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
Hello Sally,
I am curious if you have ever tried avocado oil instead of vegetable oil for the confetti cake? I’ve substituted it for cooking but am curious how it would do for baking? Thanks,
Hi Sandy, we haven’t tested it in this cake, but that should work in a pinch. Again, we haven’t tested it to know how it will change overall taste (since it’s not as neutral-tasting as vegetable oil), but let us know if you do give it a try!
Your 2-layer white cake has directions to convert recipe to almond amaretto cake. Are there similar directions for converting this recipe for almond amaretto variation? Other cake is delicious but hoping for 3-layer cake instead of 2-layer. I live in Colorado with some altitude and no matter what I try layers come out rather short. I am hoping 3 layers will help!! Thank you so much. This site has been awesome!!!!
Hi Nancy, It depends on how strong you want the flavor, but we would start with replacing a half cup of the buttermilk with Amaretto. Let us know if you give it a try!
You make the best desserts
Hi! Baked this for my son’s 8th birthday because he wanted VANILLA cake and not just “vanilla” cake . The cake itself came out extremely delicious but very dense though. Any ideas of what I might have done wrong?
Hi Kat, was your batter overmixed by chance? That’s usually the culprit for overly dense cakes. This post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes will also be a helpful resource to review. We’re glad the cake was still a hit!
Can I do this cake with chocolate buttercream?
Absolutely!
Very excited to try this cake for my cousins birthday, but she is allergic to eggs. Would this recipe still work with an egg substitute such as yogurt? What do you suggest would work best?
Hi Deanna, 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!
I plan to make cupcakes with this recipe because I need more than the vanilla cupcake recipe yields. So, my question is, will this icing recipe make enough to frost all of the cupcakes?
Hi Krista, yes, this should be plenty frosting for cupcakes. Enjoy!
I Love your recipes! Can this one convert to Gluten free and if so, how do I go about that?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the exact results, but some other readers have reported success! Let us know if you try it!
This cake tastes great but always takes almost double the time to get done, leaving it dry on the outer parts. It just won’t bake in the middle.
Hi Bridget, I’m glad you enjoy the flavor, but I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the bake time! If the edges are over-baking before the center sets, it may help to check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Many ovens run a bit cool. Also, make sure you’re using the correct pan size. Are your pans light-colored metal by chance? Dark or glass pans can affect bake time. You can also loosely tent the cake with foil near the end if the edges are browning/drying out too quickly. Hopefully that helps for next time!
Thank you! I have used the tent procedure with pies but didn’t think to try with cake. I will definitely try that next time. Pans are indeed light colored and all your other recipes have baked up fine in the same oven. So strange I can’t get this one right! I’ll keep trying.
I appreciate your help troubleshooting!
The cake baked really well but from the centre it wasn’t baked properly i am absolutely new to baking, any idea what would be the reason behind.
One more question my cake rises from the centre extra and is often hard am i pouring the cake wrong or something?
Hi RK, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. If you cake is underbaked in the middle, it usually means that it needed a bit longer in the oven. For next time, you can try increasing your bake time by a minute or two and use a toothpick to test for doneness. It’s normal for cakes to rise/dome in the center as they bake. You can use a serrated knife or cake level to level them out when decorating. If you’re new to baking cakes, we highly recommend this post on how to bake the perfect cake as a resource!
Hi, Sally and Team! Wanted to start with thanking you for all of your hard work. Us home bakers appreciate you to the utmost extreme. I was asked to make a yellow to green frosted ombré cake. Would this frosted color and ombré well? Any tips, tricks, pointers? Again, thanks for all you do! Best, Paul
Hi Paul, this frosting colors well! We always recommend using gel food coloring for making vibrant colors without adding too much liquid to the frosting. We like AmeriColor brand!
Hi,
Actually I don’t have cake flour in my country. Any other substitute i can use – like self raising flour or all purpose flour?
Also can i put the batter in fridge for like 2 hours? (before putting to the oven)
Will that prevent the cake being densed?
Hi Soum, if you do not have cake flour available to you, you can use this cake flour substitute (do not use self-raising flour). It’s best to bake the cakes right after mixing, as the baking powder and baking soda as activated once you mix the wet and dry ingredients, so the rise will be compromised the longer you wait to bake the batter. Hope this helps!
Can I make this cake and then use your freeze dried strawberry butter cream for the layers and top?
Absolutely!
I made this recipe for MY WEDDING CAKE!!! (I wish I could attach a photo of my husband’s face while tasting it for the first time during our cake cutting, he was absolutely floored!) The layers and crumb turned out absolutely MARVELOUS, delicious, simple, elegant. The cake & buttercream held up incredibly, as we toted it with us ALL DAY around a national park for photos! LOL. Instead of frosting layers inside, I used a thick and generous amount of Raspberry Lemon Tart jam from a berry farm in my hometown. Absolute perfection and marrying (pun intended!) of sweet, tart, berries, vanilla, texture & flavor. THANK YOU SALLY FOR MAKING MY WEDDING DIY DREAMS COME TRUUUUUE!!!!!! xo
Made it vegan with Just Egg, and Country Crock plant based; made soy milk + vinegar buttermilk. Filled with a compote of figs and apples. Glazed with a lemon juice/powder sugar glaze. It was light, fluffy and delicious.
As always, your recipes come out perfectly
Just wanted you to know that you are my go to for any baking recipe. I’ve made several of yours and they have all been grand slams. Thank you for sharing and being my baking recipe hero.
Thank you, Sammie!
I have a question, I have made your raspberry Jam filled chocolate cake can I make a strawberry jam the same way and pipe in-between the layers with this butter cream and have it hold up like that did?
Hi Nicole, this vanilla cake would be great with a strawberry filling!
Sally……I really want to make this cake for tomorrow nights desert. I just read the ingredients again and are you really asking for SIX (6) STICKS OF BUTTER between the cake and frosting????? My email adress is: abelja@comcast.net. Will you respond and let me know please?
Jerry Abel
Franklin, Maine
I
Hi Jerry, that’s correct. There is 1 and 1/2 cups of butter in the cake and 1 and 1/2 cups of butter in the frosting. If you’d like, you can use a different frosting that calls for less butter, like cream cheese frosting or this not-so-sweet whipped frosting (no butter at all in that one).
thank you so much for responding to me.
I’ve made this cake several times now and it has become a family favourite! Do you think this cake would be strong enough to support 4-layers or do you recommend another vanilla cake recipe that’s a bit denser?
4 layers should be fine, Allison!
I’m planning to make a barbie dress cake using a bundt at the bottom then two layered cakes. Barbie in the centre and ice the cake like a dress. Would this be a good cake recipe to use? I still want the cake to taste nice!
Yes! See Notes after the recipe for Bundt instructions.
Hi! I was wondering if I make this cake a day or two ahead would you recommend putting simple syrup on the layers to prevent them from drying out?
Hi Taylor, we don’t typically add simple syrup to these layers (if wrapped well, they should hold their freshness), but you certainly can!
You are my go to for almost everything baking now! Thank you, this vanilla cake was the bomb! My little man asked for an ice cream cake for his birthday.. vanilla with strawberry ice cream. I searched my recipe book and realized I do not have a “keeper” vanilla cake recipe. I found this recipe and decided to try it. It did not disappoint! Super moist and delicious and not overly sweet! I cut the recipe in half and followed it exactly. PERFECT!
Two of the cakes came out fine. The other, despite looking ok on the top and the cocktail stick coming out clean, when cooled and being removed from pan was stuck to the parchment, under-baked and falling apart. Any ideas what might have happened? I’ve been baking cakes for 30 years and have never known anything like this.
Hi Rebecca, were the cakes baked in batches or at the same time? If baked in batches, was the batter from the third cake layer left out for an extended period of time? If they were baked at the same time, were all of the cakes on the same rack? If baked on separate racks, the pans will not be able to heat and bake evenly. If they are on the same rack, it’s helpful to rotate the pans half way through bake time in case your oven has an hot spots. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further!
this was perfect and tasted delicious. Also held up well for me – did two layer cake with Sally’s raspberring cake filling in the centre and had buttercream and fondant on top of the cake. worked really well and tasted delicious
thankyou
Hi! How many cups of frosting does the butter cream make?
Hi Jocelyn, this recipe yields about 6 cups of frosting.
Looks good
Hi I was wondering if this recipe will work for 10inch cake tins and how long to bake it for and at what temperature?
If not are there any other recipes you would recommend!
Hi Sara, here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. This recipe yields about 8 cups of batter. Hope this helps!
Hi! Do you think this would be good / could support lemon curd between the layers? Thanks
Hi Haley, absolutely! We’d recommend spreading on a layer of frosting, then piping a frosting “dam” around the perimeter before filling with lemon curd. You can see a visual of this process in this post for chocolate raspberry cake. Hope the cake is a hit!
Hi, Can I fold in nuts before pouring it in pan? if yes, how much could be added without affecting the cake texture? Thanks in advance!
Hi Sally,
Love is recipe, it’s moist and not too sweet. Everyone loved it. Just wondering if I can substitute half of butter with oil instead?
Hi Madhu! We recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results. Glad you enjoy it!
Perfect, Thank you for the response! Can I add in nuts to the recipe?
While we haven’t tried it ourselves, a few readers have reported success adding chopped nuts to this batter.
Loved the vanilla cake which I made for hubby’s birthday. I toasted unsweet coconut and patted it around the sides. This will be a go to cake recipe