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 (113 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil¹
- 1 ½ cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour²
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 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 pans³ 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.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (120 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil¹, 1 ½ cup (300 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined after each addition.4 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour², 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon 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).1 ¼ cup (300 ml) buttermilk
- 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).1 batch Chocolate Frosting
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.²Cake Flour
You may substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Use 3 ⅓ cups or 375g of cake flour.³Different 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.
Caitlin
How long do you recommend leaving the ingredients out at room temperature (at 74 degrees).
Sam
It should take about an hour or two for the ingredients to reach room temperature.
Heather
Oh.My.God! This is THE best cake I’ve ever had in my LIFE! I normally don’t even like yellow/vanilla cakes at all, but this is AMAZING! My daughter has a life threatening egg allergy, so I substituted aquafaba eggs for the real eggs (3 tbsp aquafaba/chickpea brine = 1 egg). I made it as cupcakes, since that is what I was asked to bring to a family party. I filled the cups about 3/4 full because it is a VERY light and airy batter. I baked it for twenty minutes exactly and they came out perfect. I would start watching it closely around 17 minutes or so.
I am bringing this to a family gathering where a few aunts have been VERY rude to my husband and I because of my daughter’s egg allergy- they think egg-free food is not “good enough for their fancy tastes.” With the egg-free adaptation for this recipe I FINALLY have an egg-free cake recipe that will seriously impress them and shut them up. This is BETTER than most other “normal” cake recipes with egg. So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!! With an egg allergy we can’t order store bought cakes, so everything has to be homemade. I know it might seem silly to someone without food allergies, but finding such an amazing recipe that can be adapted is a massive victory in our challenging journey with food allergies. Thank you again!
PS- we also made the easy chocolate cupcakes with aquafaba eggs, and they were amazing too!
Sam
Thank you very much for sharing the substitution Heather! I have a lot of questions about that and have never tried it myself. Now I have a good answer to provide! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 😃
Heather
You’re welcome! Oh, and I didn’t have buttermilk, so I made my own with milk and cream of tartar. I chose that buttermilk recipe because some other aquafaba recipes use cream of tartar to stabilize aquafaba, so I figured it would be a good fit.
Your raspberry frosting paired wonderfully with the vanilla cupcakes, and your salted caramel frosting was delicious on your easy chocolate cupcakes recipe. I had so many compliments on the cupcakes today! And our cousins who didn’t know about my daughter’s egg allergy didn’t even realize the cupcakes were egg free or different at all. I’m so glad I’ve discovered your recipes! Thanks again!
Bianca
Can I make a two layer rectangle cake?
Sam
Hi Bianca, I think it will hold up pretty well, it is a pretty sturdy cake. 😃
Kendra seely
Hi Sam, is this recipe okay to use for cupcakes?
Sam
Hi Kendra, yes fill the liners 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full and bake 350F for 17 minutes. 😃
Sajid
Delicious and sweet
Sam
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Meghan
This is the second comment I am leaving for this cake. I take back the one minor negative thing I said in my earlier comment. The more of this cake I eat, the more I like it. I think my issue with the density of the cake was really my problem. I took one goliath sized bite, then wrote up my review- the cake wasn’t even frosted! (I know, what was I thinking??) So, after frosting it, and taking regular sized bites, I think I have to agree. This is one darn good vanilla cake. I followed the directions to a “T.” So, to sum it up, this cake is moist, spot-on vanilla flavor, not overly sweet, and it will hold up to decorations…if it’s not perfect, it’s pretty close!
Sam
I really appreciate the feedback! I’m glad you ultimately ended up enjoying it. 😃
Maggie
I love your recipes and i would like to get your recipe book if any.
Sam
Thank you! The only book I currently have is my free ebook Hopefully you enjoy it!
Angela Kim
I haven’t tried this cake yet, but I’ve a lot of good reviews so I might try it. I have a question though. Instead of parchment paper, can I just lightly grease the pans with cooking oil spray?
Sam
I wouldn’t recommend using a cooking oil spray. You could use a baking spray that has flour in it, or grease and flour the pans instead.
Melanie
Hi Sam, is this cake sturdy enough to do two tiers? 8” then 6” rounds. Thanks!
Sam
I have not tried it. It is a relatively sturdy cake, but also pretty fluffy so I am not 100% sure it would hold up.
Rebecca
HI sam. I am loving your recipes. How would I adjust this one to make 2 10” cakes.
Anne
Hi Sam! I’d like to make this cake for a smash cake for a one year old. What would the baking time be if I used three 4 inch cake pans? Thank you!
Sam
I haven’t tried it so I can’t give you an honest answer on that. Sorry..
Carla
Going to try this did you use 8×2 or 8×3 pans?
Sam
Either will work, I used 2 inch deep pans.
Sara Michaels
I used this as the base to make MAPLE flavored cake and omggggg . . . . Sugar Spun Run is now my go-to place for recipes because you can tell she isn’t a one-hit wonder! All of these recipes are tested and perfected!
Sam
Thank you! I am so happy you enjoy my recipes!!😃
Noha
Sam
I want to use cream cheese with butter in the batter
Is this going to work ???
Sam
I do not think it will work.
Sarah
Would the measurement still be the same if I was to use cake flour instead?
Sam
Hi Sarah, unfortunately I have not tried it so I would not know for sure. Sorry 😟