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
Jasmine says
Hi this cake was super delicious, moist and fluffy. I found it a little to sweet though, do you think I can reduce the sugar a little bit maybe to around 1 cup or 1 1/4 cup instead of 1 1/2 cup. Thanks
Sam says
Hi Jasmine! I’m glad you enjoyed the cake. You can reduce the sugar if you need to. 🙂
Jenelle Perrucci says
Can I make these layers in advanced and freeze them? Great recipe 🙂
Sam says
Hi Jenelle! That will work just fine. 🙂
Laura says
I’ve tried my share of vanilla cake recipes over the years, but this one takes the cake! lol
I made it for a family gathering and everyone raved about how moist and delicious it was! Definitely adding this one to my recipe box!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Laura! I am honored to have a spot in your recipe box! 🙂
kennedy says
hi i want to make this cake but instead of using oil i usually use apple sauce for a healthier alternative. do you think that will be fine for this recipe.
Sam says
Hi Kennedy! I haven’t tried it but I think it could work here. 🙂
Bindhu says
Can I increase the quantity of butter instead of using the oil.
Sam says
You can use all oil the cake may end up being a little dry. 🙂
Cheryl says
Really great flavor and I will definitely make again, but this is more of a pound cake texture.
Sam says
Hi Cheryl! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It definitely shouldn’t come out like a pound cake. The batter may have been slightly over-mixed or over-baked, regardless I am so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Michelle says
My family absolutely loved this vanilla cake. It’s my first time making a vanilla cake but it won’t be the last! Thank you so much for working so hard on this and then sharing it.
Sam says
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Michelle! 🙂
Ezekiel says
thank you very very very much
Sam says
You’re welcome! 🙂
Saba Sabir says
This is definitely the best vanilla cake recipe. I have stopped searching for other recipes 🙂
Do you know if I want to bake this in 6 inch round pans, how many pans would that yield? I’m thinking it would be around 4 6 inch layers then. Also any advice on the time that would take ?
Sam says
Hi Saba! It should make 3 6 inch cakes and others have reported it takes 30 minutes to bake them. I haven’t tried it myself so I would just keep an eye on them. 🙂
Sheccid says
Hi, can we replace the buttermilk with whole milk?
Sam says
Hi Sheccid! I would recommend making my buttermilk substitute if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. 🙂
Sunaina says
Hi Sam, your title is true – best Vanilla cake. I baked it twice and both times turned out great. Soft, moist and fluffy. Just had to bake it a lil longer as I didn’t divide it in two pans…still tasty! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sunaina! 🙂
Maria says
Can I add sprinkles? How much should I do? Do I need to change anything else if add sprinkles? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Maria! You can add sprinkles, just stir them in briefly at the end. 🙂
Michele says
Can I use cake flour instead of all-purpose, and if so, do I need to alter the amount?
Sam says
Hi Michele! The proper substitution for cake flour is 1 cup + 2 TBSP of cake flour for every cup of all purpose flour. 🙂
Patsy Fintak says
How long does a 9×13 pan should cook?
Sam says
Hi Patsy! Others have reported it taking 30 minutes in a 9 x 13. 🙂
Roobina says
Hi Sam, can we replace the buttermilk with yoghurt by any chance?
Sam says
I would recommend my easy buttermilk substitute if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. 🙂
Rosie Burton says
Hi I’ve made just made this vanilla cake. It’s turned really well, the only thing has anyone else had problems with the sides being a bit crumbly when you take it out of the pans.
Sam says
Hi Rosie! The sides will have some crumbs to them as you remove them from the pan like most cakes do. If your cakes are falling apart crumbly they may have been slightly over-baked. I’m glad you still enjoyed it. 🙂