Yellow Cake with Nutella Frosting

With the recent onslaught of inclement weather, I've taking to baking. It serves two purposes: it gives me something to do AND provides a yummy snack that everyone can enjoy once I've finished. Plus, it's always a fun challenge to see what I can make using only the ingredients I already have in the pantry.

This year, I opted for a homemade yellow cake with Nutella frosting and it was a hit. I'm sharing the details with you and let me tell you it wasn't any more difficult than making a cake from a boxed mix!

Yellow Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

2 eggs

frosting recipe for two layer cake (Nutella frosting recipe follows plus links to other options)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2, 9" cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. 
4. Add eggs and beat for an additional 3 minutes.
5. Divide batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then, loosen the sides of the cakes from the pans and turn out onto cooling racks for another 10 minutes.
7. Frost with Nutella frosting or frosting of choice.

Nutella Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/3 cup Nutella

2 tsp vanilla flavoring

1/8 - 1/4 cup milk

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter with mixer.
2. Add cocoa powder, confectioners sugar, vanilla flavoring, and 2 Tbsp of milk. Blend on low speed until the sugar is combined.
3. Add more milk, 2 Tbsp at a time until mixture is smooth and spreadable.
4. Add Nutella and blend mixture until smooth.
5. Use frosting to generously frost two layer cake.

Notes:

I usually use this frosting with a fudge cake, but I only had enough cocoa powder on hand to make the frosting, so I paired it with a yellow cake this time and it was a winner! Moral of the story - don't be afraid to try something new.

This yellow cake makes a great "base cake" and might be equally good dolled up with some of the other frostings we've featured, so make sure give these recipes a looksee:

• Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
• Cherry Dr. Pepper Frosting
• Buttercream Frosting
• Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting
• Perfectly Chocolate Frosting