Extra Moist Butter Cake Recipe

When it's so easy to make a cake from a box mix, why would you go through the trouble of making one from scratch? Well, because cakes made from scratch really aren't all that difficult, either, as long as you have the right recipe to follow to ensure that they come out with the proper texture. Recipe developer Ting Dalton describes this sponge-type cake as " springy, moist, [and] sweet." She likes to cut it in very small pieces, though she admits "it's impossible just to have a few."

As to what makes the texture of this butter cake so "lovely and light," the butter may have something to do with it, but so does her secret ingredient; Dalton stirs yogurt into the batter to make the cake extra-moist. (Yogurt also helps to make even boxed cake mixes taste homemade.)

As with any cake recipe, you've got your dry ingredients and your wet, (or less-dry, at least). Here, the former consists of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, while the latter include the aforementioned butter and plain yogurt, along with eggs and vanilla extract.

Before you make the batter, you should go ahead and preheat the oven to 300 F so it will be ready by the time the cake's in the pan.

Sift the flour together with the baking powder (unsifted flour, after all, can make your cake too dense), then stir in the salt. Beat the butter with the sugar for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. Between each egg, scrape down the sides of the bowl. "By adding the egg[s] one at a time, you can avoid the cake batter curdling," Dalton says, so don't try adding the eggs all at once. Once all of the eggs are incorporated into the batter, fold the flour mixture in, as well.

Dalton bakes this cake in a 9x9-inch pan, which she first greases with butter and then lines with parchment paper for extra no-stick insurance. Once the pan is prepped, pour the batter in, then put the cake in the oven. (Surely it's hot enough by now!)

Bake the cake for about 40 minutes, at which point the top should be golden brown in best butter cake fashion while a skewer or toothpick stuck in the center should come out dry. Should the cake still be too moist by the time the top starts to brown, Dalton has some advice: "Cover the top of the baking pan with a sheet of aluminum foil."

Once you take the cake out of the oven, let it sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the pan upside down and remove the cake so it can cool au naturel on a wire rack. Wait until it is completely cool before you cut into it.

If the cake looks a bit plain to you, Dalton suggests sprinkling some powdered sugar over the top, or even adding icing, sprinkles, or fresh fruit. She also says that leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days as long as they're in an airtight container.