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.
Barbara
Can you use this recipe to make a pineapple upside down cake? And if so how?
Sam
Hi, Barbara! I actually used a modified version of this cake to make my Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, I’d check that recipe out (I think you’ll love it!).
Nanita
I made my first cake from scratch. I frosted it with nutella buttercream frosting. It was tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Nanita! I am so glad that you enjoyed the vanilla cake. I love the sound of Nutella buttercream too. Enjoy! 🙂
Lois
Does this cake freeze good? If I wrap it really good and then frost just before we need it. Will it still be moist?
Sam
Yes that will work great! Enjoy, Lois! 🙂
Mirza
Is this cake good for stacking? Maybe even making multiple tier cakes?
How is the crumb?
Sarah
This looks so soft and amazing I wanna try it. Do you know what the baking time would be if divided the batter to make 3 x 8” cakes
Pat
Hello. I made this today. Everyone liked it. I felt that maybe I left it in the oven too long. It was very dry and tough like sponge cake. The flavor doesn’t have a vanilla flavor. It kind of taste like flour. I used all purpose flour. He only thing I substituted was vegetable oil instead of canola. I’m going to make it again another day and see how it turns out.
Any advice?
Sam
Hi If it was dry and tough I would agree that it was probably left in the oven too long, unfortunately! It’s also possible that it might have been mixed a bit too much, that can also make the cake tough. I would just make sure to bake it for less time, there’s a fair bit of vanilla extract in the cake so I would guess that maybe the flavor was impacted from being baked too long. I hope that helps!
Chloe
I have used this recipe six times now and every one has come out fantastic! Today I made a couple of batches for three tiers. One batch made 2 8inch for the middle and the other batch made the ten inch base and the 6inch top! I cannot wait to see it put together… Unfortunately I don’t have social media so I can’t tell the whole world about it – UK baker 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Chloe! I really appreciate your feedback and kind words. I hope your vanilla cakes turn out wonderful. 🙂
Nina
Hi Sam,
Thank you for sharing so many great recipes. But specially I have to tell you that this vanilla cake is the most heavenly recipe I have ever tried. I decided to make it my official vanilla cake. No wonder that it was the only thing you wanted to eat after a long trip & an a bad cold. (^_^)
Greetings from Mexico!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Nina! I am glad that you enjoy the vanilla cake recipe! Thanks for making it a go-to dessert. 🙂
Andrea
Hello lovely,
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.
I’m a novice baker and I ‘m trying to build a repertoire to use for my clients.
Can this cake be covered in fondant or should I use a more butter based cake?
Once again thank you for sharing your knowledge and recipes.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Andrea! I typically use a butter-based frosting for this cake but have never tried it with fondant. If you do, I’d love to know how it works for you. I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cake. 🙂
Jon
Always looking for recipes. Made your Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate chips and they were GREAT. Looked over your vanilla cake recipe and was wondering if I could add cornstarch. Do you think it would make the cake lighter? And how much should I add, if you think it would help?
Thanks in advance.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Jon! The Vanilla Cake is light and fluffy. I have found that the cornstarch was not needed. I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cake. 🙂
Bobbie R.
Hello! 🙂 How can I modify this recipe to make one batch (12 servings) of vanilla cupcakes instead?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Bobbie! This recipe makes approximately 24 cupcakes. If you just need 12, you should be ok if you just cut it in half. I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cupcakes. 🙂
Angie
Can I use milk instead because i prefer a sweeter taste and where can i find all purpose flour in australia?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Angie! Yes, you can use milk in place of buttermilk. I also believe that in Australia that Plain Flour is an equal substitution to all-purpose flour. I hope that your vanilla cake turns out well and you find it delicious! 🙂
Iram
Can i use a 9-10 baking pan for this recipie? Pkus i have to make it double, please guide….urgent
Sam
Hi Iram, this recipe can be baked in two 9″ or 10″ baking pans but the time will vary. It doubles well!
Heather
I used to make boxed cake mix, but I wanted a better texture since my cakes were falling apart when leveling and layering them. I love how this recipe uses techniques I’m learning in the baking class I’m taking. I made a two tiered cake (6 inch and 10 inch), and used 3 batches of this recipe. Each batch made a 10 inch and a 6 inch (and I had 3 layers because I needed the height). I put them in the oven at the same time, and kept an eye on when to take out the 6 inch (about 20 minutes). I did level them, though it did not create as much of a hump as I had with the boxed mix. This is my current go-to cake recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for your feedback, Heather! I am so happy that you enjoyed the vanilla cake and it worked so well for the cake you are creating. If you’re on Instagram, please tag #sugarspunrun, I’d love to see the finished creation. Happy baking and thanks again! 🙂
Bobbie
I followed the directions in this recipe perfectly and my cakes were like two heavy, dry pancakes. I had to search for another recipe that was much less specifics and came out moist, fluffy and delicious. I really wanted this recipe to be my new favorite but it just didn’t work for me
Sugar Spun Run
OH NO! I am so sorry to hear that the vanilla cake didn’t turn out well for you, Bobbie! I’m wondering if you could have possibly added too much flour? When measuring flour you want to use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with a straight end. If the flour is scooped into the measuring cup, this could cause it to be packed into the cup, resulting in too much flour. Regardless, I am so sorry that this happened. 🙁
Ann
Hey Bobbie,
With all due respect, baking is a science. There’s hundreds of people validating this recipe. Something in your baking equation that is off. Maybe you were trying to ask for advice and it just came off strange, but it’s not the recipe that’s the problem. Glad you were able to make that worked for you.
KalBites
I’ve been using this recipe since I came across it. That was about 2 months ago. I’m not much of a vanilla cake fan but ever since I started using this recipe, just wow. I’m sure by now I’ve baked more than 30 batches. The recipe is amazing and I’ll recommend everyone to try it. My friends also use it. It always come out perfectly, the crumbs are light, the cake comes out soft and the flavour is just amazing
Thanks for posting this, I’ll be out there looking through more of your recipes. Thanks again ♥
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that my vanilla cake recipe has become one of your favorites! I am so happy that you enjoy it. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it! 🙂
Tanvi
Q:if I make the cake 3 days in advance will it get dry by the time I serve it ?if so how can i not let that happen .
Thanks in advance !
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Tanvi! I recommend storing your finished vanilla cakes in airtight containers (like airtight cake carriers). They will keep at room temperature for several days, or longer if stored in the refrigerator. I hope that you enjoy. 🙂