Best Yellow Cake Recipe Ever...from Marcy Goldman

You can guess from this photo that our in-house ban on homemade desserts has lifted.  Hubby would finish his evening meal and glance about with dissatisfaction and then proceed to raid the kitchen cupboards for something to assuage his sweet tooth.  And the weather has been so dim and gloomy I have had to get back in the kitchen whisking eggs and melting chocolate to lift the spirits.  I do love it all from the moment I tie on my apron till I set the glass top on my tiered cake plate with a lovely cake resting there all ready to be cut into.
I've been following Marcy Goldman for a few years now.  She is a master baker and has published a number of cookbooks that I love.  Her recipes are well tested, easy to follow and, for the most part, incorporate ingredients that are readily available.  I love her tips and anecdotes that accompany the recipes as well.  She has a website called BetterBaking.com and a blog you can follow.

The recipe I used for my cake is from this book The New Best of Better Baking.com and is called Moist and Mellow Yellow Birthday Cake or Cupcakes.  I have found basic yellow cakes often lack real flavour and can be dry.  This is the best recipe I have found for a wonderful light but very good tasting cake.  You won't be disappointed if you try it.  I iced the cake with Marcy's recipe for Master Brownie Frosting because hubby likes chocolate so much.  He was most pleased.
This cookbook is available at amazon.com for as little as fifteen dollars used or perhaps you can check it out at your library. 

From the oven... I haven't a clue why one is so much darker than the other or why one edge of the layer on the left rose up so much that there was a nice crunchy edge that had to be pared off (and eaten- the dogs loved it).  I guess just another reason I am not a master baker.