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.
Chhavi
Hi..Can you convert 1/2 cup butter into gm..how many 100 gm cakes of butter would be needed. I don’t have weighing scale and we get butter in GMs..don’t want to melt it to fit in the cup.
Sam
1/2 cup of butter is 113 grams. All weight measurements are listed at the end of the ingredient in parenthesis. 🙂
Tess
I don’t have unsalted butter only regular butter will that work?
Sam
Hi Tess! Yes salted butter will be fine. You can cut the salt by 1/8 teaspoon. 🙂
Taylor
Hi Sam, I was wondering if it would work to use your substitute buttermilk recipe in this cake, but use1% milk instead of whole milk. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Taylor! It will work, but the cake probably won’t be as moist. I hope you love it! 🙂
CC
Could you use olive oil instead or apple sauce?
Sam
I really recommend using a neutral oil, unless you like the taste of olive oil. I haven’t tried it with apple sauce. 🙂
Ms Tee
Hi should I sift the flour first would that help or hurt the cake?
Sam
Sifting the flour probably won’t do much in this recipe. 🙂
SHEILA MURRAY
What is the cook time if I use a bundt pan?
Sam
Hi Sheila! I have not made it in a bundt pan, so I can’t say for sure. 🙁
Alvin Kishore
Hi! I wanted to do this recipe, but i don’t have a mixer like yours could i do it by hand?
Sam
Hi Alvin! You need to cream the butter for this recipe, which could be very difficult to do by hand. If you have a hand mixer, that will work just fine. 🙂
Patricia
Hi,
Can I substitute buttermilk for milk?
Sam
Hi Patricia! If you don’t have buttermilk, I really recommend using my Buttermilk Substitute. Enjoy! 🙂
Vimshana Rajbansi
I am not a baker!….I did try this recipe, it was super easy to follow and it turned out divine! Soft, moist and yummilicious….This weekend, I am trying the chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday…..wish me luck, she wants fancy fancy cake decorating skills! 🤣
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed!! Thank you for comment and I hope you love the chocolate cake just as much 🙂
Emily
Hi i want to bake 4 6×2 cake pans. How much cake do i need to make (double batch, normal batch) and how long do i need to bake it? Please let me know this is one of the only recipes i could find with great reviews and no cake flour! (I don’t have cake flour!) Please let me know!!!!!!!!
Sam
Hi Emily! This recipe will make about 8 cups of batter. 1 6 inch pan typically holds about 2 and 1/4 cups of batter, so to make 4 of them 2 inches deep, you would need about 9 cups of batter. You would need to increase the recipe by 1/8, which isn’t a whole lot, so I would probably just keep it as is and make the layers slightly thinner. Spread out between 4 cakes, you won’t even be able to tell. Unfortunately, I do not know how long to bake them as I haven’t tried baking these in 6 inch pans. The bake time will definitely be less. I would start checking sooner rather than later. I hope this helps. 🙂
Shari
Iam in charge of my sister in law’s baby shower and want a delicious vanilla cake. I will be making a pretty large sheet cake should I double the recipe?
Sam
Hi Shari! To check how much you should make, check out this guide for cake batter volumes. I am not sure how big of a cake you plan on making, so I am not sure how to guide you . 🙂
Mayra
Could I use this to make cupcakes ? If so how many would I be able to make and how long so I bake them for ? 🙂 thank you
Sam
Hi Mayra! You would need to bake them for about 17 minutes and it will make about 24 cupcakes. 🙂
Christine
This was so delicious and moist! I paired it with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Butter Cream and homemade vanilla ice cream (my kid is a vanilla nut) for a birthday celebration. SO SO GOOD. I’m keeping this as my go to recipe for vanilla cake!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it, Christine! 🙂
Julie
Could I use this batter to make cupcakes?
Julie
Sam
Hi Julie! Yes you can. Bake them for about 17 minutes. 🙂
Brooklynn Bailey
I made this recipe last night. I did a lemon variation as well. My cake was super soft, but was a little dense. I was sure I didn’t over mix. I’m trying the recipe again today; I had a question about using cake flour instead ? I thought maybe that would help with it softening up just a tad.
Thank you so much for your recipes.
Sam
Hi Brooklynn! Most of the time when a cake is dense, it is due to over-mixing. There also could have been too much flour in the cake. I have not tried it with cake flour, but I know others have done so with success. I hope this helps. 🙂
Brooklynn Bailey
Ok thank you. I may have just over mixed and not even realized. Well I’m going to redo everything tonight & also try versions with the cake flour & see how that turns out. Thank you for your time
Francine Weinandy
This is a marvelous recipe. I made this cake last night, but mine is gluten free! I make my own flour using plantain flour, coconut flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthan. I have been trying to make flour and a recipe for a cake that will stay delicious the next day. Gluten free tends to dry out. Your recipe is the bomb diggity! I used it exactly as you created it, except for the flour… YUM!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake, Francine! Thank you so much for the feedback on making it gluten free! 🙂