I find my yellow buttermilk cake boring in taste.
So is this kind of cake just a vessel for the frosting, or is it supposed to have some kind of underlying flavor? Maybe like butter?

Maybe it's just me, but I find the taste boring. I do make other cakes that have added flavorings. This is the only recipe where all I add is a teaspoon of vanilla. So I thought I would see what others thought about yellow cake.

I'm talking about a scratch recipe, not box.

I think that a yellow cake by itself is pretty boring, mix or scratch. Yes a scratch in my book still will taste better, but that aside a yellow cake in and of itself I do not make just to make just to have around. To me there is always something new and interesting to try out. I have a wonderful cake that is made from a golden butter recipe(Duncan HInes is the brand) and it has mandarin oranges in the mix and you use 4 eggs and the icing recipe has crushed pineapple, vanilla pudding mix and cool whip and oh together it is anything, but boring, but that is of course not just a plain yellow cake. I have to agree with you. Somebody I know really well and has a great reputation for making good things would have to recommend me try a yellow cake recipe that is scrumptious before I would change my mind on this. I am not even all that impressed with the yellow and chocolate Marbel cakes. I have a sweet tooth and yes, if it is around and my sweet tooth is begging to be satisfied than of course I will eat and enjoy at the present moment, but unelss it is sensational I am probably just going to think ok, my sweet tooth was satisfied, but next time I gotta give it something with a little wow.

I love a good yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It's the combination that makes it for me. I would not be inclined to eat an uniced slice of yellow cake. As someone who is transitioning from doctored mixes to scratch baking, finding a good yellow recipe is a challenge. It seems like the texture of the yellow cake recipes that I have tried so far has been dense (kind of reminds me of cornbread) and the flavor has been pretty "blah'. I am going to try Sylvia Weinstock's original yellow recipe next.

I like the flavor of Sylvia Weinstock's classic yellow cake:
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/02/09/sylvia.weinstock/yellow.cake.html
This is the original version (not the "new & improved" version) and I use 1 T. vanilla. The sour cream lends a creamier flavor than buttermilk, imo. I love the creamy, buttery, vanilla-tinged flavor! We enjoy it with many different icings except, ironically, smbc--too much butter with such a butter-rich cake.

But then, I like vanilla. Maybe you'd like your recipe more if you increased the vanilla a bit?

I love a good yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It's the combination that makes it for me. I would not be inclined to eat an uniced slice of yellow cake. As someone who is transitioning from doctored mixes to scratch baking, finding a good yellow recipe is a challenge. It seems like the texture of the yellow cake recipes that I have tried so far has been dense (kind of reminds me of cornbread) and the flavor has been pretty "blah'. I am going to try Sylvia Weinstock's original yellow recipe next.

Cakegirl, be sure to try the original recipe. I think the new one has too much liquid in the batter, and the cake turns out gummy.

Thanks for the ideas. I do not want to use sour cream. In all my testing buttermilk and sour cream give the same tangy flavor. Of course, the best thing to do is to get some real buttermilk, but that means making my own butter just to get the buttermilk and you get more butter than buttermilk too. Still, I might consider doing that just so I can do a taste comparison.

I'm going to try upping the vanilla. Or I can try separating the eggs like Sylvia's recipe does and see if that makes a difference in taste.

Thanks Sangriacupcake for the site to the recipe. I will try it like she makes it the first time and see what I think. Then I will go do alterations to the recipe if I think there needs to be.

Sylvia's cake has a really great taste. It's one of my favorite and most used cakes. Note, however, that while she calls it a yellow cake, it is really very white in color, not your typical yellow butter cake look.

I am more concerned about a great tasting cake then the color of the cake flesh. If I needed it to be yellow I would just add food coloring to it.

That's been my experience. It was also reported by many in the "Great Scratch-off Yellow Cake" thread done here last year. I think the reason is all the beating. Incorporating all that air will lighten the color significantly over just mixing in whole eggs and butter. Look at the color change when you cream butter or beat eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage.

I use Sylvia's original for my yellow/vanilla cake and I LOVE it. Vanilla is my favorite flavor of cake in general though. I could eat Sylvia's cake w/out frosting. To me while there is a slight "tang" from the sour cream, what I really taste is the vanilla.

I think I need to try this recipe once myself!

Try this... SW new recipe. Double the ginger and only add 1/4c milk... perfect blend of the two.