Vanilla Cake Recipe

Light, tender, and moist cake covered and layered with a vanilla frosting. Above all, this easy-to-bake cake is the most versatile cake you'll ever bake. You can doll it up depending on the occasion!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 1102kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter at 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

The Cake

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). 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 – 2 minutes or longer.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined.
Add the milk and vanilla extract, and 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℉ (180℃) 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.

The Frosting

Cream the butter in a medium bowl, then sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time while stirring. Pour in the vanilla extract, and mix until smooth.
Adjust the consistency for easy spreadability with just enough milk if it's too thick and more powdered sugar if it's too thin.
Proceed with assembling and frosting the cake, then decorate it with sprinkles if desired.

Notes

Don't forget to preheat your oven for a beautiful browned top.
If you don't have sour cream, you can replace 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 thoroughly combined.
You can easily turn this into a sheet cake by baking it in a 9"x13" baking pan. You may need to bake it a little longer, so start checking on it around 18 minutes.
The recipe also makes great cupcakes. It bakes faster, so start checking for doneness at around 12 minutes.
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.

Nutrition