Learn how to make a deliciously soft and buttery 6-inch vanilla cake, plus a dozen other cake flavors for your smaller 6-inch cake pans. These are perfect for smaller gatherings and much easier to decorate, too!
More and more over the past few years, I see questions about adapting large layer cake recipes to fit smaller 6-inch cake pans. 6-inch cakes are very popular and yet most traditional cake recipes don’t accommodate the smaller size.
But last year I discovered an easy solution when I made a 6-inch birthday cake. I no longer adapted cake recipes to fit the smaller cake pan size. Instead, I began using cake batter from my CUPCAKE recipes. (And most of my cupcake recipes are actually adapted from the larger cake variety, so the work is already done!)
I know it’s nothing groundbreaking, but it was a total lightbulb moment as I suddenly had dozens of 6-inch cake flavors to bake. I love the 6-inch size for children’s birthday cakes, small gatherings and celebrations, or bridal/baby showers where there’s a lot of other desserts. And when it comes to decorating, 6-inch is a very non-intimidating size cake!
Cupcake Batter = 3 Layer 6-Inch Cake
Cupcake batter that produces about 12-15 cupcakes is the perfect amount for a 3 layer 6-inch cake. One dozen cupcakes usually takes about 3-4 cups of cake batter, which divides perfectly between 3 6-inch cake layers. This means that you can essentially turn any batch of cupcakes into a small layer cake. I’ve tested this several times with many different flavors, but usually stick with vanilla cake and chocolate cake, which are made from my vanilla cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes respectively.
6-Inch Cake Flavors
Use the batter for the following recipes to make different flavor 6 inch cakes:
- Vanilla Cupcakes (pictured as a cake and recipe included below)
- Chocolate Cupcakes (pictured on this page as a cake!)
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Confetti Cupcakes
- Pistachio Cupcakes
- Coconut Carrot Cupcakes
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Citrus Cake (written as a cake)
- Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes (use the cream filling between the cake layers and top the entire cake with ganache!)
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
All 6-inch cake layers take about 18-21 minutes at 350°F (177°C). You need about 2.5-3 cups of frosting for a 3 layer 6-inch cake, which is usually the amount used for 1 dozen cupcakes. Any of the frosting recipes paired with the listed cupcakes would be perfect. 🙂
How to Prep Your 6 Inch Cake Pans
After you choose your 6-inch cake batter, it’s time to start prepping the cake pans. First, make sure you have quality 6-inch cake pans. I started using Fat Daddio’s 6-inch cake pans last year and loved them so much that I switched out my 9-inch and 8-inch cake pans for the Fat Daddio’s brand. From one baker to another—these pans are incredible quality for the price. Not working with this brand, just a genuine fan.
The smaller the cake, the more difficult it is to neatly release from the baking pan. Here’s my guaranteed solution so that your 6 inch cake layers glide right out:
- Make a parchment paper round. Trace the bottom of the cake pans on a large piece of parchment paper. Cut out the parchment circles.
- Very lightly grease the baking pans.
- Place the parchment round inside.
- Grease the parchment round too. Using butter or baker’s nonstick spray, I grease the pan AND the parchment. This promises an ultra non-stick environment for your cake. Never any sticking.
I usually keep a stack of parchment rounds on hand just in case I’m in a rush to get a cake in the oven. For cake emergencies, of course.
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake.
How to Frost & Decorate a 6-Inch Cake
You need about 2.5-3 cups of frosting to frost a 3 layer 6-inch cake. The frostings paired with the cupcake recipes listed above are plenty for your 6-inch cake, such as vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, strawberry buttercream frosting, or white chocolate buttercream frosting. You can also add fillings such as raspberry cake filling between the layers. Assembling and decorating a 6 inch cake is just like putting together a larger cake, but the smaller size is definitely easier to work with. You can use this detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post as your guide.
Tools I find helpful:
- Cake Turntable: This size is great for larger 9-inch cakes as well. A cake turntable makes it easy to frost the sides of a cake with a bench scraper.
- Bench Scraper: I like to run a bench scraper around the sides of the cake to smooth out the frosting. This works for any size cake. If you’ve never used one before to decorate a cake, you can watch me use it in my vanilla cake video. They’re very handy!
- Small Offset Icing Spatula: Use this for spreading the frosting between the layers and on top of the cake. The small size is great for frosting cupcakes too.
Since this is a small cake, it’s easy to pick up with a couple flat spatulas and carefully transfer to a cake stand or serving plate. You can also use cake boards, which are cardboard cut-outs that provide a sturdy foundation for your cake if you need to move it to another surface.
Small cakes are taking over! Which flavor will you try first?
PS: I bought the pictured teal cake stand from Home Goods and unfortunately can’t find a link to it for you! Make sure you find a cake stand that’s about 8 inches in diameter to comfortably fit the 6-inch cake.
Print
6 Inch Vanilla Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make a deliciously soft and buttery 6 inch vanilla cake, plus a dozen other cake flavors for your smaller 6 inch cake pans. 6 inch cakes are perfect for smaller gatherings and much easier to decorate, too!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (207g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk at room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 – 5 cups (480-600g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 6×2 inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 18-21 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I add 1/8 teaspoon salt.)
- Assemble and decorate: Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with about 3/4 cup of frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with about 3/4 cup of frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. A bench scraper and small offset spatula are handy for decorating. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
- Refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions for any flavor: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. If the frosting is still too stiff, beat it on medium speed with an electric mixer until it’s soft and spreadable again. Add a splash of milk or cream to thin out if needed. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. See How to Freeze Cakes. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 6-inch Round Cake Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Bench Scraper | Small Offset Spatula
- Cake Flour: If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, use this cake flour substitute.
- 6 Inch Chocolate Cake: Skip steps 2 & 3 and instead, use the chocolate cake batter from my chocolate cupcakes. Frost with chocolate buttercream.
- More Flavors: See post above for links to more cake flavors using my cupcake batters. Skip steps 2 & 3 above, swapping out the vanilla batter for your chosen flavor.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I wanted to make the Boston Creme Pie in a six inch pan. The pan conversion info states that a 9 inch pan holds 8 cups and a 6 inch holds 4 cups. Could I just cut that recipe in half to get the proper amount of batter for the two layers of sponge? Thanks!
Yes, that should work just fine, Gina!
im not a big fan of sour cream. is there any thing i can use to substitute it?
Hi Remi, you could use yogurt instead. Or you can use buttermilk to replace both the sour cream and milk here (1 cup total). The cake will still be very moist and fluffy!
I’m making a 6″ double barrel cake for a birthday and I’m looking at this vanilla cake recipe. (I will have a cake board in the middle and a center dowel). I’m planning on making it twice so as to not have the batter sit too long before the second set are baked. I’m wondering about the icing quantity. Should I double the icing or would 1.5 times the icing be sufficient to ice it?
Hi Pam! We’re unsure, but would make a double batch just to be safe. Let us know how your cake turns out!
Sounds great, I’ve made the large one which is 3 eggs plus 2 white, is this correct re just egg whites? No yolks? Thank you
I’ve just found you online and your recipes look amazing
That’s correct, Sue. Happy baking!
For the chocolate cake using the cupcake recipe, how many 6-inch round pans will it fill? Should I use 1.5× the cupcake recipe since a standard cupcake recipe usually fills two 6-inch pans?
Hi H, the chocolate cupcake recipe will yield enough for 3, 6-inch rounds. You won’t be filling the pans to the top—evenly distribute between the 3 pans. Hope this helps!
Hi Sally, Would I be able to use the same logic for a 4 inch cake pan?
Hi May, We don’t bake with that size very often. If you’d like to do exact calculations for the amount of batter you can use our Cake Pan Sizes Conversion post. Or you can simply fill your pans about 1/2 to 2/3 full and keep your eye on them for the bake time.
Hello! I want to use this recipe for my one year old’s smash cake but was only going to make a 2 tier 6 inch cake. How should I adjust the recipe for 2 pans instead of 3? Thank you 🙂
Hi Celeste, you can reduce the ingredients by 1/3 to yield 2 layers. Or it may be easiest to make the batter as is, make two cake layers, then use the leftover for a few cupcakes on the side!
Hi do you think a 4 layer 6 inch cake would be able to serve 10 people? I am thinking of making this recipe twice which will make a total of 6 layers but I’ll only use 4 of them.
Or would you suggest making an 8 inch cake?
Thank you
Hi Josie, yes, that should be enough for 10 people. Enjoy!
Do you think I could use these 6 inch cake recipes for a small Bundt pan?
Hi Ann, absolutely. Yield will depend on the exact size of your small Bundt pans.
Hi, the 6 in pans has different depth sizes. Should I order the 3 inch depth pans? And the number to order is 3, correct? The pans are ordered individually or a set of 2. Thanks
Hi Trina, we use the 2-inch deep pans, but a deeper pan will work, too. You can order however many you like—if you don’t have three pans, you can always bake the batter in batches. Hope this helps!
Hi Sally,
I would like to try and make your strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting which sounds delicious for my granddaughter’s 6th birthday in the 6×3 pan and I have 3 pans but don’t know how it would work.
Hi Marilou, For a 3 layer, 6 inch cake, you can use the batter from these strawberry cupcakes.
Hi. I love this recipe. How do I adjust the cooking time for one 6 x 4″ tin rather than the 2 you suggest. I make it today in the deeper tin and did it for just over an hour at 150 C fan assist and the base was just slightly underdone despite skewer coming out clean.
Thanks
Kerith
Hi Kerith, You can use a 4 inch tall pan but we still encourage you to divide the batter between three separate pans. Putting too much batter in one pan risks uneven baking and the batter will be too heavy to rise properly.
Thanks so much for coming back to me. I will probably have to divide it between 2 6×4” and 1 6×3” and see how that goes. I love trying all the recipes on here. Although have to play with temp for fan assist over in the UK.
I need to make a 6 inch marble cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. I have your recipe for the 9 inch marble cake, can I use it and just fill my 6 inch layers half full? Left over batter for cupcakes
Hi Joan, yes, that will work. Enjoy!
Hello Sally, absolutely love this recipe! I am baking this for my baby’s smash cake, and then doing a 9 inch for everyone else (perfect white cake recipe). Would I be able to bake the cake layers and make the frosting two days ahead of time? I see it says you can keep in fridge overnight, so just wanted to check. Trying to not wait until the last minute as I will also be preparing food the day before the party!
Hi Gracie, You can wrap the individual baked and cooled cake layers tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before you assemble and frost.
Hi!
I have some fun-flavored simple syrups that I was thinking of using to flavor the cake and frosting. Could I trade it out 1:1 for the vanilla without messing up the recipes? Or is there a better way to do it that you would recommend?
Hi Lily! You can brush simple syrup on baked and cooled cakes to add extra moisture and flavor. That’s what we would recommend trying!
Okay, thank you! I wasn’t sure how to use it so this helps a lot.
Hello,
Can I use App flour instead of Cake flour?
Hi Dulce, we recommend cake flour for a light, soft crumb. If needed, you can use this cake flour substitute.
Can I add sprinkles to the batter without messing up the recipe? If so, how much sprinkles would you recommend?
Hi Kim, about a 1/2 cup of sprinkles would be great here!
Can I use butter milk in place of milk in this recipe? How will it affect the result? I often use doctored cake mix when making vanilla cake as I have difficulty achieving the right balance of moist and fluffy result I would like.
Hi Elaine, you can use buttermilk to replace both the sour cream and milk here (1 cup total). The cake will still be very moist and fluffy!
Ugh! Fat daddies are aluminum…not such a healthy choice! Stainless steel pans work beautifully! Thank you though for the fantastic recipes, ideas and bonus frosting per cake idea! I love your recipes and have followed you for years!
I use your “best vanilla cake” recipe as my go to.
It originally has buttermilk as an ingredient, I notice you’ve changed to sour cream?
I am making it for my sisters wedding, can I adapt this one & if so how?
Thanks
Hi Jane, you can use buttermilk to replace both the sour cream and milk here (1 cup total).
After baking and frosting should this cake be stored in the refrigerator or can it be left out?
Hi Amanda, you can leave the frosted cake at room temperature for about 24 hours, but much longer than that and we’d recommend storing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Hi Sally,
I want to use this recipe for the top tier of my son’s wedding cake. Would it be possible to add crumbled rainbow colored cookies to the batter? Would I need to change any measurements of ingredients? The cookies are basically sugar cookies with red and green coloring added to some of the batter.
Hi Nell, we haven’t tried adding cookies to this particular batter, so we’re unsure how well they would hold up. If you decide to try it, please do let us know how it goes.
Hi I was initially going to half the 9inch version of this cake before i found this as I only have 2 6inch pans. Why is the sour cream not scaled down from the original recipe?
My frosting became very grainy. Why would that be?
Hi Justyna, which buttercream recipe did you use?
Do you think I could divide the batter between two 6” pans to make it a two thicker layers? Without it overflowing into my oven? Trying to make the jellycat cake cake. 🙂
Hi Susan! For a two layer cake, you can fill your pans half way and then use any leftover batter for a few cupcakes on the side.