Baking is a science. It's about ratios and chemical reactions and, over the years, I have learned where variations can be made and how best to modify a recipe to achieve my ideal. But I've also learned that sometimes a recipe is just too good to modify. There is a lot to be said for exercising restraint and knowing when a recipe wouldn't be improved with your fingerprints all over it. Rose Levy Beranbaum's Downy Butter Yellow Cake and White Velvet Cake are two such recipes. They are the foundations for the two most iconic works of art in this book, and I am happy to admit that I couldn't have invented a better recipe to use in these desserts.
Wayne Thiebaud's painted cakes are classic, nostalgic, and all-American. They're not challenging in flavor—they're just simple cakes, like the type your mother might've made for your birthday. Rose's Downy Yellow Butter cake is the perfect recipe with which to create cakes commemorating Wayne Thiebaud.
Note: This cake uses egg yolks only, which is convenient because my favorite frostings are made with egg whites. Save whites that are untainted by bits of yolk in a clean airtight container to use in a frosting; they will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Do Ahead: Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, the cake will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Variations: If you're going above and beyond with the Thiebaud Pink Cake , butter and flour the sides of two 6 by 3-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds that have been cut to fit. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Decrease the baking time to 45 to 50 minutes.
