easter, I guess Percy is the best dog ever. Thank you so much for the kindness. You have dogs/animals with great personality and character and everything I have seen food wise looks spectacular. Have a wonderful day.
Happy Easter, dear Suzanne. Your cake is beautiful (I love the tender yellow cake with your incredible chocolate caramel ganache frosting), and I love that pitcher of tulips. Percy is darling in his ears, though he looks as mournful as he used to when I put a Christmas collar on him. 🙂
Buona Pasqua, and thank you for your friendship!
Buona Pasqua Em, thank you. Percy kept shaking the ears off so it was hard to get a photo. I was determined to get him with the ears on LOL, he was quite upset about it but think he is finally getting over it now. Loving the photo’s from Rome, one of my favorite places in the world. Have a great day
Fabulous looking cake Suzanne, Happy Easter to you 🙂
Thank you Andrea, Happy Easter to you too!!
Happy Easter!!! This cake looks so delicious, I want a piece of this! Bet this is so lovely with a cuppa tea. Yummy Percy looks too cute with his rabbit ears.
Thank you so much, the cake is really good. It’s the recipe I make over and over and it is always good. Hope you have a lovely day!!
Oh Suzanne, I do hope you’ve had a wonderful Easter. Holiday blessings to you and Percy. The photo of the finished cake is such a beautiful composition and the cake is lovely. Not to mention the fact that it looks delicious. And to crown it all with that adorable picture of Percy. What a happy, lovely post. Thank you for sharing it. Mega hugs my friend!
Thank you so much Teagan, I hope you are having a good day. Percy and I are spending a quiet day at home, the cake took up most of my morning and early afternoon and I am done with cooking for today. Have a wonderful day my friend, humongous hugs back xoxo
Lovely cake 🙂 happy Easter Suzzane
Thank you so much Happy Easter to you!!
Gorgeous! Happy holidays!🐣
Thank you so much!!
😊
Your cake looks delicious Suzanne. I hope you had a Happy Easter 🙂
Hope you had a great Easter Jess, thank you so much.
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!!! I would kill for a slice of this right now!
Thank you so much Susan.
What a good looking cake. I think everybody would have liked it here in Germany. Percy looks so cute. Hugs
Thank you Gerlinde, can’t wait for some posts with photos from your trip.
Poor Percy! I hope he got some cake for suffering that humiliation??!! 😉😘
LOL, he got a treat in his Easter basket but was quite humiliated. I think today he has forgiven me. Thanks Elaine.
Ha ha!
Happpyyyy Easter! Such a gorgeous cake! I have a lunch break now and I really want to have this amazing cake for dessert! So lovely ☺
Happy belated Easter to you and thank you so much Lina.
Happy Easter Suzanne and Percy! This cake looks wonderful! I’m very curious about the tangerine syrup…. it sounds incredible!!!
I just made a simple syrup with sugar and water and added the zest of a tangerine. I dabbed it with a pastry brush on the cake before frosting it. Keeps the cake very moist and because I used tangerine in the syrup there was an ever so sublte flavor of orange it was delicious. Thank you so much.
Gorgeous cake and adorable Percy! 😉 Happy belated Easter to you! 🙂
Happy belated Easter to you as well. Thank you so much Josette.
Gorgeous cake Suzanne. .. love the frosting. ..looks so chocolatey. … and cuteeee Percy. … HAPPY EASTER to you and Percy….
Thank you so much Chitra Happy Easter to you as well.
This cook looks incredible! I can see why it was a favorite to eat and the memories it has. I must say Percy looked very dapper in his Easter attire. 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful Easter too Suzanne!
Thank you Julie, Percy has recovered from his humiliating experience wearing those bunny ears. I put them away so he doesn’t get upset, LOL.
LOL!!!
Hope you had a wonderful Easter Suzanne! Percy looks quite adorable 🙂 I love how beautiful your chocolate frosting looks! The swirls look quite professional!
Thank you so much Heather. Hope you had a lovely day.
Gorgeous cake! Looks fantastic. Hope you had a great Easter.
Thank you so much Michelle. It was nice, very quiet. Hope you had a great day.
Delicious… I bet it was thoroughly enjoyed! Hope you had a Happy Easter.
Thank you so much Nancy. Hope your Easter was wonderful.
Splendid, Suzanne – every photograph – you are an artist – Happy Easter and thank you so much 🙂
You are so kind thank you France.
Well my goodness!!! Thank you SO MUCH Suzanne!!! I just saw this just now, thank you for featuring my frosting so appreciative!! Your cake looks so Delicious I wish I had a piece right now!! LOL!! I love using Mascarpone too, I wish we lived closer!! Cheers and I hope your enjoyed your Easter, Percy looks so cute with his Bunny ears on!! 🙂
You are welcome, even though I changed it a little it was an outstanding chocolate frosting, so light and delicios, Thank you for a great recipe. Percy is a doll.
Yes and I love the change of adding the Mascarpone!! yummy!! 😉
Happy Easter Suzanne and Percy. So lovely to see Percy in the spirit of Easter 🙂
Suzanne I love this cake and have put in on my list to bake. I don’t know what it is, but I have found that cakes made with oil, just as so moist. I really am looking forward to making your cake. Enjoy the rest of your week. 🙂
I love cakes made with oil, just as you said they are so moist. This cake was especialy moist since I dabbed a bit of soaking syrup on each layer before frosting it. Thank you so much Lynne,
A day late Happy Easter to you and Percy! Lovely cake, I can see why it is your favorite. 🙂
Thank you dear Fae, the cake has always been a favoite, very simple but delicious,
Beautiful cake Suzanne, and oh gosh poor Percy, I hope he got some extra treats after those bunny ears 🙂
Lol, Percy was a little miffed at me for forcing him to wear those bunny ears but yep he got treats and it was all good. Thank you so much Loretta.
I miss having a pet (my lab) to dress up for the holidays – Percy brought me a smile 🙂 Gene’s favorite cake was chocolate icing with yellow cake – a favorite in my kitchen 🙂
Thanks Judi, yes isn’t it fun to play dress up with our sweet pets. I am sorry you miss your Lab. I know how that is. Love a yellow cake with chocolate frosting too.
Beautiful cake and cute, cute Percy😘
Love the tangerine simple syrup over the layers!! Looks so moist and luscious! Did you have friends/family in? Go to someone’s house with that cake?? And Bunny-Percy at the end made me laugh!! perfect.
Thanks Rhonda hope you had a lovely Easter. I didn’t go anywhere I have had a bad cold and decided to sit this holiday out. Didn’t cook other than the cake which I shared with friends.
Hope you’re feeling better Suzanne– are you still with freezy weather there?? Take care. xo
It is chilly and windy and rainy and we are expecting g a polar vortex with really cold temps , ugh😄
Bundle up!!!
☃🌧💨
Such a beautiful cake 🙂 And Percy is super cute with bunny ears 😀
Thank you so much. Hope you had a wonderful day.
The cake, the stand, the bunny eared Percy! What’s not to love!
Thank you Lisa.
Yum! That’s an I-want-a-slice-right-now cake. I hope you had a lovely Easter and that Percy did too. I really like the cake stand and the jug especially the colour – they look so good against the lace tablecloth and the wood panelling.
Thank you so much, we did have a quiet but nice Easter. Hope you did also!!
Thank you – I did.
That cake looks so rich and fluffy! And Percy is so sweet!
Thank you so much Mary Frances.
This cake is so beautiful. I love the tangerine syrup and the frosting sounds dreamy Suzanne! All the way around an amazing cake!
Thank you so much Lynn.
sounds simply lovely!
I am going to try this recipe the next time I do Boston Cream Pie! Both the cake and frosting look gorgeous and I love the idea of the tangerine syrup, Suzanne. 🙂
Thank you Mollie. I love this cake recipe, when I use a buttercream frosting I always dab on a bit of soaking syrup the cake stays very moist. It makes an amazing Boston Cream.
I’m a sucker for Boston Creme!
Me too that’s why my Mom developed this recipe. I like it better than using a sponge cake. It’s lighter and has such a nice texture.
🙂
Your cake looks delicious, but the Percy picture takes the cake! Pun intended! Teehee!
Ha!! Totally agree Percy trumps the cake.
What a wonderful cake, Suzanne! And the presentation is so pretty! Hope you and your family had a lovely Easter. Something tells me that that adorable pug certainly did! 😜
Thank you so much Francesca. We had a very nice Easter and I hope and the family did as well. Your instinct would be correct, Mr. Percy had a very nice day.
I love this classic cake! So glad you shared the recipe!
Thank you so much!!
Beautiful cake! Love yellow cake with chocolate frosting, I hope your Easter was spectacular.
I like the idea of cream cheese and mascarpone for the icing, but am not a fan of butter. Any ideas?
Hi Mary, you could just use melted chocolate with mascarpone and cream cheese and whip it. Just make sure the cheeses are room temp. I love a whipped chocolate ganache and instead of the cream use the mascarpone and cream cheese or either one. Have a great day and thank you!