Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Cake Is Anything But Basic

With just a few pantry staples, buttermilk cake is moist, tender, slightly tangy, and warm with notes of molasses and caramel from dark brown sugar. All Southern roads lead back to buttermilk, and it's as much the case for dessert as it is for savory cooking.

This easy-to-whip-up buttermilk cake unabashedly leans into the acidity and creaminess of whole buttermilk to flavor and build the base of the batter. The Southern Living Test Kitchen calls it a "donut meets a pancake meets a coffee cake," and what's not to love about that?

Learn how to make buttermilk cake, and give it a try next time you host a casual, cozy dinner party. Just be prepared to share the recipe—no doubt your guests will be asking for it.

Ingredients For Buttermilk Cake

Most ingredients for buttermilk cake are baking staples, especially if you typically keep whole buttermilk on hand. To make this cake, you'll need:

• Cooking spray: Coats the pan and makes the cake easier to remove.
• All-purpose flour: Provides the base and structure of the cake.
• Kosher salt: Enhances and balances the flavors of the cake.
• Baking soda: A leavener to give the cake its rise during baking so it will be tall and fluffy.
• Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake.
• Unsalted butter: Paired with the whole buttermilk, fats in butter help to give the cake a rich crumb as well as buttery flavor.
• Dark brown sugar: Notes of molasses and caramel from dark brown sugar add extra complexity and warmth as well as sweetness to the cake.
• Large eggs: Bind the batter and helps the cake rise.
• Vanilla extract: Provides depth of flavor and an aroma to the cake and glaze.
• Whole buttermilk: Provides some subtle tang and moistens the cake for an extra tender crumb; it also provides tang and a creamy, thick base of the glaze.
• Powdered sugar: Sweetens the icing glaze; using powdered sugar emulsifies into the buttermilk glaze smoothly.
  

What Is A Buttermilk Cake?

Buttermilk cake is a moist and tender yellow cake that lets the natural tang of buttermilk shine. It has the flavors of a buttermilk pancake, the glaze of a Krispy Kreme donut, and the moist, fluffy texture of coffee cake.

A fun quirk of this recipe is its use of dark brown sugar, which offers notes of molasses and caramel that compliment the acidity of the buttermilk in the recipe. But it's the glaze that ties it all together: Gooey and velvety when drizzled over the cake warm, it becomes matte and crackly when set like a perfect glazed donut.

How To Make Buttermilk Cake

The full recipe details are below, but here are the important steps for whipping up a buttermilk cake.

• Step 1. Prepare the pan: Grease with cooking spray, and line the pan with parchment paper. This will prevent the cake from sticking and make it easier to release.
• Step 2. Beat butter and sugar: Beat 3/4 cup of the butter, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
• Step 3. Add eggs and vanilla: Add eggs 1 at a time until incorporated, and beat in vanilla.
• Step 4. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture with buttermilk: Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda and add to butter mixture, alternating with 2 cups of buttermilk.
• Step 5. Add batter to pan: Pour into pan, and spread evenly.
• Step 6. Bake cake: Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Step 7. Prepare glaze: Cook melted remaining 1/2 cup butter, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan until bubbling. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar.
• Step 8. Pour hot glaze over warm cake: Cool in pan 30 minutes and serve warm, or let cool until glaze sets completely.

Our Tips For Making Buttermilk Cake

The Southern Living Test Kitchen knows a thing or two about cakes, so they're sharing this advice for making this cake fantastic:

• Don't skip the step: Creaming butter and sugar together before incorporating dry ingredients and buttermilk ensures a tender, moist cake.
• Sugar swap: If you do not have dark brown sugar, use light brown sugar for a similarly molasses-forward, caramel taste to the cake.
• Add crunch: Top the cake with nuts for some texture and rich, roasted flavor, such as chopped toasted pecans or similar.

Can You Freeze Buttermilk Cake?

This cake freezes well. If you'd like to make the cake ahead of time, simply skip the icing step, remove it from the pan after cooling, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer.

Let it thaw at room temperature for about one hour and ice before serving. (Note that the icing will drip off the sides more than when cake is still in the pan.)