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 (or see notes for other favorite frosting options) and decorate with sprinkles (if desired).
Notes
Frosting Options
The chocolate frosting I linked to in the ingredients is my favorite pairing with this cake, but here are some other great options: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
Simone says
I want to try and I was wondering if it’s the same as your vanilla cupcakes. I just love them and I hope it’s as soft and moist as the cupcakes. Thank you! Such a big fan!
Sam says
Hi Simone! It is not the same recipe, but this cake is still pretty soft and moist. 🙂
Sam says
Hello! I am excited to try this for a family birthday. However, what parts can me made ahead? Can I prep batter ahead and refrigerate? Or can I bake it and cook it and then how do I store it? How much in advance can it be done? Thanks!!
Sam says
Hi Sam! You can bake the cake and keep it for up to a week in an air tight container at room temperature. 🙂
Erica K. says
Hi Sam, the cake is delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe. The cake came out perfect and the frosting is so light and fluffy.
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Erica! 🙂
Rachel says
Hi! I tried this recipe for my boyfriends birthday cake and EVERYONE loved it!!!
Would it be possible to use this same recipe but for 2 square 8×8” pans??
Sam says
Hi Rachel! You can make it in 2 8″ square pans but you will need to increase the batter by 50% in order to have enough. 🙂
Krystell says
I just did it yesterday!!! And let me tell you that it’s the best vanilla cake I’ve ever made!!! It’s very moist, crumbly and taste so good!! I just used 1 cup of buttermilk ( It was my mistake!! ) but anyway it turned perfect !! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Krystell! 🙂
Caro Cani says
I have tried this recipe and it’s delicious!!!. This time a need to make a 3 layer 6” cake.. do I need to double the recipe or this will be enough for the 3 layers??? Thanks in advance!
Sam says
Hi Caro! I am so glad you enjoyed it! This batter will make 3 6″ layers without any adjustments other than the baking time. 🙂
Caro Cani says
❤️🙏
Rosemary. says
Hi, I tried the recipe and while it tasted really good it came out a little raw in the center both times I baked it. Any idea why that could have happened?
Sam says
Hi Rosemary! It may have just needed a little more time in the oven. 🙂
Christie Bondade says
This is hands down the best vanilla cake I’ve ever made or tasted. My daughter had a lot of food allergies so I make her cakes and special desserts from scratch. We love it so much and I’m making it for her birthday next week!
Also, I used your buttercream recipe and added fresh strawberries for her frosting and it was delicious.
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Christie! 🙂
Julie says
Hi! I’m looking to make just 12 cupcakes. Do you think it’ll work if I just halve all the ingredients in your recipe?
Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Julie! That will work just fine. 🙂
Sherry says
My daughter wants a banana cake for her birthday this year. Any suggestions on how to make a banana cake using this recipe. 🙂
Sam says
Hi Sherry! I actually have a really good banana cake recipe. 🙂
Jess says
Hi! I’m looking to turn this vanilla cake into a coconut one. Can I replace the buttermilk with coconut milk?
Sam says
Hi Jess! I have actually already made it a coconut cake for you. 🙂
Nessa G says
Hi! Can I make this into a sheet cake? What size do you recommend and how long in the oven?
Sam says
Hi Nessa! This batter will fit in a 9 x 13. Other commenters have tried it and it took about 30 minutes to bake. 🙂
Christina Webb says
I have been trying recipes for scratch cakes. I have been struggling until I tried your recipe. I baked it for my granddaughter’s first birthday and it was a huge hit. This will be my go to recipe for Vanilla cake and cupcakes. No more box cakes for this gal. Thank you so much for this recipe
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Christina! Homemade is always better. 🙂
Naomi says
I’ve made this cake many times for peoples birthdays and it’s always turned out delicious, light and fluffy. Thank you so much!! .. I was wondering if it could be adapted to a lemon cake? Perhaps grate lemon zest into the recipe?
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it, Naomi! I actually have created a lemon cake that I would reccomend trying. 🙂
Jenn says
I followed the receipe exact and the batter came out thick and the cake was real thick. What did I do wrong?
Sam says
Hi Jenn! Is it possible there was too much flour in the batter? It’s very easy to over-measure your flour if you don’t use weights. 🙂
Najiya says
Thank you for this recipe.This is the best vanilla cupcake recipe.
Please do tell me how to transform vanilla cupcakes into chocolate cupcakes to feed my chocaholic family.
Sam says
Hi Najiya! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it. I would recommend using my chocolate cupcake recipe. 🙂