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
Thanks for adding the weight measure to the volume measure. I can’t tell you how valuable it is to folks, like me, who live overseas. Here, a small onion could be only 30 grams when that’s less than half a “small” onion in the US. I understand that the humidity makes a difference in the weight, but every little bit of information makes it that much easier to successfully execute the recipe. I haven’t ever tried a vanilla cake from scratch. But I will make this one, and I suspect that I’ll be making it often. Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you find the weight measurements helpful, Barbara! I hope that you enjoy the vanilla cake. Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Queen Z
Do I have to use milk is there anything else I can substitute it with. I do not drink any kind of milk. Thanks in advance
Sam
Unfortunately I’m not sure what would be a good substitute. Hoping someone else can chime in!
Marci Flor
I have found rice milk will set pudding. It should be good for cakes in that case. Maybe make a small batch as a test.
roxy
hi my cake didn’t rise…it got a heavy corn bread type texture..where did I go wrong
Sugar Spun Run
Oh no, Roxy! I am sorry that your cake did not rise. Could it be possible that the baking powder used was old or expired? Using old or stale baking powder can result in not enough rise, and a flat dense cake.
Michelle
I made this in cupcake form for Valentine’s Day and they turned out SO good. Super easy, thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
That is wonderful, Michelle! I am so glad they were a hit! 🙂
Farah Khan
Hi. Would you be able to tell me how many cupcakes this recipe makes? Thank you
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Farah! This recipe will yield about 24 cupcakes. Enjoy! 🙂
Farah Khan
Thanks for the response 🙂
Tried your chocolate buttercream and it was divine. First time my family actually didn’t mind buttercream on their cupcakes
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed, Farah! 🙂
Serilla
Hi. I would like to make a doll cake with this recipe. If I use the doll cake pan and the largest diameter is 8 inches, how long must it bake for?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Serilla! Unfortunately, without trying it myself, I can’t give you an exact bake time. I recommend just keeping an eye on it. I hope that your doll cake turns out perfectly. 🙂
retno
hello there! i was wondering,can i replace the AP flour with a cake flour?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Retno! Yes, that will be fine. I hope that you enjoy the cake. 🙂
Maryam Ahsan
Can i use oil instead of butter
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Maryam! This vanilla cake recipe uses both butter and oil because it gives it the best possible taste while still preserving the soft, fluffy texture that you want. I don’t recommend substituting with more oil. 🙂
Billie Jean Brown
Is there a way to convert this from sugar to stevia. I have issues with sugar and would love to have a piece of birthday cake. I have tried several recipes on the internet that are made with stevia but they are very bitter. I was hoping someone had worked out the details on this one. Thanks.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Billie! I personally have not tried substituting the sugar so I can not advise. I know others have and had success so maybe one of them will chime in. 🙂
Marci Flor
Hello. I have found Stevia has a very strong sweetness. I usually use half in my drinks. Perhaps that would be helpful in cake recipes too.
Courtney
Love this recipe! Although I have a question on combining the butter, oil and sugar….90% of the time this cake turns out perfect but occasionally it has a cornbread like texture and I’m wondering if maybe I creamed the butter and sugar too much? What are your thoughts? Overall, great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Courtney! If the texture is dense and has a cornbread like texture most likely the flour was over-measured. This is a common mistake in baking so I have created a guide on how to properly measure flour that can be used as a reference for next time. I hope that it helps! I am so glad overall you have enjoyed this recipe. I greatly appreciate the feedback, thanks for commenting. 🙂
Courtney
How long do you typically cream the fat and sugar? Until light and fluffy? Or just until combined?
Sugar Spun Run
Just until it is well combined. 🙂
Ikechukwu Doris
Hi Sam,
I made this recipe and it turned out wonderful. It’s the best vanilla cake I have ever made. Thanks for sharing.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the vanilla cake, Doris! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Tiffany
Hi, can I put this in cupcake form? Obviously I’d reduce the bake time though. Thanks!
Tiffany
LOL! Just saw where it says I can!
Sugar Spun Run
Perfect! I am glad you found what you needed. Happy Baking, Tiffany. 🙂
HannahLF
The cake is in the oven right now! My batter is dyed a bright purple color, and will be filled with a bright pink frosting for my little 3 yr old niece. Hoping it’s nice and moist. m
Sugar Spun Run
I love the color combination, Hannah! I hope that your niece loves her cake! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
MelissaKreck
Thank you for this recipe! I have made 7 cakes in 2 weeks trying to find the best cake recipes. I just tried yours and it was perfect! I made it as a bunt cake at 350 for 40 min. The best part was it didn’t get that cornbread texture that I keep getting. The butter at room temperature is a must. Thank you again!!
Sam
You’re very welcome, Melissa! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cake, thank you so much for commenting 🙂
Lisa
Easy and delicious this is my new go to basic cake
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the vanilla cake, Lisa! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Gunter Davilla
I have not made this cake yet. I was wondering if I could leave out the 1/2 cup of butter and use 1 cup of oil instead. It sounds like it would be a good cake but might be a bit dry.
Sam
Hi Gunter! You can, but I feel the butter gives the cake a better flavor.