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.
Victoria
This recipe was perfect! I used a bit more vanilla in mine just to make it extra vanilla flavored but other than that it’s amazing. I’m making this one again. Love that it’s by weight because I always try to find recipes that use weight because I find it more accurate. I cut my 8″cakes in half and made four layers with strawberries and buttercream in between and it came out perfect.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Victoria! I am glad that you enjoyed the Vanilla Cake. I love the additional buttercream and strawberries layers. Yum! Enjoy! 🙂
Sophia
Can you make it with 10 inch round Cakes?
Hayden
Are you avoiding cake flour in this recipe for any reason?
Sam
Hi Hayden! I don’t use cake flour because it’s not an ingredient I typically keep in my pantry. If you want to try it, I know others have done it with success. 🙂
TSB
Thanks for this recipe, it worked really well. Especially, thankyou for the metric measurements!
I baked it in two six inch tins (aiming for a taller cake) and it took an extra ten minutes (45 total), which was just perfect in my oven. The cooled cakes came easily out of the tins. I used your vanilla butter cream recipe from the funfetti cake, with extra vanilla, for a big vanilla flavour.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear it was such a success! Thank you so much for commenting, I appreciate it 🙂
Tanvi Raavi
Q:If I make the cake 3 days in advance would It get dry by the time i serve it ?If so, how can I stop that from happening
Thanks in advance !
Marian
After trying so many different cake recipes, I’ve found that this really is one of the best cake recipes around. I get so many compliments on my cakes. I often use this recipe and add ingredients to change up the flavor of the cake. I’ve made a coconut cake, salted caramel cake, golden milk cake, spice cake and vanilla cake, of course, 🙂 using this recipe as a base. The basic chocolate cake recipe on this website is pretty amazing too. Overall, the cakes are very moist, easy to make and delicious.
Thank you Sam for sharing!
-Marian
Sam
Thank you so much, Marian! I am so glad enjoy the cakes so much. 🙂
Janet Lawson
The best vanilla cake was fabulous! I enjoyed preparing the delicious cake for my sweet granddaughter‘s birthday. I appreciate the time and effort preparing the video how to prepare the cake. Recommend this is the best vanilla cake. Everyone enjoyed the cake!
Sam
Thank you so much, Janet! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Emma Messina
Can I make this but with no vanilla?
Sam
Hi Emma! While the texture will be the same, the flavor won’t be nearly as good. It won’t be a “vanilla” cake anymore so I don’t recommend it.
Heather
I’ve made this recipe twice – once as a layer cake and once as cupcakes. (Honestly making it a second time wasn’t on purpose – I didn’t immediately realize it was the same recipe.) The texture is dense but nice, and the vanilla notes are lovely, but both times I’ve been able to taste the flour in the finished product – which is never something I want in a cake. I followed the recipe and am confident in my measurements. This one is almost a cross between a cake and an American biscuit in flavor. I don’t entirely hate it; I even like the fact that it’s less sweet, but it’s just not a classic cake. In fact, it’s gone down as the one blip on my record of making the best cakes in the office for the past decade. They didn’t hate it either – free cake is free cake, right? -but they didn’t love it.
Sam
That’s so odd, Heather! I’ve never been able to taste the flour before, so weird!
Trina
I just finished making this recipe and immediately could taste the flour too. It definitely is less sweet, I’m hoping the sweetness of the buttercream offsets it though.
Amanda
Hey! This looks delicious. Would a 10 inch round pan work?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Amanda! Yes, you can bake the Vanilla Cake in a 10″ round pan. I would just keep an eye on the bake time. Enjoy! 🙂
Hlobi
I’ll definitely try it today! Is it possible to use a different frosting? Thank you for sharing
Nats
Hi I need to make an eggless cake due to some people being allergic to eggs. Can i swap the eggs out with something else? Or do you have an eggless version
Heather Knepper
Can this be made into a bundt cake?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Heather! Yes, that should be fine. Just keep an eye on the bake time. I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cake! 🙂
UwU
I LOVE THIS CAKE RECIPE SO MUCH!!! Thank you for sharing it!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much! I am so happy that you love the vanilla cake. I appreciate you taking a moment to leave a review. Enjoy! 🙂
Matt
Could you sub out buttermilk with normal milk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Matt! Yes, you can substitute for buttermilk. I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cake. 🙂
Hannah
Hello! I was wondering if you had any time recommendations if you’re making cupcakes?
Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Hannah! No variations needed for cupcakes. I would just keep an eye on the bake time, should need about 17-18 minutes. Let me know how they turn out. Enjoy!:)
Vy Tran
This looks so exciting! I have yet to try but will save based on all the raving reviews here. I love that the amount of butter and sugar is not excessive as I have seen in other recipes for the same amount of flour.
Thanks for sharing!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, I hope that you give this recipe a try and let me know how it turns out. Enjoy! 🙂