A perfectly plush, soft, classic vanilla cake recipe made entirely from scratch! It’s so simple to make, and tastes much better than a box mix! Recipe includes a how-to video.
A Classic Vanilla Cake, Made Entirely From-Scratch
Every baker needs a solid vanilla cake recipe in their repertoire, and today’s recipe is just that.
It’s soft, plush, and perfectly moist. Not to be confused with my white cake, this recipe is a beautiful pale golden color and distinctly vanilla flavored. It pairs beautifully with any frosting, although a traditional chocolate frosting is my favorite finish!
Like my chocolate cake, this has been one of my most popular recipes for years (and you may recognize it as the base for both my pineapple upside-down cake and my marble cake). Itโs a simple, classic, and incredible vanilla cake. So many of you have tried and loved this recipe, and while the recipe remains exactly the same, I thought it was about time for a facelift with new photos and a new video.
The flavor and texture of this cake is so much better than box-mix, and the preparation is almost as easy. I’ve included a few tips below to help you be successful, so make sure to read all the notes before you get started.
What You Need
After testing many versions and combinations of ingredients, I’ve found that a good vanilla cake needs the following ingredients:
- Oil AND butter. A blend of these two ingredients gives the cake the best possible flavor and texture. Butter provides flavor while oil adds moisture and keeps it from being too dry. A cake made with all oil would be moist but lacking in flavor, and an all-butter cake may have a more buttery taste, but would be more dry. Any neutral cooking oil will work here, but I typically recommend using either vegetable or canola oil. For the butter, unsalted is best so we have maximum control over the flavor of the cake
- Sugar. Plain granulated sugar works best. Brown sugar would add moisture, but would detract from the classic vanilla flavor and even weigh down the cake a bit.
- Eggs. You’ll need four eggs, and it’s best if you bring them to room temperature before adding them (this helps them incorporate into the batter more evenly).
- Vanilla. You can’t have vanilla cake without vanilla! I recommend using a good quality vanilla extract, so if you’ve got a batch of homemade vanilla extract, use it here!
- Flour. I developed this vanilla cake recipe to be work with all-purpose flour and thatโs what I always use. However, you *could* use cake flour instead. To substitute by weight, you would use the same amount, but if you are using measuring cups you will need to substitute your flour properly.
- Baking powder. I know a tablespoon of baking powder may seem like a lot, but that’s not a typo. Always make sure your baking soda is fresh and avoid using a generic brand, which I’ve had mixed results with in the past.
- Salt. You can just use plain table salt.
- Buttermilk. I strongly recommend using full-fat buttermilk for the best flavor and texture. While I do have a buttermilk substitute, it doesnโt really make this vanilla cake quite as moist and flavorful as I like it to be, so now I strictly recommend using real buttermilk. And no, you do not *need* to have baking soda in a recipe in order to use buttermilk; weโre using it for its moisture and flavor here!
SAM’S TIP: One of the biggest mistakes you can make with this recipe is neglecting to measure your flour properly. If you over or under-measure your flour, your cake will not turn out right! Use the right method, be as precise as possible, and use a kitchen scale if you have one.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Vanilla Cake
- Cream the butter, oil, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, add your vanilla and stir to combine.
- Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add about โ of the mixture into your bowl. Use a spatula to gently stir until just combined. Follow this with about ยฝ of your buttermilk, and stir again until just combined. .
- Add ยฝ of the remaining dry ingredients stir, and then add the remainder of the buttermilk. Finish with the final portion of dry ingredients and use your spatula to make sure the batter is smooth–do NOT overmix!
- Divide the batter evenly into two greased baking pans.
- Bake, then use a toothpick to test for doneness. Let the cakes cool in their pans a bit before inverting onto a cooling rack, where they’ll need to cool completely before frosting.
SAM’S TIP: While a toothpick that comes out clean indicates a fully baked cake, an over-baked cake will also yield a clean toothpick. Itโs best to pull your vanilla cake out of the oven when a toothpick shows moist crumbs!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This vanilla cake recipe will make 24 vanilla cupcakes. I’ve included instructions for cupcakes in the recipe notes.
A cake that has been over-baked or one in which too much flour was used will be crumbly when cut into. If you invert the cake too soon or try to handle it while itโs too warm, this could also make it break.
Cakes made from scratch require a bit more care and technique than those that come from a box-mix. When making any cake from scratch, take care to not over-mix, over-bake, or use too much flour, or the cake can end up tasting like cornbread. This applies to any cake that is made from scratch, not just this recipe!
What causes dry cake?
Dryness is typically the biggest complaint bakers have when making a cake from scratch, so I thought this FAQ deserved its own space. There are three main causes for a dry cake: over-measuring the flour (addressed above), over-mixing, and over-baking.
- Do not over-mix your batter! Mixing the batter properly can be tricky and this is often where most mistakes are made with homemade cakes. To avoid over-mixing, thoroughly cream together the wet ingredients, particularly the butter, sugar, oil, and eggs. I highly recommend using an electric mixer for this step! However, once you get to the point of combining your wet and dry ingredients, you need to be gentle and fold by hand using a spatula. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, folding thoroughly, but not aggressively. The batter will be smooth and mostly cohesive; there may be some small lumps remaining, but that’s fine! Also, remember that while over-mixing can make your vanilla cake both dry and dense, under-mixing has its own risks and should be avoided as well!
- Do not over-bake your cake! Even a minute too long in the oven can cause a cake to be too dry and dense. When baking, place your cake pans on the center rack of your oven and always make sure your oven is running at the proper temperature (most ovens do not, so keep a thermometer in yours!). Donโt check your vanilla cake too early (that can make it sink!), but do keep an eye on it. When your cake is ready to come out of the oven, the center should spring back if lightly touched–it should not deflate or appear jiggly. You can also use the toothpick test to check for doneness. To do this, simply insert a toothpick in the center of your cake; it’s done if the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). Once your vanilla cake is done, let it cool in the pan for only 10-15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and inverting it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
SAM’S NOTE: Under-mixing your cake batter, not baking the cake for long enough, or opening the oven door too frequently while the cake bakes can cause the cake to sink as it cools.
Enjoy!
Letโs bake together! Iโll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ยฝ cup (120 g) avocado, canola or vegetable oilยน
- 1 ยฝ cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flourยฒ
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 1 ยผ cup (300 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 1 batch Chocolate Frosting click link for recipe, or use one of the other frostings recommended in the notes below
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and prepare two deep 8" round cake pansยณ by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing the sides. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer) cream together the butter, canola oil and sugar until creamy and well-combined.ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ยฝ cup (120 g) avocado, canola or vegetable oilยน, 1 ยฝ cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined after each addition.4 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flourยฒ, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ยฝ teaspoon salt
- Using a spatula and gently hand-mixing, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined after each addition.ย The batter should be thoroughly combined, but there may be some small lumps in the batter and avoid over-mixing (and do not use your electric mixer or stand mixer for this step).1 ยผ cup (300 ml) buttermilk
- Evenly divide batter into your prepared cake pans, and bake on 350F (175C) for 30-35 minutes. When the cake is done, the surface should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean with few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
- Allow cakes to cool in their cake pans for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost cake using my chocolate frosting (or see notes for other favorite frosting options) and decorate with sprinkles (if desired).1 batch Chocolate Frosting
Notes
ยนCooking oil
You may use any neutral cooking oil instead of vegetable or canola oil. I generally don’t recommend olive oil, which is heavier and has a distinct flavor that could affect the end taste result of your cake.ยยฒCake Flour
You may substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Use 3 โ cups or 375g of cake flour.ยณDifferent size baking pans
- 13×9″ pan: This recipe makes enough for one 13×9″ baking pan. Readers have reported the approximate bake time is 30 minutes.
- Two 9″ pans:ย Readers have reported this cake takes approximately 25 minutes to bake in 9″ pans.
- Bundt pan: Readers have reported this cake takes approximately 40-45 minutes to bake in a bundt pan
Vanilla Cupcakes:
This recipe will make approximately 24 vanilla cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners no more than ยพ of the way full. Bake on 350F for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs or clean.ยFrosting Options
The chocolate frosting I linked to in the ingredients is my favorite pairing with this cake, but here are some other great options:Video note
In the video I mistakenly say to add more buttermilk than is necessary. The written recipe is correct with 1 ยผ cups of buttermilk.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Skai
I loved this cake sooo much
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! ๐
Margie
Made this cake tonight with the kids. We followed the recipe exactly and it is fabulous. It came out fluffy and light and it is delicious with icing and without. This is a keeper. Thank you for the great recipe. We will be making this one again. โค๏ธ
Sam
Thank you so much, Margie! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake so much! ๐
Carol
Soooooo good! I was reading the last comment were you explain everything that can go wrong and I actually made the mistake of using the electric mixer when mixing the flour with the butter! But, even though I made that mistake oh my God this are so good! Will definitely be my go to for now on!! โค๏ธ Thanks for the recipe!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Carol! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake so much. ๐
Ciera
This recipe was wonderful! Thank you.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ciera! ๐
stella
i have two 8 x 1.5 inch baking pans will they work ?
Sam
Hi Stella! They will work just fine just make sure you don’t overfill the pans because you don’t want them to overflow. ๐
GK
Hi Sam,
Iโve made this amazing cake twice so far. The layers are so soft n moist. They are nice and tall. Thank you so much. Iโd like to make a 3 layer 6 inch cake. Can you please help me on the cook time?
Sam
Unfortunately I haven’t baked it as a 6 inch cake. Maybe someone else can chime in with some help. I would definitely start with less time and just keep an eye on them. ๐
Kez
Hi, Firstly, thanks a ton for this life saver recipe. I just succeeded the mission. However, my family sugar intake is lesser. Can I decrease the sugar from 300 grams to 150 grams ? Will it make change in the result?
Sam
Hi Kez! You can cut the sugar, it will just change the flavor and may make the cake a little bit on the dry side. ๐
Wendy
Hi can i use something else instead of butter?
My son is allergy to butter.
Hope to get your reply soon.
Thanks
Sam
Hi Wendy! You can use all oil in this cake. It will just change the flavor a little bit. ๐
Rebecca
Too dense and lacking flavor. It needs much more vanilla. Texture was similar to pound cake, not regular cake. Wonโt make it again.
Sam
Hi Rebecca! I’m very disappointed to hear you had this outcome, but I think I can help! I promise this cake should be soft, moist, and flavorful, and I think we can get you there.
There are a few reasons your cake might have turned out dense. Since you said it was lacking flavor, my first guess would be that the flour was accidentally over-measured. If you’re not using a scale/weights to measure your ingredients, this is unfortunately easy to do, so I recently created a post on the proper way to measure flour that might be helpful to you (spoiler: most people are accidentally packing MUCH too much flour into their measuring cups. Stir, spoon, and level the flour instead!).
Another problem that people often run into when making cakes from scratch is they tend to accidentally over-mix the batter. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, do so very gently with a spatula just until everything is combined. Never use an electric mixer for this step (see my video above the recipe, that might be helpful).
A third common problem is if the cake is baked too long. Even a minute or two too long can make a cake too dense and negatively affect the flavor. Also, many ovens run much hotter than they let on (My old oven ran 20 degrees hotter than it said!) so it could cook the cake faster than the recipe actually calls for, resulting in a dry, not-very-tasty cake. I keep an oven thermometer in my oven to make sure mine is accurate, and you always want to bake in the center of the oven.
Another possibility could be that your baking powder was bad, or if any other substitutions were made that could also be problematic.
I sincerely hope this helps. This recipe is one I’m incredibly proud of because of the soft, fluffy, moist crumb that it yields and I just made it again yesterday without issue (and it has over 500 5-star ratings). I think with a little tweaking you can get these same exact results, and I am more than happy to troubleshoot as needed!
mimi whitaker
i loved this cake sooooooo much, its the best cake ive ever tasted in my whole life!!!!!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Mimi! ๐
Anna
Hm, a tablespoon of vanilla seemed like a lot for me so I lowered it and it still tasted like vanilla
Anuja
Hi,
Would like to half the recipe and bake in a 1 x 8″ pan. How long should I bake approximately?
Sam
Hi Anuja! It may take just a few minutes less than called for in the recipe but it will still be pretty close to the same amount of time. I would just start checking it a few minutes early. ๐
GK
Hi,
I halved the recipe to make a single 8 inch layer. It was perfectly done at 32mins. It was so soft and fluffy.
Michaela
First vanilla cake I’ve made that has actually turned out! 10/10
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Michaela! ๐
Kristy
Can you make this recipe with bread flour? :O
Sam
Hi Kristy! I really don’t recommend it. That would make the cake pretty chewy and kind of weird overall.
maha
I only have 4″ cake pans. What would you recommend doing for a 3 layer cake?
Sam
You can make 3 4 inch cakes, but you will probably have a lot of batter left over. Take care to not overfill the pans. ๐
Adenuga Esther
Wow, thanks for this
Sugar Spun Run
You are welcome, Adenuga! I hope that you enjoy it! ๐
Lisa Lee
yea
Nicolle
Hi – is it possible to half the ingredients and just use 1 x 9inch pan? And would the cooking time change? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Nicolle! Yes, you can half the recipe and bake it in (1) 9″ baking pan. Since you are changing the pan size, it will change the baking time so you’ll want to keep an eye on it. I hope that you enjoy it! ๐