Vanilla Cake Recipe
This vanilla cake recipe is the ultimate cake recipe: light, tender, moist, layered, and covered with decadent vanilla frosting. It’s easy to bake and super versatile. No matter the occasion, this is one of those recipes I keep going back to.
Everybody needs a basic vanilla cake recipe. This one is simple yet delicious, making it a great place to start if you are new to baking. Yes, you! 🫵 You can make the best vanilla cake recipe from scratch, no problem!
Honestly, not only is it the epitome of ease, but it’s also incredibly versatile. You can turn it into a vanilla cake with strawberry filling and decorate it with fresh sliced strawberries (or any other fruit you love). Or switch out the vanilla frosting for chocolate and drizzle it with homemade caramel sauce.
Seriously, the sky is the limit when frosting and decorating this cake!
The Difference Between White, Yellow, and Vanilla Cake
Many vanilla cakes call for egg whites (no yolks) and shortening to keep them nice and white. Yellow cakes include the yolks and heap in the butter for a tender, flavorful cake with a rich yellow color.
Usually, white cake, yellow cake, and vanilla cake recipes are all technically vanilla cakes. This recipe has a gorgeous yellow tint because we’re going all-in with eggs and butter! 😋
How to Make Vanilla Cake
Follow along with my easy instructions to see how to make vanilla cake in your own kitchen.
Make the Cake
- Grease two 9-inch cake pans generously with baking spray and set aside. You can use cake pans lined with parchment paper.
- Cream – Next, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter, canola or vegetable oil, and sugar for about 3 minutes.
- Sour Cream – Add the sour cream and continue mixing until it is fluffy and starts looking white, 2 minutes or more. (Photo 1)
- Eggs – Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. (Photos 2-3)
- Dry Ingredients – Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined. (Photo 4)
- Final Touch – Finally, add the milk and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined. (Photos 5-6)
- Divide Batter – Pour cake batter between the two greased cake pans in equal parts. (Photo 7)
- Bake at 350℉/177℃ for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (Photo 8)
- Cool – Take them out of the oven and let them cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from their pans onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Frost when cooled.
Make the Vanilla Frosting
- Mix – Place the butter in a medium-sized bowl. Then, sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix using a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
- Add Vanilla – Pour in the vanilla extract. Gently add milk a little at a time until the frosting is easy to spread.
- Frost the cake and decorate it however you like. Cut and serve.
Recipe Variations
- This cake can easily become vanilla cupcakes! Simply pour the batter into cupcake holders in a cupcake pan, bake them for 12-15 minutes, and frost once they’re cooled.
- Feel free to add any delicious spices you love to this cake to give it a spiced flavor. For example, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom would make a chai-tasting vanilla cake. Mmm!
- Make the cake boozy by adding your favorite liquor. You may need to adjust the amount of milk to compensate for the extra liquid.
Tips and Tricks
- This layer cake can easily become cupcakes! Simply pour the batter into cupcake holders in a cupcake pan, bake them for 12-15 minutes, and frost them once they’re cooled.
- Spice cake. Feel free to add any delicious spices you love to this cake to give it a spiced flavor. For example, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom make a chai-tasting vanilla cake. Mmm!
- Make the cake boozy by adding your favorite liquor. You may need to adjust the amount of milk to compensate for the extra liquid.
- Add a tablespoon of grated orange zest and replace the milk with fresh orange juice for an orange creamsicle cake.
- Replace the vanilla frosting with cream cheese or buttercream frosting for extra decadence.
Make-Ahead Instructions
You can make this cake three or four days in advance. Refrigerate it in an airtight container and whip it out when ready to serve. Wait until right before serving to add any additional decorations to the frosting to keep it looking neat.
Serving and Storage Instructions
You can definitely chill this cake for easier slicing, but it is totally servable even at room temperature.
Keep leftover cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5-7 days. You can also freeze this cake for 3 months. Let it freeze completely uncovered to conserve the frosting, and then wrap it carefully with parchment paper before storing it in a ziplock bag or another airtight container.
FAQs
Cake is NOT for dieters coz fat makes it better. But hey, if you’re making vanilla cake, you’re probably not on a diet. 😉 I use butter and oil in this recipe to make the cake extra moist and tender, with a lighter crumb.
Sour cream also keeps this cake super moist. Consider it my secret ingredient. 😉
Baking powder and eggs lighten this cake beautifully. But also make sure you use room temperature butter and don’t over-mix the batter. When you mix until just combined, the baking soda creates bubbles, and the butter traps them for a fluffy cake with plenty of air bubbles.
Absolutely! Use any pan of a similar size or make it a sheet cake. Just add a little more baking time if the pans are smaller and deeper than a standard 9-inch, or reduce the time if they’re larger.
What Goes With Vanilla Cake
Make your cake fancier by topping it with candied pecans, caramel sauce, or homemade whipped cream. I love a slice of cake with a hot drink. Try pairing this cake with a chai tea latte or a cup of ginger tea. So good!
More Decadent Cake Recipes to Try
- Carrot Pineapple Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Angel Food Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
- Passion Fruit Pudding Cake
- Buttermilk Pound Cake
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (118ml) canola oil
- 1½ cups (300g) sugar
- ½ cup (115g) sour cream
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons (5g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- ½ cup (122g) milk
- 2 teaspoons (8ml) vanilla extract
Vanilla Frosting
- 1½ cups (340g) butter, softened
- 5-6 cups (625-750g) icing sugar (confectioners or powdered sugar)
- 2 teaspoons (8ml) vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃. Then grease two 9-inch cake pans generously with baking spray and set aside.
- Cream the butter, canola or vegetable oil, and sugar using a hand mixer for about 3 minutes. Then add sour cream and continue mixing until it is fluffy and starts to look white – about 2 minutes or more.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined.
- Then add the milk and vanilla extract. Continue mixing, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, so everything gets mixed in.
- Divide the batter between the two greased cake pans equally. Bake at 350℉/177℃ for 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake's center comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the pans, transfer them to a wire rack, and let them cool completely before frosting with your favorite frosting. In this recipe, I used vanilla frosting.
Vanilla Frosting
- Add butter in a medium bowl then sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix using a wooden spoon or electric mixer. Pour in the vanilla extract.
- Gently add just enough milk to make the frosting easy to spread. Adjust the thickness of the frosting with more powdered sugar if it's too thin. If too thick, add more milk.
- Proceed with assembling and frosting the cake, then (if desired) decorate it with sprinkles.
Tips & Notes:
- Don’t forget to preheat your oven for a beautiful browned top
- If you don’t have sour cream, you can substitute it with the same amount of Greek yogurt or buttermilk
- Avoid overmixing your cake batter to avoid a dense cake. Mix the batter just long enough for the ingredients to be completely combined.
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature for better mixing. Set out all the ingredients about an hour before beginning.
- Cool the cake layers completely before assembling. Even semi-warm cake layers melt the frosting.
- If you have a deeper cake pan or a bundt pan, you can turn this into one cake.
- Refrigerate the cake after frosting for at least an hour to let the frosting set and the crumb tighten.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Hello! I am looking for a great vanilla cake recipe that I can make in 5″ and 6″ round cake pans, hopefully with layers that will rise to about 1 1/2″ tall. Do you recommend your recipe for these size pans and if so, because they are smaller, would you advise baking for a bit longer at a lower temperature? Thank you.
Hi Paula. If using a 5″ or 6″ pan, you would have to increase your baking time to about 25 minutes. Start checking at 20 minutes since ovens vary.
Hi Imma, can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Absolutely! Using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour in a vanilla cake recipe is a great choice if you’re aiming for a lighter, more tender crumb. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which results in less gluten formation and thus a softer texture.
For every cup of all-purpose flour the recipe calls for, you can substitute it with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour. This slight increase in volume compensates for cake flour’s lighter density. Just be sure to sift the cake flour before measuring it to avoid using too much, as it tends to compact easily in its packaging. Happy baking, and I hope your vanilla cake turns out wonderfully fluffy and delicious!
Hi Imma, thanks for the explanation. I really appreciate it. I have tried baking your marble bundt cake recipe and I must say it was a crowd pleaser. Thank you so much for your wonderful recepies.
Aww . Thanks so much for your kind words.
I will make sure to sift and add 2tbsp of the cake flour. Will let you know how it turns out. Thank you.
Your welcome! Happy Baking.
Amazing!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. I would like thicker cakes as I plan on making a cake to stack. Can I double the recipe and put it into two 8inch pans?
Hmm. The recipe is already divided between two cake pans. If you double the recipe, I would divide between 4 cake pans so it doesn’t run over in the oven. Another option would be to use larger cake pans. Hope that helps.
Been looking for an oil and butter recipe for my vanilla cakes. I am certainly gonna try this one as it promises to be great.
What can I use to replace sour cream in this vanilla delight?
Never mind. I have found the answer in one of the steps. Much thanks
Great to hear that:)
I know you’re going to ❤️ it! I’ve used yogurt, whole fat buttermilk, or cream cheese whipped with a little milk to thin it out. If you wan’t dairy free, tofu or coconut cream works.
Can presevative be added becos of the buttermilk
You can add preservatives if you like. However, one of the plusses of making my own food is knowing it doesn’t have chemical preservatives:)