With its outstanding vanilla flavor, pillowy soft crumb, and creamy vanilla buttercream, this is truly the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. And after 1 bite, I guarantee you’ll agree.
One reader, Sarah, commented: “This cake is elite. Texture, flavor, sturdiness for frosting and decorating, freezes well… It was a beautiful centerpiece and dessert for a baby shower. Thank you! ★★★★★“
One reader, Candice, commented: “This is truly the best vanilla cake I have ever tasted! It is among the best cakes I have made in my 20+ years of baking… ★★★★★“
One reader, Rary, commented: “Off. The. Charts. Absolutely scrumptious! ★★★★★“
Out of all the cake recipes on my website, there’s a glaring absence. There’s white cake with a pristine soft crumb, vanilla naked cake with a flavorful tight crumb, and checkerboard cake with a whimsical design.
What about a classic vanilla layer cake draped in vanilla buttercream? I already have homemade vanilla cupcakes and a vanilla 6 inch cake covered and now in all its crowning glory (and after plenty recipe testing catastrophes), I present you with cake perfection:
This is the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had.
What Makes it the Best Vanilla Cake?
Let’s count the ways!
- Soft, light crumb from cake flour
- Fluffy from extra egg whites
- Buttery and cakey from creamed butter
- Stick-to-your-fork moist from eggs & buttermilk
- Extra flavor from pure vanilla extract
Not to mention its versatility: This vanilla cake batter is strong enough for shaped cakes, tiered cakes (see the slight variation in my homemade wedding cake recipe), and holds up beautifully under fondant. Use this batter for vanilla cupcakes, Bundt cake, or even piñata cake. It’s classy enough for a wedding celebration, but unassuming enough for a big family dinner.
Behind the Vanilla Cake Recipe
After years of cake successes and flops, I’m confident in this homemade vanilla cake. During my recipe testing, I combined my white cake recipe and naked cake recipe. These are two reader favorites and I knew they’d be the best starting point. At first there were too many eggs and I quickly learned sifting cake flour was NOT doing any favors.
You need the following power ingredients:
- Cake Flour: If you want a fluffy and soft bakery-style vanilla cake, cake flour is the secret. The cake will be denser and heavier using all-purpose flour.
- Eggs & 2 additional egg whites: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why we use both in some recipes? Using enough baking powder to give these layers height gave the cake a bitter aftertaste. Baking soda allows us to use less baking powder.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an acidic ingredient and baking soda requires an acid to work. Plus buttermilk yields an EXTRA moist cake crumb. See recipe note about using a DIY buttermilk substitute.
For more prominent vanilla flavor, use homemade vanilla extract. (What a fun DIY gift!) This vanilla cake batter is moderately thick and fits perfectly in 3 9-inch cake pans. We actually use the same exact batter to make snickerdoodle cake.
Do you know how to level a cake? Let me help. It’s really easy. You can use a fancy cake leveler, but I use a serrated knife. Carefully slice off the tippy top of the cooled cake layers, creating a flat surface. Leveling cakes doesn’t require a ruler, talent, or any mathematical equations. Instead, just use your eyes, hands, and a knife.
Leveling the cake layers promises a straight and sturdy layer cake.
How Much Frosting Between Cake Layers?
I always eyeball the amount of frosting between cake layers, but I measured when I decorated the pictured cake. The vanilla buttercream recipe below yields about 6 cups of frosting. I recommend you use about 1.5 heaping cups of buttercream between each cake layer and reserve the last 3 cups for outside the cake. If you are going to add a filling such as raspberry cake filling, you’ll use less frosting between the layers. You can use this detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post as a guide!
Cake Decoration Inspiration: For a simple look, stick with vanilla buttercream, fresh berries, and mint sprigs. You can also decorate with chocolate buttercream (I recommend the same amount from this piñata cake), rainbow sprinkles, a chocolate ganache drip like on this chocolate chip cake, or even beautiful buttercream flowers.
Homemade Vanilla Cake Success Tips
Learn from my mistakes and bake the best cake on the 1st try!
- Follow the recipe closely. Use each power ingredient listed.
- Use room temperature ingredients. The batter mixes together evenly when all the cake ingredients are roughly the same temperature. This also reduces the risk of over-mixing and over-baking. Set out your ingredients 1 hour before beginning. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Line your cake pans with parchment. Place your cake pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. Trace the bottom of the cake pan with a pencil. Cut parchment paper into rounds. Grease the pan and the parchment paper. Parchment paper rounds guarantee seamless removal from the pan because the cake slides right out.
- Cool cake layers completely. I’ve tried taking shortcuts by assembling a layer cake with semi-warm cake layers. Well, the frosting completely melts and causes the entire cake to collapse. Make sure each layer is cool– refrigerate or freeze the layers if you need to!
- Refrigerate decorated cake. After frosting the cake, place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This is optional, but it sets the frosting and cake layers. You’ll get beautifully clean slices because the crumbs are cool and tight.
Great read: Check out Tessa’s Top 10 Best Layer Cake Tips.
Finding the perfect vanilla cake recipe requires a celebration. Luckily we have cake!!!
More Classic Cake Recipes
And here is my perfected vanilla cupcakes recipe.
Print
Best Vanilla Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its outstanding vanilla flavor, pillowy soft crumb, and creamy vanilla buttercream, this is truly the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. Make sure you read through the recipe and recipe notes before beginning. This recipe yields approximately 8 cups of batter which is helpful if you need this batter for different cake pan sizes and conversions.
Ingredients
- 3 and 2/3 cups (433g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs + 2 additional egg whites, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, a Tablespoon!)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 5 and 1/2 cups (650g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the 3 eggs, 2 egg whites, and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled as a result of the egg liquid and solid butter combining.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the buttermilk and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Weigh them to ensure accuracy, if desired. Bake for around 23-26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire cooling rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more milk if frosting is too thick, or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Assemble and decorate: Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with about 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with about 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I use and recommend an icing spatula to apply the frosting.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 1 hour before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See how to freeze cakes for detailed instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Kitchen Scale (optional) | Cooling Rack | Large Icing Spatula | Cake Turntable | Bench Scraper | Cake Carrier (for storing and transporting)
- 9×13-inch Cake: I recommend using my white cake batter instead. Both use similar ingredients and produce a deliciously light vanilla cake. See recipe notes for the 9×13 inch version.
- 2 Layer Cake: I recommend using my 2 layer white cake batter instead. Both use similar ingredients and produce a deliciously light vanilla cake.
- Bundt Cake: This vanilla cake batter will fit into a 10-12 cup or larger Bundt pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time (likely around an hour), but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same oven temperature.
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 19-21 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen. Or try my vanilla cupcakes recipe.
- Cake Flour: To prevent a dry-tasting cake, make sure you are spooning and leveling the flour or weighing it. For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. Usually a homemade cake flour substitute works, but this recipe uses far too much cake flour and the homemade substitute is not ideal.
- Eggs: 3 whole eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. 2 extra egg whites keep the cake light and airy. I don’t recommend using 4 whole eggs; stick to the 3 egg & 2 egg white combination. Here are recipes using leftover egg yolks.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Want chocolate frosting instead? I recommend the recipe/amount of chocolate frosting I use for Piñata Cake.
- Sprinkle Cake: To make a sprinkle cake, fold about 3/4 cup (135g) of sprinkles into the cake batter. Avoid nonpareils (the little balls), which tend to bleed their color. Or try this confetti birthday cake, which is quite similar to this recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I followed the cake recipe exactly and it was the best texture in a homemade cake! The frosting took 8 cups of sugar to thicken enough; next time I will reduce the amount of butter. Awesome cake for daughter’s birthday!! Also tried “Bake Even strips” and that leveled the layers.
This is a fantastic recipe and followed it to the T… used it for my daughters birthday cake last year and will be doing the same this year too…think it’s going to be a tradition!
This was amazing cake! It stayed moist for 5-6 days afterwards. The buttercream held up well at room temperature. This will be my go-to vanilla cake recipe!
Would it be possible to color the layers of this cake? If so, how would I do it/would I have to change anything else?
Yes, You can add food coloring to the batter without changing any ingredients. Enjoy!
Hi Megan, I made this very cake in 6(!!) pink ombre layers last year and it was amazing. I recommend using gel food colouring only, and mix very carefully once you add the colour.
Hi Sally,
Thank you for this, it was so much fun to make! Do you have a chocolate version of this? It turned out really well! Just wondering if I can make my top tier chocolate. Thanks!!
Hi Tina, This is my most popular and favorite chocolate cake.
Hello I’m just wondering if I could use some food coloring for this recipe to make each layer a different color? I’m sorry if someone already asked that before. Thank you xx
Sure can!
Hey Sally,
I’ve made this recipe a few times and its definitely a staple for me! I have a request from a friend to make it in 6 in pans and do 4-5 layers. Any advise on if I need more batter and will need to make two batches of cake batter or will one be ok?
Thank you,
Mackenzie
Hi Mackenzie, I’m so happy this recipe has been such a hit! You can use my post on Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions for help to calculate different size/number of pans.
Cake came out delicious. Recipe was super easy to follow. I made this for my grandson’s 2nd birthday cake, shaped the cake into a #2, and it held VERY well. Everyone loved the flavor of the cake. Thanks Sally!! I love your recipes!!
Hi Sally! I haven’t made this cake yet, but I will be soon. I am wondering how much batter should go into each cake. I am making double this recipe but only have two 9 inch pans, so I will have to make it in 3 rounds. I just do not want to run out of batter for the last few cakes.
Hi Sophia, I don’t recommend doubling any cake recipe. Instead make two separate batches or you risk over mixing which leads to a very dense cake. For one three layer cake you can bake the first two layers and leave the batter for the third at room temperature until the first two finish baking.
Hi Sally! I plan on making either a sheet cake or just a square 8×8 cake. I thought this recipe looked best. Could you explain why the white cake recipe would be better suited for a larger cake? Is it just because the recipe produces more batter? Thanks!
Hi Jenn, Yes, this batter is too much for a 9X13 inch cake. You can also take a look at my Vanilla Sheet Cake which is written for a 9×13 inch pan.
i’m trying to make this for my birthday and i want to know if i have to use cake flour. i can get cake flour, but i’m just curious, what’ll be different if i use all purpose flour ? also, super excited to try this recipe !!
Hi Analise, The cake will be denser and heavier using all-purpose flour. If needed, you can use this cake flour substitute.
Had to leave a review of this yummy cake. Made it for Opa’s birthday brunch (he’s a vanilla fan), but used the strawberry frosting, and it was a hit! Tasted so good, not too sweet. I slightly undercooked the cake by accident, but it still turned out fluffy and light and the icing helped to hide my mistake haha. Made the cake flour as instructed and that was fairly easy to prep beforehand. Also go check out Sally’s strawberry frosting, it is just so so good. No words to describe how good that frosting is… we were eating it off spoons yumm
Love it! Delicious!!! I’ve became a baker and I lovE it! By any chance have you done a jumbo or gain cupcake? I’d love to follow your recipe. 🙂 thank you for sharing amazing recipes.
I’m so happy you love this recipe, Peggy! I have not tried baking a giant cupcake cake.
Okay so this was my first time! Followed the instructions to the tee.
Flavor was there BUT it came out dry.
Please let me know what I did wrong.
Also my batter was very THICK.
Any suggestions?
Hi Damaris, It sounds like there was too much flour if your batter was too thick. Make sure you use the spoon & level” method or go by weight when measuring. Here are all of my tips on How to Properly Measure Baking Ingredients.
Baking goddess, thank you for bestowing us mere mortals with this heavenly recipe. Flavor: The best ever?! Texture: Perfection. Overall: Wow! I used 1/3 the recipe of frosting for a naked-ish cake. I only have two 8″ rounds so I poured the other third of the batter into a bread pan. So I came out with a two-layer cake, which was absolute perfection. Your internet fame is well-deserved and I’m so glad I found you. This is the first thing I’ve ever baked that I’ve been wowed by.
Hi Sally – love your blog! I’m planning on making a a cake for my friends as they were meant to be married this weekend but have obviously postponed their wedding. Ideally I’d love to make the 3-layer 6″ cake (something small but tall). However, this recipe sounds way better than the one you have for cupcakes. So I was curious as to what the difference is given the it’s more than just the amount of ingredients, but altogether different ingredients between this and the 6″/cupcake batter. Can I just use this for the 6″ tins, or would you still recommend I use your cupcake recipe? Thanks so much!
Hi Maria! You can use this cake batter for 6 inch cakes, but you’ll have quite a lot of cake layers on your hands. This recipe and my 6 inch vanilla cake recipe are similar, but with this larger cake I like to use buttermilk instead of sour cream and whole milk simply because larger cakes tend to become denser quicker and buttermilk helps prevent that. This cake also needs a few egg yolks for structure.
Made this cake into cupcakes for strawberry shortcake. It was so moist and delicious. Thanks, all your recipes that I have tried are excellent. You are my go to site for dessert recipes.
Hi Sally,
I’m making a birthday cake on Sunday for a friend’s daughter. She wanted a butter/vanilla cake with caramel icing. Would this cake work well with a buttercream caramel icing or do you think it would be too sweet?
Thanks!
Hi Ann-Marie, My salted caramel frosting would be delicious on this cake!
I am planning on making a rainbow cake for a friends birthday, and this recipe sounds great, so I think I am going to try it. Do you think that one batch of this cake batter is enough for all six thin layers? My plan is to weigh the finished batter and seperate it evenly, but I want to make sure I have enough batter.
Hi Sophia, there’s enough batter for 6 thin cakes. If you’d like them a little thicker, though, I recommend using 8 inch round pans. I’m unsure of the best bake time.
Thank-you for this recipe. It was truly the best cake ever. My sister made me this cake for my birthday and it tasted amazing.
The cake was amazing! I actually made it into a Memorial Day cake and colored the top layer red and the bottom blue (with food color gel). The buttercream icing was a little so so, it was a tad on the sweet side for my taste (which I tend to shy away from sweet so most people probably love it) so I may tweak that next time. The cake is so good, the icing kinda takes away from it. Definitely adding this to my list of recipes!
Hello! I’m wondering if this could be made on a “sheet pan”? If so, would I have to do anything different with the ingredients and/or bake time in order to achieve the same results for a moist and delicious cake? Thank you!
Hi Haley, This batter, as written, is enough for a thin 12×18 inch sheet cake. I’m unsure of the best bake time. Or how about my 9×13 inch vanilla sheet cake or my 12×17 inch funfetti sheet cake. (You can leave out the sprinkles.)
Used all the ingredients stated including cake flour and made sure all including baking powder were fresh. Cake layers looked perfect—slightly golden brown and perfectly level. However it was not what I’d consider to be moist but borderline dry. I did use a convection oven; could that be the problem?
Hi Rob, so glad you tried this vanilla cake. A dry texture could mean the cakes were over-baked. General rule for fan-forced/convection oven is to lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees F. I also have a post that will definitely help, too. See my How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake post if you’re interested.
Hi Sally! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and all of your knowledge! I need to make this cake 2 days in advance and wanted it as moist as possible. I’m making two batches in order to make 6 tiers, 3 9” and 3 5” Would it work if I added 2TBS sour cream and 1TBS oil? I’ll also make your simple syrup with lemon, to be 1000% sure it’s perfect! Thank you!!
I have never baked a cake before and tried this today. Amazing, my family loved it. Looks exactly like the picture. Thank you.
Made this today! I used 2 cake pans instead of 3. Which resulted in it taking a full hour to cook, and it became dense. The flavor is amazing though! Will be sure to use 3 pans next time.
Thank you, this turned out delicious!! Mine also wasn’t as soft and moist as I’d like, but I think next time I will buy the cake flour. I did the cornstarch and flour substitute method you suggested. Also, I made a Salted Caramel buttercream frosting to cover it instead. All so yum!
Amazing!!!! So soft and fluffy! …. and yet also moist!
I made a cut down recipe of 0.3 times of each ingredient to make it fit into my 2 pans which were 6″ each, & used these in a Boston cream pie!
So so soft…..! Only issue is that they took about 40 minutes to bake; but that may have been as a result of me using tinfoil and newspaper cake stripes on the outer circumference of my cake tins…?
Hi Sally,
Thanks for this recipe it is definitely the best vanilla cake I have had and I have tried quite a few recipes! One challenge I have is that because it is so thick when I fill the pans and bake it off there are always holes in the cakes. I tap the pans before baking and even run a knife through the batter to attempt to break these ahead of time but inevitably there are still holes. Is this something you have seen as well or have you found a way to overcome this. Again as always thanks for the great blog and consistent great advice!
I made this cake for myself for my Birthday. I didn’t have cake flour so I followed your recipe and made my own. The cake and the frosting cake out perfect. Thank you for helping me celebrate.
This recipe is perfection. I honestly didnt know I could bake a cake this tasty. Thank you for the explanations. It really helped.