The secret is - cream butter and sugar really well - must be light and fluffy, have ALL ingredients at room temp, mix in dry ingredients until JUST incorporated - over-mixing will result in tough/dry cake. I used 1 C milk and 1/4 C buttermilk, watch closely - do not overbake! It was moist and light - very tasty!

This recipe was a huge disappointment. I tested the cake at 30 min and the center was a bit underdone so I left it in an additional 3 minutes. Once the tester came out clean I took out of the oven straight away. It was an awful crumbly, dry mess. My time is valuable and I could have done better with a box mix. So, this will not be my go to yellow cake. Shame.

Not exactly a review - a question. Martha uses a bowl sifter - a terrific idea for a person with awful arthritis. But where can you get one like this, without little knobs and handles to hit your hands when you pat it to sift? thanks!

Great simple recipe. Using fresh eggs and butter will make the flavor amazing. Lovely, delicately flavored cake, perfect for a birthday cake!

I think this is an excellent recipe and I have now idea why so many people found this to be dry. It's light and moist and holds up well to slicing and filling. The dryness in a cake is usually as a result of overcooking or cooking at too high a temperature. I didn't follow the timing in recipes, as i always judge when a cake is ready by sight. I have an oven that runs a little hot; had I left it for 30 minutes, it would have been over-baked. I can't wait to try the other variations.

I followed the directions exactly and watched the time closely. It came out very dry and very dense. Can't think what could have happened. The flavor was good though. With ice cream piled on it was better. I used recipe from Martha's Baking Handbook which is exactly the same as this one. Wish I had read reviews here first :(

in reading the reviews, i saw that some people had trouble with this cake being too dry... so i added an additional egg yolk. i also substituted vanilla soymilk for regular milk, just because that's what i had on hand. i turned this into cupcakes (and the recipe basically makes 24 normal size cupcakes perfectly). they came out SO delicious, light and fluffy. i used a chocolate ganache instead of traditional icing and they are a huuuuge hit.

Made this cake for the holidays and straight from the oven, it was an instant hit! It was delicious, soft and sufficiently moist. This receipe has become a family favorite and will surely be more than a season delight!

Not only dry, but salty! Too much baking powder perhaps? 1 Tbsp seems excessive. Also, the editor's note at the top of recipe is puzzling: it suggests increasing the salt to 1 tsp if using 8" pans vs. 1/2 tsp for 9" pans -- doesn't seem logical.

It's too dry. I checked the cake at 30 mins (low side) and it was done! Probably too done because it was a little on the dry side. Comparing it to other recipes, I'm thinking I'll cut down 1/4 c. on the butter and add in 1/4 c. canola oil with the milk and trim 5-7 mins on baking

I baked this cake today for a dinner party. It came out a bit on the dry side, even though I was careful to watch the time (and pulled it out a little early just in case).

This cake is delicious. It is very dense and holds up well for decorating or molding. I did not find it dry. Instead I felt it was a bit too sweet. So, I cut the sugar. It was a complete hit at my son's first birthday party.

did not care for the texture or taste. VERY DRY. I would add some sour cream.

did not care for the texture or taste. VERY DRY. I would add some sour cream.

Hi Martha! Can you please give weight measurements in your recipes? Good luck with the new show, I'm hooked already

I halved this recipe and made 14 cupcakes from the batter. I saw on America's Test Kitchen that they used bread flour when making cupcakes in order to make them a little sturdier for eating out of your hands, so I used AP flour and Bread flour instead of AP flour and Cake flour. They tasted wonderfully and weren't delicate for preschoolers hands. Perfect. I didn't think they were dry at all.

Tried this cake out. Check it out on my blog http://loveandpastry.blogspot.com/2010/09/yellow-cake-with-chocolate-fro.... The cake was a little dry next time I am going to try and fold in a little sour cream.

A bit dry... good flavor though... but dry!

This cake was tasty, but a little dry.

Dear DessertFanatic, I too live at high altitude, if you reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda you should have no problem with the cake sinking and the texture will be improved. Also, if the cake was a little dry you may have overmixed slightly or bake a little to long. I hope this helps.

I tried this cake recipe and it is good. Moist and buttery tasting. It didn't blow my socks off but it was still good.

I was pretty disappointed with this recipe. The crumb wasn't as fine and the texture wasn't as moist and light as I wanted it to be. Also, if you live at high altitudes, you'll probably need to make some adjustments in the ingredients, because my cakes sunk slightly in the middle. I just cut off the tops to level them anyway, but I just wanted perfection, and this cake didn't give me that.

This cake is good.

Just used a hand mixer and everything turned out fine. I baked this with my 3 yr old's help. We used a bundt cake pan instead and topped it with icing and fresh strawberries. A very sophisticated 3rd bday cake (I must admit) but she loved that she made it herself.