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Yellow cake, recipe 1-2-3-4

1-2-3-4 yellow cake

Baking

A simple American yellow cake: 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs, with milk and vanilla.

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Recipe from Kittycataclysm, MarcGarver, Gentgeen and 37 other contributors, adapted by Recette de cuisine · · updated on

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This is the classic 1-2-3-4 cake, a traditional American yellow cake. Its name comes from the volume proportions: 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs. It’s easy to make and can be enjoyed plain or with frosting.

Ingredients and directions

  • Prep time20 min
  • Cook time50 min
  • Resting20 min
  • Total1 hr 30 min
  • DifficultyEasy
  • CostBudget
  • Cooking methodfour
  • Estimated cost$5.77 $0.72 / serving Estimated price; varies by store. Converted from euros at the ECB rate of October 15, 2026.
  • Vegetarian

Ingredients

8 people
  • $2.22
  • $0.24
  • $0.59
  • $0.35
  • $0.64
  • $0.13
  • $1.60

Prices from US supermarkets for 6 of 7 ingredients; Belgian prices for the rest.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C. Grease and flour a large cake pan.
  2. Whip the butter and sugar together in a mixer until you have a light and fluffy mixture. ≈ 3 min
  3. Add the vanilla extract, then the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. ≈ 3 min
  4. Together, sift the flour, yeast, and salt. ≈ 2 min
  5. Gradually incorporate these dry ingredients into the dough, alternating with small amounts of milk, until you have a very smooth dough. ≈ 4 min
  6. Pour into the mold. ≈ 3 min
  7. Place in the oven and bake until a knife or skewer inserted into the center comes out with clean, dry edges (allow at least 15 minutes).
  8. Let it cool before serving. The top will be nicely browned due to the amount of sugar.

The bill

1-2-3-4 yellow cake

  • 240 g of butter (1 cup)$2.22
  • 240 ml of milk (1 cup)$0.24
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract$0.59
  • 450 g of powdered sugar (2 cups)$0.35
  • 400 g of flour (3 cups)$0.64
  • 3 tablespoons of baking powder$0.13
  • 4 eggs$1.60

Total$5.77

that's $0.72 per person

Estimated price; varies by store.

Equipment

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Before you start

Ingredients

  • 240 g of butter (1 cup)
  • 240 ml of milk (1 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 450 g of powdered sugar (2 cups)
  • 400 g of flour (3 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons of baking powder
  • 3 pinches of salt
  • 4 eggs

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