Southern Charm Cake

Southern Charm Cake is a tender, buttery layer cake with a light crumb and a silky frosting that stays soft enough to cut cleanly. The secret is creaming the butter and sugar thoroughly to trap air, which gives you a fine, even crumb without any dense spots.

Ingredients for Southern Charm Cake

All-purpose flour provides structure and a tender crumb when measured carefully. Butter creamed with sugar creates lift and richness, then added to the batter keeps it moist. Granulated sugar dissolves into the batter for sweetness and helps hold moisture. Eggs at room temperature blend smoothly into the batter and trap air for a fine crumb. Buttermilk reacts with baking soda to create lift and adds tang that brightens the flavor. Baking soda reacts with the buttermilk’s acid to create lift. Salt enhances the sweetness and balances the flavor. Vanilla extract adds warmth and depth. Sour cream in the frosting creates tanginess and a silky texture. Powdered sugar sweetens the frosting and gives it body.

Why This Southern Charm Cake Works

Creaming butter and sugar for a full 3 to 4 minutes incorporates air into the fat, which expands in the oven and creates a light, tender crumb. When you add eggs one at a time, the batter stays smooth and holds all that air. If you dump them in at once, the batter can break and you lose lift.

Alternating buttermilk and flour keeps the batter from breaking or becoming greasy. You start and end with flour, which helps bind the liquid into the batter evenly. The buttermilk’s acidity reacts with baking soda to create lift from the bottom up as the cake bakes.

The frosting uses sour cream instead of milk, which gives it tang and a silky texture that doesn’t break or become grainy. It spreads smoothly over the warm cake and sets lightly so you can cut clean slices.

Mistakes To Avoid

Overmixing the batter after you add the flour makes the cake tough and dense. Once the flour is no longer visible and the batter looks smooth, stop. A few streaks of flour are better than a beaten batter.

Using cold eggs or buttermilk causes the batter to break and look curdled, which traps air bubbles unevenly and creates a dense, lumpy crumb. Room-temperature ingredients blend smoothly and hold the air you worked to trap.

Frosting the cake while it is warm softens the frosting and causes it to slide off or become greasy. Let the layers cool completely on a wire rack before you assemble the cake, about 1 hour.

Opening the oven door before 30 minutes have passed lets heat escape and causes the cake to sink in the middle. Wait until you smell cake baking and the top is set before you check it.

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition until the batter looks smooth.
5. Add one-third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds until barely combined. Add half of the buttermilk and beat for 30 seconds. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk, and the last third of the flour. Stir in the vanilla extract by hand until no streaks of flour remain.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs and the top is golden and springs back when lightly pressed.
8. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
9. While the cakes cool, make the frosting by beating the sour cream, powdered sugar, and butter on low speed for 1 minute until smooth and creamy.
10. Once the cakes are cool, place one layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread one-quarter of the frosting over it. Top with the second layer and repeat, stacking all layers and frosting between them. Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake with the remaining frosting.