A classic vanilla cake recipe, made completely from scratch! Ditch the box mixes — you’ll love how easy, moist and fluffy this homemade vanilla cake is!
I’m back in cold, snow-covered Pennsylvania after a long, wonderful (if not very warm… we arrived in the midst of a cold spell!) weekend in Florida with family. My cousin and my sister both ran in the Disney marathon and I nearly screamed a lung out on the Tower of Terror 😱.
My sister had a bad cold for the trip but still managed to run the Disney marathon and beat her own time, despite being barely able to even talk. I caught the cold on the way back home and don’t seem to be able to muster up the energy to change out of sweatpants or cook myself anything other than vanilla cake. The endurance gene skipped right over me, I swear.
Orrrrr, maybe it just exhibits itself in different ways. There’s no way I could run a marathon, but I can endure recipe fail after recipe fail after recipe fail until I land on the most perfect vanilla cake recipe there ever was.
Completely cloaked in chocolate frosting, naturally.
This vanilla cake recipe has been a long time coming. The journey began with my pineapple upside-down cake and was continued with my marble cake recipe — if you recall it took me almost a dozen attempts to get the vanilla cake base of those recipes right. A few more tweaks were still needed to make this a perfect standalone vanilla cake recipe, but, after a lot of wasted ingredients, we have arrived.
Looks like I can endure after all.
Tips for making the perfect vanilla cake recipe
- It’s best if all of your ingredients are at room temperature. I like to set out my butter, eggs, and buttermilk early in the morning so that they have reached room temperature by the time I am ready to bake.
- Don’t switch out the oil for more butter. This vanilla cake recipe uses both butter and oil because it gives it the best possible taste while still preserving the soft, fluffy texture that you want. Using all butter will actually likely make your cake more dense and dry. You can, however, substitute vegetable oil for the canola oil without issue.
- Make sure that your vanilla cake cools completely before frosting! If it’s warm at all, it’s likely to melt the frosting, leaving you with a big mess (ask me how I know…).
- Store your finished vanilla cake in an airtight container (like an airtight cake carrier). It will keep at room temperature for several days, or longer if stored in the refrigerator.
Be sure to check out my most recent video where I walk through all the steps to make the perfect vanilla cake, completely from scratch (printable recipe is just below the video).
Make sure that you also check out my favorite chocolate cake recipe!!
Enjoy!
How to Make Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (113g)
- ½ cup canola oil* (120ml)
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 300g
- 4 eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk room temperature preferred (300ml)
- 1 batch Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (177C) and prepare two deep 8" round cake pans** 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.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and 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. The batter should be smooth and completely combined, but avoid over-mixing.
- 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 and decorate with sprinkles (if desired).
Notes
How to Make Into Vanilla Cupcakes:
Fill cupcake liners no more than 3/4 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. This recipe will make approximately 24 cupcakes.Nutrition
Sasha says
Hi! I was hoping to make a 9×13 cake but with good height… do you think I should double this recipe or would I be better to use your recipe for the 3 layer vanilla birthday cake? Thanks!!
Sam says
Hi Sasha! This recipe makes enough batter to fill a 9 x 13 pan as is. 🙂
Raphael says
Hi can I use corn oil instead of canola oil?
Sam says
Hi Raphael! Really any neutral oil will work here. 🙂
Lihle says
Tried this cake! Its now a staple in my home! Comes out beautifully and it is tasty even without icing.
Thanks Sugarspunrun
Sam says
You’re very welcome, I’m so glad it was such a hit for you, Lihle!! 🙂
Barbara says
Have made this cake several times n it is always delicious. If I wanted to make in a 9×13 baking dish how long would I bake it?
Sam says
Hi Barbara! I haven’t made it in a 9 x 13 but others have reported it taking about 30 minutes. 🙂
Saranya says
Hi –
Planning to bake this vanilla cake for my son’s birthday. He is allergic to egg. what substitute would you recommend? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Saranya! Unfortunately I don’t really have a good substitution for the eggs here. 🙁
Jen says
Try Applesauce. I’ve used it as a substitute for others and it works great.
Saranya says
Thanks I’ll try this next time!
Amanda says
Hi Saranya. My son also has an egg allergy and I’ve made this recipe for him using Flaxseed Meal (Bob’s Red Mill). Just follow the directions on the package and it’s turn out great!
Saranya says
I tried with Flaxseed Meal this weekend. It turned out great! Thank you!
Janice Thai says
Hi there! Would love to bake this cake in 3 6inch pans. Would this recipe be enough? And how long would you recommend baking them? Thank you kindly!
Sam says
Hi Janice! You should have enough batter for 3 8 inch cakes, but I am not quite sure what the baking time would be. I would just keep an eye on them so they don’t overbake. 🙂
Cole says
Hi! Can I make this without parchment paper and without a stand mixer/hand mixer, since I don’t own one? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Cole! You can grease and flour your pans and mix it by hand. 🙂
Chris says
Thanks for sharing your talents with us. We found that the cake came out a little dense, more like a pound cake. What do you suggest to correct this to make it more light and fluffy?
Sam says
Hi Chris! This cake shouldn’t be dense like a pound cake. It can become dense if it is over-mixed though, so next time just remember not to mix it too much and that should make it better for you. 🙂
Sarah says
How well does this cake do with stacking? Can I make a double batch and stack 4 layers on top of each other without losing the consistency of the cake?
Sam says
Hi Sarah! It is a pretty sturdy cake so it should hold up to stacking. Just make sure not to over-mix it and the consistency should remain the same. 🙂
Teresa says
Hola, a que altura esta la ciudad donde vives? quiero saber si tengo que hacer una modificacion al polvo para hornear si vivo a la altura del mar
Sam says
I live not terribly far from sea level so you shouldn’t have to make any alterations. 🙂
Natasha says
The cake is DELICIOUS !!! I’ve tried several recipes from you and they’re all amazing!
One question, can I turn this into a lemon flavored cake with lemon juice instead of vanilla extract?
Sam says
Hi Natasha! The flavor probably won’t be very lemony. I actually have a lemon cake coming at the end of next week (hopefully). I add a few more things and make a few adjustments. It really has an awesome lemon flavor. 🙂
Natasha says
Ok, Great!! I’ll look out for it. Thank you!!
Melissa says
Hi! Is it ok to substitute olive oil? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Melissa! I would probably avoid olive oil because it has a pretty distinct flavor. You really want to use a neutral oil so your cake doesn’t end up tasting like oil. 🙂
e says
it tastes SOOO good!
Roula says
Made vanilla cake using this recipe twice and both times it came out absolutely delicious!
Sam says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for commenting, Roula!! 🙂
VanessaG says
Have you tried this recipe with cake flour instead of AP flour?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Vanessa! I have not, however, others have and had success. To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. I hope that you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Juila says
Hi I was half way into baking this recipe and the ingredients have nothing to do with flour but the instructions say to add flour whats the measurement for the flour?
Sam says
Hi Juila, it is listed in the ingredients. I hope you love the cake!
Ellie says
hi do you know if I can switch out the buttermilk for regular milk because i do not have buttermilk
Sam says
Hi Ellie! I would recommend making my buttermilk substitute if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. 🙂