The Best Basic, Yellow Cake You’ll Ever Eat

I’ve been cooking again.  I take it in spells, really.

After a long bout of traveling hither and yon, my little family is all back together again in one place: the boonies.  Big Daddy had been traveling a bit, too, and is now back at work with people whom I’ve affectionately named, “The Boys.”

The Boys are the men with whom Big Daddy works.  They seem to like my cooking. Alot. Nearly the moment Big Daddy reentered their presence, their first question to him was, “When’s the food coming?”

It’s nice to be missed. I’m sure they missed Big Daddy, too, though that’s speculation at this point.

I felt obligated to comply with The Boys’ request. They do, after all, take such good care of my Big Daddy every day.  I made them a few things, all of which I’m going to share with you this week. Because they’re yummy.  And it’s spring. And spring should be yummy.

Wait, what?

Nevermind.

The first is a Basic Yellow Cake. This recipe is one I pilfered from my Mammaw, who uses it as the base for her world-famous Caramel Cake. Okay, maybe it’s not world-famous, but it’s pretty famous in my world.  My mother, however, uses it as the base for her world-famous (again, my world) Peanut Butter Cake. I have an uncle who’d give his eye teeth for a slice of that baby. My mother pilfered the peanut butter icing recipe from my other grandmother, who’s now eating Peanut Butter Cake and homemade biscuits with the good Lord at that great banquet table in the sky.

Holla, Granny!

And now I’m officially way off-topic. Here’s what you’ll need:

“Is that a boxed cake mix?” you ask. Life, the good life, doesn’t have to be so difficult sometimes.  Ain’t no shame in my game.  Any kind of yellow cake mix (I use what’s on sale because that’s how I roll), a small package of instant vanilla pudding, 4 eggs, some oil, and some water.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Now, here’s the tricky part:

Dump all that into the mixer bowl and turn her on.  It’s like rocket science we’re doing here.

Now, because I was sending this to The Boys, who may or may not be able to handle the cutting of an actual cake, I went with cupcakes.

While you wait for them to bake, your local Diva will probably be happy to lick the beater as she reads her Bible lesson aloud to you.  It’s about Judah and Tamar. It’s juicy. It requires accompanying cake batter.

Fifteen minutes in the oven, and out comes delicious, moist, fluffy, golden goodness.

Now, at this point, you have two choices. You could (a) frost them and send them to work with Big Daddy,…

… or (b) forget the icing, call them muffins, and eat them for breakfast.

I’m just sayin’.

A few notes:

1. A layer cake and a 9×13 cake are done the same way. Just bake them a little longer. About 25 minutes and 30ish minutes respectively.

2. You could, at this point, top the cake with store-bought icing, dispose of the evidence, and still get the marriage proposal you may be seeking.

3.  A chocolate cake mix with chocolate pudding is made the same way. And equally moist and yummy. I haven’t tried other flavors, but, if you do, let me know how it goes.

Click, print, clip, and cook: Basic Yellow Cake

Icing recipe coming up this week…stay tuned.

Let them eat cake!

AinW