Does anyone have a moist yellow cake recipe from scratch. I have tried so many over the years and I have yet to find one that is moist enough. This week a tried one from the Epicurous website. It was made with buttermilk. It was moist and tasted good, but there was a tiny thin line through the midder of the cake layers that was not quite cooked. I tried it twice and I even left it in longer the second time (45 minutes). The toothpick come out clean each time. I am afraid to let it bake longer, because the top and side were already brown and I thought letting it bake longer would prouduce an outside that would be too dark. The recipe did give a baking time of 45-50 min. I just don't know, should I try again for 50 min? Any thoughts? I did ues Levy's two step method for mixing. Do you think that was the problem?
Ingredients
3 cups (330 g) cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (8 oz or 230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (10 fl oz or 300 ml) buttermilk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and line with parchment paper two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut up the butter into 1-inch pieces and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
4. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
5. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.
7. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Note: Let the cake cool in the pan. Storage: Double wrap the cake in plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Yield: Two 8-inch (20-cm) cakes
One method that use, that has yet to fail me, 
Turn the tempurature down to 325 and add an additional 20 minutes of cook time. (make sure you do not under-cook)
Also, do you have any metal flower nails?
Turn 1 upside down (so the spikey part is pointing up) in the middle of each pan. The metal acts as a heating core.
Let me know how this works out for you.
Jackie, thanks for you advise. I baked the cake again following the recipe's mixing directions. Then I took your advise and baked it at 325 degrees. I did a 1/2 sheet cake for a birthday party yesterday and I was told the cake was moist and delicious. Thanks again...
Sina
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