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). It’s 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 that’s 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 doesn’t 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; we’re 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 ⅓ of the mixture into your bowl. Use a spatula to gently stir until just combined. Follow this with about ½ of your buttermilk, and stir again until just combined. .
- Add ½ 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. It’s 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 it’s 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!). Don’t 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!
Let’s bake together! I’ll 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
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (113g)
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil¹ (120ml)
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar (300g)
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk room temperature preferred (300ml)
- 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 pans² 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 until thoroughly combined 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 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).
- 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
¹Cooking 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.²Different 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: 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 ¾ 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.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: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.
Tristen
Hey, I’ve made this cake before and it was great, just wondering if I can add sprinkles to make it more like a funfetti cake?
Thanks 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Tristen! Yes, you can stir in some sprinkles close to the end. We would recommend something that’s not going to bleed. You could also check out our funfetti cake 🙂
HM
Hi there,
I am really really looking forward to trying this recipe. I usually use deep cake pans ie the 3” high ones. I was wondering if this recipe would be good enough for a 3” deep tin. I hope I can as I really really want to try this recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That will work just fine! We hope you love the cake ❤️
Jackie
Hi!
I have 6 In round pans, do I need to change the bake time?
Sam
Hi Jackie! You will need a shorter bake time and probably more than 2 pans. I’m not sure on the bake time though.
Monisha
I intentionally underbaked my cake and let it finish “cooking” in the pan after I brought it out of the oven. I had a taste test and the cake was beautifully soft tinged with the most beautiful, delicate vanilla flavor. I Wrapped the cake while still warm and put in the fridge. Today, I decorate! I will definitely use this recipe again! Thank you;)
Halle
What a fabulous cake!! The only change I made was I added in a tbsp. vanilla paste on top of the 1 tbsp. vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp. almond extract, giving it that traditional wedding cake flavor. This batter was fluffy and the cake itself had the perfect crumb! This is a keeper for sure!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds lovely, Halle! We appreciate you trying our recipe and coming back to leave a comment ❤️
Bek
Anyone tried using Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose flour?
Sam
Hi Bek! While I haven’t tried it personally, I have had other commenters say they have used it with success. 🙂
Sadie
Oh M GEE!!!! This is FANTASTIC!!!!
I was a little sceptical at first because I was thinking “what 2 tier cake recipe needs four eggs?” But I am blown away. This tastes oh so delicious!! The vanilla is so rich, it’s not too sweet but it’s not bland, pillowy soft, and a new go-to vanilla (cup)cake recipe FOREVER!!! Thank you oh so kindly for such a delicious treat😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes, Sadie! Thanks for trusting our recipe and letting us know how it turned out for you 😊
Morgan Hatch
Hi Emily!
Do you have suggestions for how
To alter the recipe for 3 8inch rounds?
Thanks so much
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Morgan! You’ll just need to increase the recipe by 50% 🥰
Lorena
Just tried this recipe so I can make cupcakes for my son’s birthday. The batter smells amazing! My cupcakes didn’t rise much and upon further reflection, I put 1/2 cup too much buttermilk. They still taste good. I’ll be sure to measure better for my next batch!
Ashley
Oh boy, it’s my birthday and I am made this cake literally right now. It’s in the oven and I just realized I bought heavy whipping cream instead of buttermilk. Do you think it will turn out ???
Sam
Hi Ashley! I would recommend using some milk to make my buttermilk substitute if you don’t have any on hand. I’m not sure it’ll turn out quite the same with the whipping cream. 🙂
Xiomara
Hola Sam podría agregarle almendras picadas a esta receta y de ser así que cantidad seria y en que momento las agrego a la mezcla de pastel ? Gracias por tu respuesta estaré atenta
Sam
You can stir them in at the end. It really depends on how much you want in the cake. I would think a cup and a half to two cups would probably work fine here. 🙂
Kaydi
Why do you prefer all purpose flour as opposed to cake flour in this recipe? Can I use cake flour? Would the measurements remain the same?
Thanks so much! I love your recipes!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kaydi! You can find the answers to all of your questions within the post under the “What You Need” section 😊
Mia
Hey Sam, I had to make this cake again it was so delicious the first time moist scrumptious cake w your delicious chocolate butter cream frosting. Can I refrigerate the cake or freeze and how long will be safe to eat also how would you recommend wrapping cake for best freshness?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Mia! We don’t recommend refrigerating, as the fridge can dry out the cake. Freezing should be fine though! Just make sure to wrap the cake well in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container or ziploc bags. It should be good for several months this way. Hope that helps 🙂
Jennifer
How many cups of batter does this recipe make? I’m using a 9x9x3 pan and need around 9 cups of batter. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jennifer! This recipe makes about 8 cups of batter. Enjoy 😊
Molly
I wish I could hug you for giving us this masterpiece, definitely my go to👌🏽❤️
Naheed
Hi
Is this ok for stacking cakes?
Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Enjoy ❤️
Melissa
I made this for my daughters birthday and it was delicious!
Everyone wanted to take a piece home! I want to make this again for a graduation cake but with a 11×15 pan(12 c) I believe? Should I triple the recipe? Wasn’t sure how many cups this recipe yields. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad it was a hit, Melissa! If you increase the recipe by 50%, you’ll have enough to fill your pan. Enjoy 😊
Allyson
Hi! I’m looking for a vanilla or white cake recipe to use for my sister’s wedding. I’m pairing with a caramel buttercream – just curious if you have suggestion for which of the two recipes to use? Is there a distinct difference in flavor and texture? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Allyson! The vanilla cake is going to be probably a little bit sturdier and slightly less sweet. I think the vanilla cake would pair well with the caramel buttercream here. Really either cake is a good option though. 🙂
Betty
I just baked this cake, probably for the 2nd time but it split not totally but one layer is on the verge! I used veggie instead of canola oil and a tiny bit of sweet milk to make up for a lack of buttermilk. The buttermilk was a little old but not spoiled and I forgot to fold the egg and milk by hand and I also used salted butter so I didn’t add any salt.
Sam
Hi Betty! I’m not sure I know exactly what you mean by splitting here. Your changes shouldn’t have really caused any issues as they were minor. Do you mean it’s like 2 pieces in the pan or it’s splitting when you are putting them together or transferring them? It could be a matter of over-mixing the batter or slightly over-baking the cakes. I hope this helps. 🙂
Xiomara
Hola , podría usar esta receta de bizcocho de vainilla para hacer unos cupcakes ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Xiomara! Yes you can. You can find instructions for the cupcakes in the recipe notes. Enjoy!