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 or avocado oil (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:Video note
In the video I mistakenly say to add more buttermilk than is necessary. The written recipe is correct with 1 ¼ 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.
Johnnny
Great recipe! I made this cake for my sons birthday, I didn’t think it was going to come out that well but it did.Everyone loved the cake and even asked if there was any leftovers after the party but I only have 1 complain it was just a bit too crumbly but overall it was great!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it overall, Johnny! If it was a little bit crumbly, it may have just needed a minute or two less in the oven. 🙂
Dawney
I was requested to make a vanilla cake… I was like meh boring! But wow I was super impressed with this cake. Simple and delicious!
Precious Johnson
Hi, I would like to know if I can use cake flour instead of all purpose flour , if so how many grams would it be?
Thank you
Sam
You can use cake flour here instead of all purpose flour. The gram measurement will be the same. 🙂
Precious Johnson
Thank You for the quick response! I will post soon when I bake it.😀
Liv
I’m a long time baking enthusiasts, even tho I’m a chef for a couple of years, my baking skills are not good 😂 I found this recipe and give it a try and I must say, it’s fool proof! I’ve made 7 cakes, each one of them with a different color for a rainbow cake, for my kid’s spring fling at school, and I must say: everyone love it. It was approximately 100 slices and people kept asking for after it was done. It’s simple, fluffy, very flavoured and it’s my standard recipe for white cake. I don’t even bother to put vanilla (I don’t really like the flavour) and it turns out perfectly. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Laura
Easy to follow recipe and super delicious! My whole family loved it! Thanks so much!
Kaj
Is the amount of Buttermilk 1 1/4 cup as mentioned in the written recipe or 1 1/2cup as mentioned in the video?
Sam
Sorry for the confusion, Kaj! The written recipe is correct. 🙂
Kaj
Thank you. I made this for my MIL for her birthday. Filled with your chantilly cream and fresh berries. Was delicious. Truly the best vanilla cake ever! Great for stacking too!
Camryn
Made this for a party me and my partner were hosting, and it came out perfectly! So good that all of my guests liked it, including the one who usually doesn’t like cake. (Made it in 2 nine inch pans and the cooking time reported was basically right, one needed a little longer but i think that was just how they were positioned in the oven.)
Vanessa
Is the oven temperature for a fan forced oven
Sam
It is for a conventional oven. 🙂
Kat
Hi,
If I want to make 1vanilla cake pan and 1 chocolate cake pan, do you know how much cocoa I should add to the chocolate batter? Also can I substitute whole milk for buttermilk?
Thanks!
Sam
Hi Kat! It’s a little more involved than just adding cocoa to the vanilla cake batter. I would cut my vanilla cake recipe in half to make 1 layer and then cut my chocolate cake recipe in half to get the other cake layer. I would also recommend making my buttermilk substitute, which is made with whole milk. 🙂
Journey
Idk what happened. I think it’s because I used 9″ aluminum pans because I didn’t have any at the time. The cake didn’t have much of a sweet flavor and I could tell it WAS airy, but tended to crumble quite a bit. I even spooned the flour, did everything to a tee. I think the pans were the culprit. I also spooned the sugar and leveled. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t sweet enough…I don’t think I’m supposed to measure the sugar like I measure the flour. I baked for 25 minutes in two aluminum pans. I will be trying it again with regular pans once I get them unpacked.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! If it was lacking flavor and a bit crumbly, my best guess is that it was slightly over-baked. 🙁
Janet
Was going to make this for outdoor church corn roast tmrw. Outside temps 72°. Will this frosting hold up?
Sam
Hi Janet! It will be just fine at 72. 🙂
Katie K
While flour does need to be measured carefully like that, white sugar is actually way more forgiving (because it doesn’t compress the way flour does). You can scoop with the measuring cup directly or spoon it into the measuring cup and you’ll usually get about the same amount.
So, it sounds to me like the problem may have just been baking them a bit too long.
Lucy
How do you think this recipe would turn out if I whipped the egg whites?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lucy! We haven’t tried whipping the egg whites in this recipe, but it could make for a lighter cake. We do use only whipped egg whites in our white cake recipe though 🙂
Ed @deb
We just love your recipes Sam
Dawn
It had the texture of a corn bread, not a light and fluffy cake. Won’t make it again. I made it for my son’s birthday . I followed the directions and everything.
Sam
Hi Dawn! I’m so sorry to hear this! The most likely culprit of a dry corn bread like cake are over-mixing or over-baking. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you. 🙁
Gwen
This cake turned out great! I didn’t have buttermilk on hand but even using 1% milk soured with vinegar resulted in a rich, moist and flavorful cake! I did two 9″ round pans and it took 30 minutes to bake. This was for my son-in-law’s birthday and it was a hit with everyone. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kathy
What if I added extra butter?
Sam
I wouldn’t recommend it here. 🙁
Roxy
It’s not just a cleverly named recipe, this is actually the BEST cake I’ve ever had. I didn’t have buttermilk and used plain Greek yogurt instead, so I was worried how it would turn out, but it turned out amazing!! It’s light and fluffy, and the flavor is exceptional. The instructions were also really easy to follow!
With this recipe I made extra large cupcakes filled with peanut butter filling, and topped with chopped Reese’s PB cups over chocolate frosting. Divine! Now please excuse me while I go recover from my self induced sugar coma 😉Thanks for the cake recipe!!
Dee
My first time baking the cake, and it came out perfect. I followed all the instructions step by step. Made it for my husband’s birthday along with the chocolate frosting recipe and the kids also really enjoyed it. Thank you!
hannah
can i bake both in one pan?
Sam
Hi Hannah! It will fit in a 9 x 13, but you don’t want to put all of the batter in one 8 inch round pan unless it’s pretty deep. I typically bake mine in the oven at the same time. 🙂
Kelly Schiller
Great recipe! I used coconut oil, a teaspoon less of vanilla and substituted it with almond extract! It’s soo good! I did the vanilla buttercream frosting linked with it. Next time I’m going to try coconut oil instead of butter for the frosting.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! We’re so happy it turned out so nicely with those substitutions, Kelly 😊
Alliyah
Hello I would like to know how can I turn this into a two tier cake please? What size pants do I need and how much of the cake batter for each pan and the recipe doubled