This is a simple, moist, buttery yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Ingredients for cake:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter

3 eggs (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a rectangular pan with cooking spray.

Sift together flour baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and butter. Mix on a low speed until all of the ingredients are well combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well after adding each egg. Add vanilla extract and food coloring and mix well.

Heat a cup of whole milk in the microwave until hot. This is very important – do not skip this step! The hot milk adds moisture to the cake! (If you don’t have milk on hand, you can use half and half (I used 1/2 cup half and half + 1/2 cup of water), or you may use evaporated milk.) Again – whichever variation you use – you must heat the entire cup of liquid before adding to the batter!

Add the hot milk into the batter and stir until well combined. The batter will be very thin. This is fine – makes the cake ultra moist!

Pour batter into the rectangular pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on your oven.

Once the cake is done, leave it in the pan.** You do not have to remove the cake from the pan unless you wish to do so. Let the cake cool before frosting it.

Chocolate Frosting

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-4 tablespoons of milk (I used half and half)

Mix sugar, cocoa, and butter. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time. Mix after each tablespoon is added – keep adding milk until the frosting is your desired consistency. Mix in vanilla.

Plop all of the icing on top of the cake and spread it evenly on top of the cake.

Enjoy!

**Leaving the cake in the pan simplifies frosting it. If the cake is in the pan, you do not need to frost the sides.