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.
Lindsey
This is my first time making a cake. You mention that we should use 2 deep 8″ cake pans. How deep should they be? Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Lindsey! I use 3″ deep baking pans. Good Luck baking your first cake! Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Christine
We loved this cake and frosting. The cake was moist and the frosting was delish. I saw the other comments regarding the cake being dry so I folded in the dry ingredients with a spatula very slowly until combined. Think of it as you would folding in egg whites. I used 9″ round pan and it baked for 30 minutes. I made the frosting with chocolate chips and cooled it down on top of a bag of frozen corn stirring until cool. I will be making the chocolate cake next week. Thank you for the recipe, it will get used many times.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the vanilla cake, Christine! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. I can’t wait to hear what you think about the chocolate cake next. 🙂
Jenny C
So sorry to leave a lackluster review, but I made this cake for a friend’s birthday, and it came out very heavy. The flavor was good, but it almost had the consistency of pound cake. I do always try to not overmix the batter. I followed your recipe to a T, including all ingredients were room temp, and adding the buttermilk and flour mixtures alternately, ending with flour. Any suggestions to lightening the texture? Fewer eggs? More/less buttermilk? Willing to give it another go!
Sam
Disappointed to hear this, Jenny! I wouldn’t adjust any of the ingredients. Here are a few things that could make a cake come out heavy:
1) if the ingredients were over-mixed (sounds like you did not do this though)
2) if the cake was baked too long in the oven this can actually make it pretty dense as well
3) If the flour was over-measured. If you didn’t use weights I would check out my tutorial on how to measure flour.
I hope that helps!
Elizabeth
Thanks for the idea. Did you change the oven temperature or the time baked at that altitude? I added an extra egg and reduced the cooking time. The cake tasted delicious but was a little toasty on the sides. I’ll try it again. Thank you both!
Sharon
Thank you so much for this recipe..I tried baking the cake without the frosting and it was a superhit.Incredibly moist and soft.
So happy with the success 🙂
Was looking for the perfect vanilla cake and glad to say I found it 😊
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for commenting, Sharon 🙂
Virginia Reese
Hello, my son wants vanilla cake for his birthday. I have always done chocolate and have gotten a decent recipe down for it. But I will have to make this by hand being I do no have a mixer (hand held or stand) will your recipe still turn out fluffy and such when made by hand? The last one I attempted did not, so I thought I would ask. 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Virginia! I honestly have never tried it. If you can manage to get the ingredients well combined I think that you will be fine. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. I hope your son has a wonderful birthday and enjoys his cake. 🙂
Kristy
Borrow your husband’s drill. I had my mixer to tear up while in the process of mixing batter. We broke out the drill. And it worked.
Sugar Spun Run
That is a creative solution for sure. I will have to try it next time. Thanks for sharing, Kristy! 🙂
Liz Zuehlsdorf
I want to try this soon, sounds delicious, my husband’s favorite type of cake. My question is could I use a 9 x 13 pan instead of round pans or a bundt pan? Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Liz! I have had others bake it in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and it worked well. The bake time will vary, so I recommend just keeping an eye on it. I hope that your husband enjoys the vanilla cake! 🙂
Liz
I made it today and it was delicious, my husband absolutely loved it. He said it would have been better with chocolate ice cream, but I thought the cake and frosting itself was enough sugar. I made it in the 9 x 13 and it worked well, such an easy recipe, I know I will be making it again!!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed it, Liz! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Elizabeth
I live in Colorado at 5300 ft. Do you have suggestions for baking this cake at this altitude? I haven’t baked a cake in 20 years and I’m part of the way through trying this one for my son’s birthday. I’ll still have time to make another one if you could let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Elizabeth! I am sorry, I don’t have experience baking at high altitude so I can not advise. I am so sorry that I can not be more helpful. I hope that your son has a wonderful birthday! 🙂
Amanda
Hey Elizabeth,
I love in Breckenridge, Colorado at 9,800 feet and I loooove baking! I always add a little extra of whatever the wet ingredients are. I just baked this cake and added an extra 1/8th of a cup of milk. It turned out perfectly and still very moist.
Laurie
Is it ok to use salted butter in the cake batter instead of unsalted?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Laurie! Yes, that will be fine. If you do, you will want to omit the additional salt that is listed on the ingredient list. Let me know how your cake turns out. 🙂
Susan
Hi, and thank you for a delicious sounding vanilla cake recipe. Can I halve the ingredients to make one 8” round cake?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Susan! Yes, that will be fine. I hope you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Mrs mt
I made this today for my child’s birthday party. Everyone loved it! It’s the perfect texture. Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the birthday cake! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Laura
This is THE BEST cake I have ever made 😍
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cake, Laura! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Patrice Rodgers
Made this for Thanksgiving and was very disappointed. Double checked recipe to make sure I had included everything, and I had, but it was without flavor. No one liked it. I brought much of it home with me later.(That NEVER happens in this family!) Recommend doubling the vanilla, but even then…
Sam
Disappointed to hear this, Patrice! Did the vanilla cake have a dense or dry texture when you cut into it? Sometimes if it is over-baked or if the batter is over-beaten it can affect the taste outcome in the end. Happy to help troubleshoot further though!
Shawn
Hello I couldn’t find a recipe to make a cake without having baking powder/soda or buttermilk ingredients. I saw a few but they did not look as good as yours. I used baking soda and liquid plain yogurt as I saw it could be a sub for cream of tartar. The batter tastes nice but not sure as to how it will come out of the oven, I guess we’ll see. I just had to have cake…lol
Julie
You can make your own buttermilk by using regular milk and lemon juice.
Serene
May I ask as my oven can only bake 1 8 inch at a time . Can the balance batter stay at room temp while waiting for the other to complete ?
Sam
Hi Serene! That should work just fine. 🙂
Serene
Thanks I followed your recipe for vanilla cake and vanilla cream frosting and they taste soo good ..my kids love them sooo much. Easy to follow instructions and video made it so easy for a starter like me . 5 stars and big thumbs up.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for the 5- star review and big thumbs up, Serene! I am so glad that the cake and the vanilla frosting was such a hit! Thanks for trying my recipe and taking the time to comment. 🙂
Mary Taylor
Hi! Is there a substitute for the buttermilk?
Sam
Hi Mary! If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, I recommend using my easy buttermilk substitute. 🙂
Jersey
Yes 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to every 1 cup of whole milk.
Mahshid Milani
Hi Sam I am still waiting for your reply. I have seen your chocolate cake recipe but I wanted to know why you cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla cake and melt the butter for chocolate cake. Can I make the vanilla cake and just add some cocoa powder?
Sam
Hi Mahshid! These are just two different types of techniques. I don’t recommend adding cocoa powder to the vanilla cake. You would need to make some other alterations so it doesn’t dry out. I would just stick with the chocolate cake recipe. 🙂
Mahshid Milani
OK thank you. Your vanilla cake is the best
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Mahshid! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂