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.
Hi Sam,
I want to make this cake for my brother’s birthday and I was wondering if the cake would still turn out ok if I reduced the sugar to 1 cup instead of 1.5 cups. What do you think?
Thank you!!
I haven’t tried it. The cake should still turn out the flavor would just be altered.
Can I make this recipe as cupcakes ?
Yes you can. Just bake them for 17 minutes at the same temperature and be sure not to fill the cupcake liners up more than 3/4 of the way full. ☺️
Your recipes are so amaizing… I cant wait to try baking the Vanilla Cake
Thank you so much! I am glad you like them and I hope you love the cake. ☺️
Awesome cake! I made just the cake, no frosting, to use in a trifle, and it is wonderfully moist and fluffy and flavorful. I baked it in a 13×9 baking pan. This will be my new go to for vanilla cake.
I am so glad your enjoyed it Johanna! 😊
I finished with the baking and the frosting…. it’s not ready to frost yet.. my question is why the cakes rise like a volcano at top.. I know it goes down but it is like to high volcano …lol
I’m not sure, mine hasn’t done this. Your oven could be running a little hot which would cause the outsides to bake faster than the center.
Hi, I baked this delicious finger licking cake today, for my husband’s birthday.
It was a huge it ! According to him it’s the best cake he’s ever eaten!
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Veena! 😊
Do you think there might be a way to make this without the buttermilk? My daughter is lactose intolerant so we have almond milk on hand…. Lol sorry in advance. What is the problems we face if we don’t include it?
I think you should be able to use the almond milk. I would still add a little bit of lemon juice. Check out the directions for my buttermilk substitute for how much to use. That being said, the cake may not be as moist as it should be. I think it will still be good though. ☺️
This cake is so so delicious. I baked it for my son’s birthday and lets just say the were no crumbs left. It very rare to come across an online recipe that comes out so perfect.
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! ☺️
Good evening Sam, we are going to bake your cake for upcoming Birthday party this weekend, and I was wondering how much batter you usually get from one batch? We are making 12″ cake so need to decide how many batches we will need to make.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I’m not sure how to convert it for you. I am not sure the dimensions of your pan. The recipe makes about 8 cups of batter (this is for both pans). A 12 inch round cake pan would need about 16 cups of batter. I hope that helps.
Thank you for your reply. I am using Wilton 12inch round pan 2inch high. Wilton has a very helpful website with a cake baking/serving guide that I already used previously. You gave me enough information to calculate the adjustments for a bigger cake.
Here the website link if someone else will find it useful https://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
Thank you a lot again for you help!!!
Wow great information there, thanks for sharing! I am bookmarking that one so I don’t have to do the math myself. ☺️
Hi, I would like to make this cake 4 days in advance of a birthday party. How do I store the cake without it getting dry or dense?
4 days is pushing it a bit. If you store it in the refrigerator, it will probably dry it out. Is it possible to make the layers and freeze them?
Dear Sam, I am not a very good baker as I messed up boxed cakes. I came across your cake recipe and made it for my daughter‘s birthday party. Everybody loved the cake. What I actually did was I made 12 cupcakes and I had to small I guess six-inch cake pans. So I made this small center cake which was three tears as I could cut the small cake and half. When I returned one of the lawyers was missing as my daughter and her friend had taken it and were eating and going crazy on how good the cake wars LOL.
I would add a photo I just don’t know how to attach it to this blog. Look forward to trying your chocolate cake as that is my husband’s favorite and his birthday is in three weeks look forward to reading more of your recipes in trying them out.
From a non-Bakker to a baker I thank you Tosha
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! Unfortunately there isn’t a very good way to share pictures here, but if you want to join my Facebook Group and post pictures there, I’d love to see them! I hope you try some more recipes and love them all.☺️
I’m new to baking, sadly my cake was dense and didn’t rise much. Any tips?? Maybe I over mixed???
Thank you!
I think that may have been the issue. Did you watch the video on how to do it? I find sometimes that can be helpful. ☺️
My cake fell apart. Followed the directions exactly. I’m wondering if I had used my mixer to combine all ingredients, would it have held together better? Taste great though!
Hi Mary. Yes it is very important to use a mixer to cream the butter, sugars, and oils together. You don’t have a to have a stand mixer, a hand mixer would suffice in this situation. ☺️
I just have a wisk. No stand mixer ot hand mixer. What should I do?
It is going to be very tough to cream the butter and sugars together with a whisk, and this is a vital step.
I did 2 cakes one day and the mixer was dirty and was in the washer getting cleaned Andy I just used my hands and it worked perfectly
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Turned out perfect! Let me ask though, what causes the cake to sometimes crack in top?
I think you could have a few issues at play here: your oven could be running at a higher temperature than you set it to, or some over/under mixing could have occured when preparing the batter. Hope that helps. ☺️
I want to tell you that the cake is finger licking good. That’s the first time in a long time I made a cake and it was moist and not too sweet. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Paula! ☺️