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
Could this fit into three 6 inch pans?
Hi Abbie, it won’t. I recommend my 6 inch vanilla cake recipe instead.
This was the best cake I’ve ever had. And I made it gluten free! I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure GF blend and made substitute cake flour by taking out 2 TBSP for every cup, replaced it with cornstarch, then sifted it. I actually used 100g less confectioner’s sugar than it called for because I ran out, but I liked it like that! Seriously so light. Thank you so much!!
I made this gluten-free with browned butter. Browned butter cream icing topped with salted Caramel. It turned out amazing!
Hi there,
I followed this recipe each and every step but noticed my cake had a dense centre. Please help.
Thanks
Hi Lisa! We recommend checking out these posts to help troubleshoot: 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes and How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Hello! If I wanted to use your Bailey’s coffee frosting from this recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baileys-coffee-cupcakes/ – would that work ok with this vanilla cake? Would the ingredients need to be adjusted at all? Thank you!!
Hi Courtney, absolutely! You’ll need a large batch of frosting to frost a three layer cake. 1.5-2x the Bailey’s coffee frosting recipe should be enough!
This recipe was great! I’m using it for my nephews 1st birthday smash cake (so no one’s really going to EAT it, but…). The cake scraps and batter tasted great.
I will say: I had room temp everything except the buttermilk, and it broke when I added it in. Like I said, it still tasted amazing and will likely be my go-to recipe in the future, but fair warning.
King Arthur flour also addresses this: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2021/08/11/preventing-curdled-cake-batter-emulsions
Thanks for this recipe!!
I love this vanilla cake so much!
I want to make a marbled/zebra cake for my nephews birthday in a few weeks and wondered if this recipe could be adapted for that or if you have one that would work better for separating out into vanilla and chocolate to create the layers?
Hi Brooke! Here’s our favorite Zebra Cake recipe – enjoy!
Hi,
This looks like a delicious cake. I want to make this cake and I have buttermilk but it’s low fat. Will that be good enough?
Yes, that will work perfectly!
I normally love all of Sally’s recipes but this one didn’t work out for me. It calls for a very large amount of butter so I was very surprised when neither of my cakes wanted to come out of their tins. Of course I greased the tins amply before filling as well. Sadly ended up with broken cakes. Followed the recipe to a T so i can’t imagine what went wrong. Make cakes often and never had this happen before – it’s also very crumbly so falls apart easily, maybe that was the problem. Flavor itself was good but I still think it’s a LOT of butter for a basic vanilla cake 🙂
Hi Lisa, did you line the cake pans with a parchment paper round? See step 1 for details – we find that’s the best way to get cakes to release. Was the cake crumb dry and crumbly? We recommend checking out these posts to help troubleshoot: 10 Baking Tips for Perfect Cakes and How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Hi Sally,
I’m wanting to make a smash cake for my daughter’s first birthday using 6-inch cake pans. Would this work using this recipe? I’m assuming I’ll have extra batter, but I might make two cakes – one for a photo shoot and one for the party.
Thanks!
Hi Brooklyn! This post has everything you need to know about making 6 inch cakes (including a vanilla cake recipe). If you want to use this recipe to get more cakes, you can reference our cake pan sizes and conversions guide to find out how many 6 inch cake rounds you would get from this batter (this recipe yields 8 cups of batter). Happy baking!
A huge thank you to all at Sally’s Baking Addiction! I had never baked a cake until last year (at 37 ). Now I have made this cake twice as the base for my kids birthday cakes, plus many of your cupcake and cookie recipes. I always get compliments on my baking – yesterday one of my guests said your Brown Sugar Butterscotch Cupcakes were the best cupcake they’ve ever had! You’re my one stop baking resource and I sincerely thank you
It tastes and smells really good, but the cake batter was way too thick, and my cake ended up crumbly and fell apart. I really don’t know what I did wrong.
Same 🙁 Tasted great but too crumbly and fell apart when removing from tins. Used cake flour and everything!
I love this recipe. My go to cake for every occasion.
Question. My baby is turning one. And would like to use a 1 shape cake tin. They say I need about 1 kg of batter. Will this recipe work?
Hi Karlien, We are so happy you enjoy it! This recipe yields approximately 8 cups of batter, unfortunately we are unsure of the exact weight. Let us know if you try it!
Man, I wanted to like this cake as much as the write up and review implied I would. Followed the recipe to a T. It did not make 8 cups of batter – only 6. And there was no rich vanilla flavor. I suppose that could be the brand of vanilla extract, but I’ve made this cake twice with two different brands of extract. And certainly no strong vanilla flavor. The cake is certainly denser than I was anticipating it would be. Disappointed with the results.
Yes, same happended to me
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Could this recipe also work for a 6-inch cake? Would I just cut the recipe in half as your conversion post suggests? Thank you!
Hi Sam! Here’s our recipe for a 6 inch vanilla cake – plus details about baking other flavors. Happy baking!
Hi Sally , when adding colour to the batter do you add it in during the mixing or once the batter is finished .I’m afraid of over-mixing the batter if added right at the end. Thank you
Hi Aneta, we always add gel food coloring at the end – just be very careful to mix as little as needed.
I made this cake for a friend’s birthday. I have made it before years ago but I it came out different this time. It was VERY dense and heavy. I made my own cake flour using 14 Tbs. of flour and 2 tablespoons of corn starch for each cup of flour. . I added the extra white whites. Do you think it because of the flour? I also baked it in a bundt pan because I did not have 3 cakepans.
Hi Eva, Bundt cakes will always taste denser due to the shape and the weight of so much cake essentially sitting on itself. Using the same recipe, you’ll always notice a change in texture from layer cake to Bundt cake. If you try the recipe in a Bundt pan again, see if you can use real cake flour instead of the substitution. That would certainly help.
Eva, I had exactly the same result as you. The cake tasted great but was a LOT heavier than I expected. I also made my own cake flour and used just one pan (with about half of the mixture). I used the remaining mixture to make cupcakes and they were far lighter in texture. So I guess to anyone thinking of using just one pan, it’s going to be super dense.
I made this cake yesterday & it is super tasty. I made cream cheese frosting instead which works nicely with the cake. It’s definitely a keeper & will make again.
I substituted the butter with plant based butter, and made my own buttermilk using “Not Milk”, and some vinegar as my daughter can’t eat dairy. Everything came out great! I’m freezing it in preparation for my daughter’s birthday in March as I’ve heard great things about freezing cakes while they’re still warm out of the oven. Fingers crossed it turns out well aha. Thanks for this simple and easy recipe. (I made cupcakes with the extra batter I had an tried one. It’s DELISH) THANKS<3
Hi Sally ,I’m wondering if I half the recipe would it be enough batter for two 8 inch pans or am I better off using your two layer white cake recipe.Also cake flour is none existent here but I found a Plain flour which has only 9 grams protein.Do you think it would work or am I better off using your cornstarch trick.Thank you for your help x
Hi Aneta! Half the batter would be not quite enough for a two layer cake. Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. Otherwise, our white cake recipe would definitely work instead. We would use our homemade cake flour if cake flour isn’t available. Happy baking!
I tried a bunch of your other recipes, but this was my first attempt at this sort of buttery layer cake and… It was DELICIOUS! I knew I can trust your recipe. I made it into rainbow cake for my daughter 2nd birthday. I use 6″ pan and this recipe made 4 layers. I use homemade soured milk and swiss meringue buttercream for the frosting. It’s sooooo gooooood. My daughter loves it. Thank you, Sally!
Great cake! I made this last week and it turned out well! I made it in a bundt pan. I baked it for 50 mins and checked it and then another 5 mins!
Hi Sally,
I just made your 2 layer white cake and loved it. (https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/new-favorite-white-layer-cake/).
Planning to try this 3 layer recipe but was wondering why the sugar is less in proportion to the 2 layer? Is it because this has more frosting layers? I don’t plan on using a lot of frosting so would appreciate it if you could let me know if I should increase the sugar in this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Nav, so happy to heat that you love our white cake recipe! These are two totally different recipes – this vanilla cake isn’t a larger version of our white cake. We recommend following the recipes as written for best results!
Every year each child gets a homemade cake of their choice as well as dinner of choice too. This cake was a huge hit with my 26 year old son and his friends (they inhaled all of it within minutes ). I paired this with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting. Thank you!! I am looking forward to the next birthday and will make another one of your delicious cakes!
Hey there, is it ok to leave the batter out for a while before cooking it? I don’t have enough tins the same size! Thanks
Yes, of course. Keep the remaining batter covered lightly at room temperature.
Perfect thanks
This is my go to recipe! Been using it faithfully for two years now and everyone loves it! But lately I’ve been having an issue , a few hours after the cake is fully decorated, it cracks and falls apart right down the middle. Do you know what may cause this to happen?
Hi Jacey, I’m actually unsure why that would happen– the cake just cracks down the middle before cutting it? I wonder if it’s under-baked and just collapsing? Be sure to wait for the layers to fully cool before assembling.
Hi Sally I must say the amount of cake i get from.this recepie is great. But my dilemma is all purpose or self raising flour is more affordable where i am
The cake is moist but very crumbley when I use the all purpose. Can u assist me with a solution thanks
Hi Mk, we really recommend cake flour with this recipe, but you can use this cake flour substitute in a pinch.
I want to make this recipe but I only have an 8″ pan. Is it ok to split the batter into 3 8″ pans? Would it be too thick and not cook correctly? Or would it just make a taller cake?
Hi Mikayla, You can use your 8 inch round pans for slightly thicker layers with no changes to the recipe and no leftover batter. You may need an extra minute or two of bake time since they layers will be thicker – use a toothpick to test for doneness. Hope it’s a hit!
Hello, I love this recipe, its so simple and looks awesome. My question is, can this recipe work for a 1/2 sheetcake? And can I make it 2 days in advance? If so, should I store it unfrosted or frosted?
Thank you,
Jocelyn
I have been looking for a good all purpose vanilla cake as a base to build on for a few years now. I think I finally found it in yours! I like the moistness, fine crumb. I don’t know what happened but I only got two 9″ pans about 1.5 inches tall. I weighed my ingredients and everything was room temp. I only mixed for the recommended time. The only thing I can think of is I used homemade buttermilk with milk and vinegar. Next time I will try it with store bought buttermilk and see if that helps.
I made mine with a butter, sour cream and cream cheese frosting with lemon extract and a few drops of yellow. It was wonderful.
I know cake flour is the best but I wish I could use AP flour and get the same results since that is always available. I am lucky we have a small town IGA that carries it. Walmart around here doesn’t even.
Do you have a chocolate cake that equals this one?
Love
Ranchmama
We are so happy that you enjoyed this cake recipe! You may also enjoy this Triple Chocolate Cake. Let us know if you try it!
Literally my favourite chocolate cake ever. I make it all the time in lieu of buying one when I’m craving it. The icing is to die for!!!
You can “fake” cake flour by measuring a cup of AP flour, removing two tablespoons, and replacing with two tablespoons of corn starch!
Yummy cake. I was hoping for thicker layers. I’m guessing I can 1/4 the recipe to add it to the full recipe for a bit thicker cakes
Weird mine was very tall cake
Mine was also very thin. I’m not sure why.