The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe
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My vanilla cake recipe has a soft, plush, and perfectly moist crumb. It has a rich vanilla flavor, is perfectly beginner friendly, and is made entirely from scratch! If you’re looking for a classic homemade vanilla cake that works every time, this is it! Includes a video tutorial.
The BEST Vanilla Cake Recipe (Soft, Moist, and Made 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 recipe, 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!
Why This Vanilla Cake Recipe Works:
- Butter & oil combo. Using a blend of both butter and oil lets the cake reap the best benefits of both worlds: a rich, buttery flavor from the butter and soft, lasting moisture thanks to the oil. This technique worked so well in this cake recipe, I’ve used it in many recipes since then, including my chocolate cake recipe and marble cake.
- Buttermilk keeps the cake tender and adds subtle depth and richness.
- Light, fluffy texture. A full Tablespoon of baking powder gives the cake crumb lift for a soft, plush crumb that’s never too dense or heavy.
- Time-tested & reader-loved recipe. This vanilla cake recipe has been a long-time favorite on my website. It’s served as the base for many of my other cakes, including my popular pineapple upside-down cake.
Ingredients
After testing many versions and combinations of ingredients, I’ve found that a good vanilla cake recipe 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 the crumb soft and moist rather than 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 specifically to 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. It’s key for a soft, lifted cake crumb. Always make sure your baking powder 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 or a very fine sea 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.
As always with my recipes, 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 This Vanilla Cake Recipe (Step-by-Step)
- 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 stir in your vanilla extract.
- Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add about 1/3 of the mixture into your bowl. Use a spatula to gently stir until just combined. Follow this with about 1/2 of your buttermilk, and stir again until just combined.
- Add 1/2 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
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 vanilla cake recipe!
Yes! This recipe will make approximately 24 vanilla cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners no more than 3/4 full and bake one pan at a time on 350F for about 17 minutes each.
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.
A good vanilla cake recipe is a blank canvas for your favorite frosting, it works with just about any icing. Some of my favorites include my chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, or classic chocolate buttercream (vanilla cake with chocolate frosting is a classic combo!), peanut butter frosting, cream cheese frosting, vanilla frosting, coffee frosting, or take a fruity spin with my strawberry frosting, raspberry buttercream, or even blueberry frosting. You can also top any of these frostings with my ganache drip.
Why Is My Vanilla Cake Dry?
Dryness is typically the biggest issue home bakers run into when making cakes 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.
Over-mixing the 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 so long as there aren’t any dry streaks and the batter is mostly uniform, 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!
Over-baking the cake:
Even a minute too long in the oven can cause a cake to be too dry and dense. Bake your cake layers on the center rack and use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is running at the proper temperature.
Don’t check your vanilla cake too early (that can make it sink!), but do keep an eye on it. When your cake is finished baking, 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, 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 finished baking, let it cool in the pan for only 10-15 minutes before inverting it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
More Great Cakes to Try:
If you’re new to making homemade cakes (or just want to delve deeper into the process) make sure to check out my posts on how to decorate a cake and 3 ways you’re accidentally ruining your homemade cake.
Enjoy!
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Vanilla Cake Recipe
Equipment
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
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 1/3 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 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.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:Storing
Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, it’s best to allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving for best texture and flavor.Freezing
Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then foil and then frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw (without unwrapping) overnight and then bring to room temperature (still without unwrapping) to retain the best texture. Frosted cake slices can be wrapped individually and frozen and thawed overnight in the refrigeratorVideo note
In the video I mistakenly say to add more buttermilk than is necessary. The written recipe is correct with 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This vanilla cake recipe was originally published in January 2019 but has since been updated to include new photos and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
I researched recipes for vanilla cake my husband requested for his Birthday I found this recipe last year and read all the notes and followed your directions as close as possible. It was by far the best cake we have ever eaten! I am making it tonight for his Birthday tomorrow I hope it is good as last year! I never have had luck baking cakes from scratch in the past I think weighing the flour and not over mixing or over baking is the key! Thanks for a great recipie! Making it in 9 x 13.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Felicia! 🙂
Hi! Any chance you think Flax Egg could be used instead of eggs? Thank you.
Hi Stef! I’m not familiar with using flax eggs. The eggs are important for the structure of this cake and without having tried it I can’t say for sure how flax eggs would work.
Hi! I am making this cake with your vanilla buttercream now. Should it be stored in the refrigerator? Thank you!
Hi Stef! Personally, I am comfortable leaving it at room temperature in an air tight container for a couple of days before moving to the refrigerator. 🙂
Fool proof, this is my to go recipe for the past 4y. Best day of my life when I ran into it! Thank you so much for it!
Turned out perfectly!
I’ve been baking for 20 years and this is the absolute best vanilla cake recipe I’ve ever tried. It’s the one I use for my home bakery and it is PERFECT every time! I’m at high altitude and I make the recipe just as it is written and it’s delicious. No sinking and it is definitely not dry. I like to divide the batter into 3, 6” cake pans and they bake up perfectly at 35 minutes.
I’ve made it with either all purpose or cake flour and the results are great. The most recent time I made it I used Kirkland brand organic all purpose flour and got rave reviews from my customers.
Thank you Sam for another amazing recipe! 🩵
I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Whitney! 🙂
Delicious cake. Recipe is easy to follow and video is very helpful. Love the chocolate frosting.
One note I will mention. I too have had problems with other cake mixes tasting like corn bread. I tried every remedy people mentioned and the only thing that got rid of this taste was for me to use cake flour (Softasilk or Swans Down). After this change I no longer get the corn bread taste.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Althea! If you have a cornbread taste in a vanilla cake, the cake was most likely over-mixed or over-baked. The cake flour wouldn’t really change much here.
Great recipe!
Can the um baked batter be frozen to be used for later?
Hi Morgan! I have not tried freezing this cake batter. It could potentially change the flavor and texture of the cake. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
I used this recipe in a 13×9 pan and it was perfect for what I needed it for. My husband likes strawberry shortcake, Those little shortcakes in the store are not always handy and they are getting expensive! I used this recipe ( and used my mixer for the whole recipe) and although it wasn’t the exact texture it was close enough and was wonderful. I am usually pretty pick and this worked out great.
I don’t usually rate recipes but this one has become my go-to! Delicious, light, fluffy, and wonderful flavour. Because I liked this cake so much I decided to adapt it into a lemon cake by adding the zest of 4 lemons (I love lemoniness!!!) before creaming fats + sugar, then 1/4 cup lemon juice right before my last addition of flour. It turned out amazing. Thanks for this recipe!!!
We are so happy it’s such a hit, June! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🥰
I have made this cake numerous times, I like the flavour and the texture of the crumb. Never had a problem always turned out fine.
We have made this recipe 4-5 times over the past few years and love it! My son found this recipe originally when he became interested in baking. He requested this cake for his birthday, which is tomorrow so I pulled up this recipe again for us to prepare to bake it tonight.
This cake tastes like pound cake but is lighter and fluffier – so it’s a good choice if you’re craving pound cake but want to try something different. We usually make a vanilla frosting because that is what my son prefers. I am sure it would be delicious with other kinds of frosting. One time, I added raspberry jam between the layers.
I share this recipe with others. In fact, I was telling someone today about how excited I was about making it. I shared the link just now with that person while I had the page up.
I am sorry others haven’t had good luck with it but it’s always turned out well for us. Not sure what we did differently that makes it work out so well for us. Maybe we did a good job with the gradual addition of the buttermilk and flour? Maybe we didn’t over-mix it? Or maybe letting the eggs and butter get to room temperature helped?
What a helpful reply! I am going to make this cake and love this idea of adding raspberry jam between the layers. Also going to frost with SMBC as I am trying my hand at different frostings other than chocolate and cream cheese. Sam’s cakes are all so great.
Very dense and dry unfortunately
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Amelie! Unfortunately it sounds like the cake was over-baked, or potentially over-mixed. 🙁
I was so disappointed with this recipe. I followed it step by step and it was horrible. Don’t waste your time unless you like a mixture that tastes more like cornbread. Spent time making it for my daughter’s birthday just to be disappointed.
Hi Christy! I’m so disappointed to hear this happened! The cornbread taste is a product of either over-mixing or over-baking. 🙁 Corn bread is not the expected result. 🙁
I am not sure why a couple of people mention cornbread taste? Cornbread is made from cornmeal. Wheat flour does not taste like corn in anyway. Corn and flour tortillas is another example of very distinctive flavors. Very strange. I have not tried the recipe yet but just puzzled by these reviews.
Hi Debbie! If you over-mix or over-bake your cakes it can lead to a cornbread like texture. Just make sure to not over bake or over mix the cake and you shouldn’t have any issues. 🙂
Hi Sam,
If I want to bake ahead, can I freeze the layers once they are out of the pan while hot? Or is it better to have them cool down first before wrapping tightly and freezing.
Also, can I substitute some of the buttermilk with sour cream since it has a richer taste. What do you recommend?
Hi Kenny! I would recommend waiting for the cakes to cool completely before wrapping to freeze, otherwise you will be trapping in excess moisture that could make the cake pretty soggy upon thawing. I haven’t tried substituting the buttermilk with sour cream. I do have a yellow cake that uses sour cream as opposed to the buttermilk. 🙂
I love this recipe!
Have you ever made it with egg replacer?
Hi Lindsey! We haven’t, but several commenters have done so successfully 😊
I’ve used this recipe twice and both times the cake turned out great! After years of searching for a good vanilla cake recipe this is the one that suits me the best!! thank you so much for sharing this with thr rest of us. sending love❤️❤️
is this basically a ‘yellow’ cake since it used whole eggs and butter?
Hi Kellie! This recipe is very similar to our yellow cake. We talk about the subtle differences between the two in the FAQ of that post.