With its outstanding vanilla flavor, pillowy soft crumb, and creamy vanilla buttercream, this is truly the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. And after 1 bite, I guarantee you’ll agree.
One reader, Sarah, commented: “This cake is elite. Texture, flavor, sturdiness for frosting and decorating, freezes well… It was a beautiful centerpiece and dessert for a baby shower. Thank you! ★★★★★“
One reader, Candice, commented: “This is truly the best vanilla cake I have ever tasted! It is among the best cakes I have made in my 20+ years of baking… ★★★★★“
One reader, Rary, commented: “Off. The. Charts. Absolutely scrumptious! ★★★★★“
Out of all the cake recipes on my website, there’s a glaring absence. There’s white cake with a pristine soft crumb, vanilla naked cake with a flavorful tight crumb, and checkerboard cake with a whimsical design.
What about a classic vanilla layer cake draped in vanilla buttercream? I already have homemade vanilla cupcakes and a vanilla 6 inch cake covered and now in all its crowning glory (and after plenty recipe testing catastrophes), I present you with cake perfection:
This is the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had.
What Makes it the Best Vanilla Cake?
Let’s count the ways!
- Soft, light crumb from cake flour
- Fluffy from extra egg whites
- Buttery and cakey from creamed butter
- Stick-to-your-fork moist from eggs & buttermilk
- Extra flavor from pure vanilla extract
Not to mention its versatility: This vanilla cake batter is strong enough for shaped cakes, tiered cakes (see the slight variation in my homemade wedding cake recipe), and holds up beautifully under fondant. Use this batter for vanilla cupcakes, Bundt cake, or even piñata cake. It’s classy enough for a wedding celebration, but unassuming enough for a big family dinner.
Behind the Vanilla Cake Recipe
After years of cake successes and flops, I’m confident in this homemade vanilla cake. During my recipe testing, I combined my white cake recipe and naked cake recipe. These are two reader favorites and I knew they’d be the best starting point. At first there were too many eggs and I quickly learned sifting cake flour was NOT doing any favors.
You need the following power ingredients:
- Cake Flour: If you want a fluffy and soft bakery-style vanilla cake, cake flour is the secret. The cake will be denser and heavier using all-purpose flour.
- Eggs & 2 additional egg whites: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why we use both in some recipes? Using enough baking powder to give these layers height gave the cake a bitter aftertaste. Baking soda allows us to use less baking powder.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient and baking soda requires an acid to work. Plus buttermilk yields an EXTRA moist cake crumb. See recipe note about using a DIY buttermilk substitute.
For more prominent vanilla flavor, use homemade vanilla extract. (What a fun DIY gift!) This vanilla cake batter is moderately thick and fits perfectly in 3 9-inch cake pans. We actually use the same exact batter to make snickerdoodle cake.
Do you know how to level a cake? Let me help. It’s really easy. You can use a fancy cake leveler, but I use a serrated knife. Carefully slice off the tippy top of the cooled cake layers, creating a flat surface. Leveling cakes doesn’t require a ruler, talent, or any mathematical equations. Instead, just use your eyes, hands, and a knife.
Leveling the cake layers promises a straight and sturdy layer cake.
How Much Frosting Between Cake Layers?
I always eyeball the amount of frosting between cake layers, but I measured when I decorated the pictured cake. The vanilla buttercream recipe below yields about 6 cups of frosting. I recommend you use about 1.5 heaping cups of buttercream between each cake layer and reserve the last 3 cups for outside the cake. If you are going to add a filling such as raspberry cake filling, you’ll use less frosting between the layers. You can use this detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post as a guide!
Cake Decoration Inspiration: For a simple look, stick with vanilla buttercream, fresh berries, and mint sprigs. You can also decorate with chocolate buttercream (I recommend the same amount from this piñata cake), rainbow sprinkles, a chocolate ganache drip like on this chocolate chip cake, or even beautiful buttercream flowers.
Homemade Vanilla Cake Success Tips
Learn from my mistakes and bake the best cake on the 1st try!
- Follow the recipe closely. Use each power ingredient listed.
- Use room temperature ingredients. The batter mixes together evenly when all the cake ingredients are roughly the same temperature. This also reduces the risk of over-mixing and over-baking. Set out your ingredients 1 hour before beginning. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Line your cake pans with parchment. Place your cake pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. Trace the bottom of the cake pan with a pencil. Cut parchment paper into rounds. Grease the pan and the parchment paper. Parchment paper rounds guarantee seamless removal from the pan because the cake slides right out.
- Cool cake layers completely. I’ve tried taking shortcuts by assembling a layer cake with semi-warm cake layers. Well, the frosting completely melts and causes the entire cake to collapse. Make sure each layer is cool– refrigerate or freeze the layers if you need to!
- Refrigerate decorated cake. After frosting the cake, place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This is optional, but it sets the frosting and cake layers. You’ll get beautifully clean slices because the crumbs are cool and tight.
Great read: Check out Tessa’s Top 10 Best Layer Cake Tips.
Finding the perfect vanilla cake recipe requires a celebration. Luckily we have cake!!!
More Classic Cake Recipes
And here is my perfected vanilla cupcakes recipe.
Print
Best Vanilla Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its outstanding vanilla flavor, pillowy soft crumb, and creamy vanilla buttercream, this is truly the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. Make sure you read through the recipe and recipe notes before beginning. This recipe yields approximately 8 cups of batter which is helpful if you need this batter for different cake pan sizes and conversions.
Ingredients
- 3 and 2/3 cups (433g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs + 2 additional egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, a Tablespoon!)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 5 and 1/2 cups (650g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-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, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the 3 eggs, 2 egg whites, and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled as a result of the egg liquid and solid butter combining.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the buttermilk and mix just until combined. 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. Weigh them to ensure accuracy, if desired. Bake for around 23-26 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 cooling rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more milk if frosting is too thick, or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- 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 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with about 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I use and recommend an icing spatula to apply the frosting.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 1 hour before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: 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. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Kitchen Scale (optional) | Cooling Rack | Large Icing Spatula | Cake Turntable | Bench Scraper | Cake Carrier (for storing and transporting)
- 9×13-inch Cake: I recommend using my white cake batter instead. Both use similar ingredients and produce a deliciously light vanilla cake. See recipe notes for the 9×13 inch version.
- 2 Layer Cake: I recommend using my 2 layer white cake batter instead. Both use similar ingredients and produce a deliciously light vanilla cake.
- Bundt Cake: This vanilla cake batter will fit into a 10-12 cup or larger Bundt pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time (likely around an hour), but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same oven temperature.
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 19-21 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen. Or try my vanilla cupcakes recipe.
- Cake Flour: To prevent a dry-tasting cake, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour or weighing it. For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. Usually a homemade cake flour substitute works, but this recipe uses far too much cake flour and the homemade substitute is not ideal.
- Eggs: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination. Here are recipes using leftover egg yolks.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Want chocolate frosting instead? I recommend the recipe/amount of chocolate frosting I use for Piñata Cake.
- Sprinkle Cake: To make a sprinkle cake, fold about 3/4 cup (135g) of sprinkles into the cake batter. Avoid nonpareils (the little balls), which tend to bleed their color. Or try this confetti birthday cake, which is quite similar to this recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I don’t know why.. but I’ve baked you cakes b4… & they were soooo good, & fluffy… however last week I made 2 different kinds… & they were dense… (My husband actually love cakes that that… but.. nit me… I can’t figure out what went wrong… ) the only thing I used differently was a different brand of the Parve/ dairy free butter . (They’ve stopped selling the 1 I used in all my recipes.)
What happened? My cakes were amazing, I followed all directions but during cooking they spilled over and then fell!
Please tell me what I did wrong. I was SO excited.
Diane, we’re so sorry to hear that! Were you using 3, 9-inch round pans? Anything smaller (or using fewer pans) will be too much batter in the pans and can cause the cakes to overflow in the oven. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further.
Yes, I just measured. The batter really filled them up tho. For the third I used a springform pan. That didn’t spill over but the center collapsed too. They were
Looking so good.
What can I do differently next time?
This is the ABSOLUTE BEST vanilla cake recipe. I cannot get over how good it is! I especially like to bake the flour before I mix it so that all the bacteria gets killed (it’s not eggs that make it “unsafe” to eat raw baked goods, as you are more likely to get salmonella from a pet lizard, but the roach pieces and rat poop that are in the flour) and just eat the batter, or put it in popsicle molds and freeze it for a yummy treat. 239.47/10, would absolutely recommend 🙂
I baked a bundt cake with this recipe and it was a hit at our family game night. This recipe made enough batter for one cake, and an additional eight cupcakes. I threw some sprinkles into the icing and it was a fantastic funfetti treat.
Do you have the exact recipe with milk n sour cream ?
Hi Leilani, buttermilk (or the DIY version in the recipe Notes) is really best here. It’s necessary to help activate the baking soda and it helps create an extra moist cake crumb. You could try a combination of sour cream and regular milk (like we do for the bottom layer of our homemade wedding cake), but the crumb will be denser. Hope this helps!
I’m hoping to add Wilton food coloring to my layers to make a pink and purple “unicorn” cake for my 4 year old’s birthday. Will that affect the cake at all or any tips for coloring the batter? Thank you!
Hi Laura Kate, we recommend gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. Gel will give you the most potent colors without adding a ton of extra liquid to the batter. We hope the cake is a hit!
I’m a pastry baker and I baked this cake, but unfortunately, it deflated after baking and a doughy layer formed inside.
HI SALLY! I have been using your recipes for years. My kids have multiple food allergies and I just wanted to share that your recipes can be substituted easily with dairy free options with the best success! Can you please clarify though which cake recipe to use when you are doing multiple layers and ALSO a tiered cake. The information is a little confusing about which cake to choose for what layers (maybe I’m just not understanding it properly) thanks so much. often friends with allergies ask me to make these elaborate cakes and I’d love to know when doing 3 or more layers and also 2-3 tiers which of your recipes would be best. Thanks so much for having the very best site!
Hi Brianna, thank you so much for your kind note! We’re so glad to hear that you enjoy our recipes and that they work well modifying for your needs. This vanilla cake recipe works beautifully as a 3-layer cake and it can also be used for tiered cakes. We do use this recipe for our homemade tiered wedding cake with a slight modification: we swap buttermilk for whole milk and sour cream. We do this so you don’t need any varying ingredients for both tiers. (Because the top tier in that recipe uses whole milk and sour cream.) Does this help answer your question? Let us know if we can help further!
I love this cake! It comes out amazing every time. I need to make a half sheet cake for a baby shower. Would this work to double and bake as a half sheet with some heating nails possibly?
Hi Jessie, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions. So glad this is a favorite for you!
Hi I love this recipe it is tried and true and never lets me down, bake this cake you will not be disappointed.
Sally I have a question a friend has asked me to bake her wedding cake and she wants a vanilla cake so obviously this recipe is my go to. I usually use the recipe and bake in 3 8 inch cake tins and its perfect but she would like 2 tiers one is 8 inches so I will do what I usually do but she also wants a 6 inch tier. I was wondering if you had a way to correctly adjust the ingredients to fit this smaller size cake tin without compromising the recipe any help would be greatly appreciated as I am a little worried about making a wedding cake as I just bake for fun usually.
Hi Megan, here’s our simple wedding cake recipe!
I’d like to try making this cake, but need an egg-free version to accommodate an egg allergy. Do you recommend any substitutes?
Hi Megan, we haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, so we’re unsure what might work best here. If you decide to do any experimenting, please do let us know how it goes!
What a success! I’ve made this twice now. The first time I added lemon zest to the frosting. This time I made a blueberry compote to put between the layers. It was a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the frosting–which is perfect just the way it is!
Can you add Oreos to the cake batter?
Hi Ashley, you can add about 3/4 cup of crushed Oreos at the end, or you might enjoy our cookies & cream cake instead.
I I love this cake I whip it up all the time, but I find that I never have buttercream would it work if I used low fat milk?
Hi Veratalia, this recipe needs buttermilk – see Notes after the recipe for details on making a substitute!
I’m wanting to make a homemade shortcake.
Would this hold up to a custard filling and raspberry filling?
Iced with fresh whipped cream?
Hi Nicole, should be fine! This cake is quite sturdy.
Best cake I have ever made thank you sally I also cut a big hole In the middle of the second layer and filled it with sprinkles and then covered it with frosting it was so good THANK YOU BEST CAKE RECIPE EVER
Sallys baking recipes have never let me down. I made this for my 16 year olds birthday. He wanted vanilla cake, vanilla frosting. It was delicious, I measured everything to the gram and read through all of the notes prior. This is going into my cook book for sure. Thank you!!!
I am excited to make this, but find buttercream often too sweet and heavy. Any concerns with using Sally’s not-so-sweet whipped frosting instead?
Hi Rachel, you can absolutely use whipped frosting here instead!
Hi Sally,
I absolutely love this cake! I make it every year for my daughter’s birthday (we’re going on our 4th year). It’s always a hit with our family, and the birthday girl.
This year, I wanted to play around with some combo flavors and thought it would be fun to try a one batter, 3 flavors Neapolitan cake, if possible. Are you able to give me recommendations on how I could best modify the split batter to make strawberry and chocolate? (If it helps, my thought was to divide the batter into 3: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). Thank you in advance for any help and support!
Hi Kayla, we’re so glad this cake is a favorite for your family! We haven’t tried using this exact batter for several different flavors. We do have this zebra cake which uses 1 batter for both chocolate and vanilla, but we don’t have a simple method for turning the batter into strawberry as well, since we prefer to use reduced strawberry puree in our strawberry cake. We don’t recommend freeze dried strawberries in batter, because in our testing the cake was lacking in taste, texture, and appearance. How about a zebra cake with strawberry filling between the layers? Or you could use this vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream and strawberry filling? Let us know what you try!
This was my first made from scratch cake! This is a great recipe! The cake was fluffy with great vanilla flavor. The buttercream frosting was delightful!
I made this exactly as written (3 9 inch layers) and it was amazing! I filled with white chocolate ganache and raspberry and iced with Swiss meringue buttercream to cut the sweetness. What a delightful combination! I do have a question though. I would love to recreate this find as a 2 8 inch layers for a State Fair submission. Why do you recommend not using the recipe for 2 layers? Is it a stability issue with the thicker layers or is it just a batter quantity issue? I can handle batter quantity by making cupcakes or what not with the leftover batter but don’t need a collapsed cake if I put too much batter in the pan!
Hi Pam, this is just too much batter! You could absolutely use this cake recipe to make a two layer with some cupcakes with the extra batter.
I was excited to try this cake. After following the recipe to a “T” it ended up being a bit on the dry side. I may have overbaked it by a minute or two. Could that be the cause? I was really wanting a super moist, dense cake. The White Chocolate Butter Cream frosting was pretty great though!
Hi Linda! Yes, a couple extra minutes in the oven can dry out cakes. An easy fix for next time!
I’ve been making this cake for some time now, and it’s wonderful. I was wondering if I could use liquid egg whites instead of fresh egg whites?
Yes, absolutely!