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
This was a crowed pleaser. I loved it. You don’t even need frosting! But, still great with frosting. Quick question: how do you store a cake?
Thank you, Sally!
Hi RC, if you have a cake carrier or cake box, that’s the best way to store a cake without covering it directly with plastic wrap.
Hello, I’m trying to decide between this recipe and your vanilla sheet cake recipe for my cake. I would like to know what is the difference between this cake and the sheet cake texture and flavour wise. Hope you can help, thank you!
Hi Jess, both are very similar in terms of taste, but the vanilla sheet cake has a slightly denser, tighter crumb since we use the reverse creaming method for that cake. You really can’t go wrong with either!
Hi Sally , how would I increase it for a 12” cake to feed 40 people
Hi Kim, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions.
Seriously one of the best cakes I’ve made! So soft and tasty — my family devoured it. I’ll definitely make again!
Hi Sally, Could you use this recipe for cupcakes. And if so, how many cupcakes would it make.
Thank you ☺️
Hi Abigail, You bet! See recipe notes for details.
Made this once before and it turned out great! Making it again for a party, a cake and cupcakes, but need to bake and frost everything ahead of time. Would it be safe to leave on countertop for 24 hours or would it need to be stored in the fridge?
Hi Kara, After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, it’s best to refrigerate it. As always, use your best judgment and whatever you are comfortable with.
Can I use this recipe to make several small 4-inch cakes and use the rest of the batter to make cupcakes?
Hi Sarah, Sure can! We are unsure of the bake time you would need for that size pan.
The recipe says fill the pans evenly with batter. I want to use a 9×13 pan. How full should I make the pan since there will be left over batter for cupcakes?
Hi Lisa, Please see the recipe notes (below the recipe) for our suggestions on making a 9×13 cake.
Have you ever tried this with half butter half sunflower oil? I want to try. I feel like oil gives it so much more moisture but butter gives the flavour. What are your thoughts?
Hi Lara, oil certainly gives us extra moist cakes. Buttermilk does, too! But feel free to test things out using half oil and half butter. You may have better luck doing something like 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup oil.
Hi! This is my go to recipe for vanilla cake! I’ve made it quite a few times and usually it comes out the perfect thick consistency but the last time I made it, the batter came out runny and almost curdled. I still baked it and the cakes and it seemed like they were taking longer to bake and came out with lots of air holes. I can’t figure out what I did differently and what I should do to avoid this in the future, thank you!
Hi Macy, Did you make any changes to the recipe or use different size pans? Be sure you are dividing the batter between three 9-inch pans and also check that you are using conventional settings on you oven (not convection/fan heat). If this ever happens again, try covering the tops of the pans with aluminum foil so they they don’t over-brown before the center is finished baking.
No the batter was thin and almost curdled before I even put it in the pans. And as far as I know I did all the measurements correctly with a scale and the correct order, maybe my room temperature ingredients were too warm? Either way I’ve made this recipe before and it always comes out perfect, so I know it has to be my mistake! I appreciate the feedback and will definitely use the foil trick if it ever comes out like that again.
I love your recipes! I am making this for my grandsons birthday party. I’d like to use a cream cheese frosting with lemon curd added for the layers. Do you think that would work with this recipe? Also I need to freeze it and then frost it morning of party. I’ve succesdfully done that in the past but not with this cake. Would love and appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Sandy, yes you definitely can! We recommend spreading on a layer of frosting, then piping a frosting “dam” around the perimeter before filling with lemon curd. You can see a visual of this process in this post for chocolate raspberry cake. 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. Hope it turns out great!
Hi Sally, I’ve been using your recipes since college and everything has turned out amazing. I feel like I did something wrong. I used 9in round cake pans, measured everything out correctly (spooned and leveled). I even measured the batter for each pan. I let the cakes cool to room temperature and upon removal my cakes split. I tried to sift through some of the comments but there are too many. Do you have an idea of what I may have done wrong? Cooking the cakes for my husband birthday. I may have used too many sprinkles or greased my pans too much ? I’m not sure. The flour though is to die for !!
Hi Lilly, I’m so sorry to hear this! I’m happy to help troubleshoot. It’s possible the batter may have been over-mixed–an easy fix for next time. If you add sprinkles to the batter, we recommend keeping it to 3/4 cup, or about 120g. The other two things it could possibly be are over-baking, or else opening the oven door during baking, causing temperature changes. You can also try using an oven thermometer to check the calibration of your oven, and make sure it’s not actually hotter than it says it is. And all our recipes are tested with a conventional oven setting; if you use a convection or fan setting, you would need to lower the temperature by about 25ºF. I hope these tips help for next time!
Hello! Do you think I could use this recipe for a 13×9″ cake? If I doubled it?
Hi Trisha, see recipe Notes for 9×13 recommendations.
I’ll be using 3 8 inch pans instead of 9 inch… is that okay? Or should I just not use all the batter? Do you know about how many cups I should put into each pan?? Thanks!
Hi Jenny, you can use this recipe with 8 inch cake pans for slightly thicker layers in a three layer cake. You may need an extra minute or two of bake time since they layers will be thicker – use a toothpick to test for doneness. Or, you can fill the 8 inch pans a little less and use the leftover batter for some cupcakes.
Hi Sally! Would i be able to use this recipe to make a rainbow layer cake by adding different food coloring to the 3 separate cake layers? Thank you for your help!
Hi Kate, you can absolutely make a rainbow cake–we have many times! We typically split the batter among 5 pans for thinner layers (6 layers from one batter would be quite thin). If you wanted, you could make the recipe twice for 6 regular-sized layers (the cake would be quite large). We’re unsure of the exact bake time for 5 layers, but it will be less since the layers are thinner. Let us know what you try!
Thank you so much, I will keep you posted!
My first time ever making a cake, I did it for my husband’s birthday and I’m amazed at how good it came out. Thank you so much! You’re awesome.
I love your recipes but when I finished mixing the batter it just didn’t come together and I am not shore why. It stayed looking all curdled even though I followed the recipe exactly. Any idea what I did wrong?
This cake it’s amazing, it’s my nephew’s favorite and this it the third time in a row he asks for it for a special occasion (two birthdays and his first communion). And every time it turns up just as good
I have used this recipe many times for birthday cakes. I am looking at making a two tiered wedding cake for 70 people. I had planned to have a 12″ lower tier and 9″ upper. thinking 3 layers per tier. I see in your notes you suggest a 2 layer vanilla cake recipe for layered cakes yet have photos of this vanilla cake layered (as I have done) could you comment on the difference or what you would advise for a wedding cake
Hi E A, here’s our wedding cake recipe!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I have had great luck with every recipe that I have tried from this web site. Can 1 cup of berries be added to the recipe?
Hi Farns, yes, a cup of berries (lightly tossed in flour) can be added to this batter. Hope you enjoy it!
I’ve been asked to make an almond layer cake. I’ve made your vanilla cake recipe before and loved it…can I just substitute or add almond extract to this recipe? If yes, do you have an extract amount you would recommend using? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, we recommend using half vanilla extract and half almond, or even 3/4 vanilla and 1/4 almond depending on how strong you would like the flavor. We usually use McCormick almond extract. Happy baking!
Could I substitute cake flour for all purpose flour?
Hi Sophia, cake flour has a lower protein content and guarantees a supremely soft, fluffy crumb. We do not recommend using all-purpose flour in its place-—the cake will be very heavy and dense.
Thank you! Also, what is your approach on taking the cake out of the pan? When I tried to use a metal spatula, the cake broke in the center.
Hi Sophia, are you lining the pans with parchment rounds and spraying with nonstick spray? That’s our trick to guarantee it’s easy to get the cakes to release seamlessly from the pans. Then all you need to do is run a knife around the edge of the pan and flip it over and the cake should come right out.
Hey I can’t fine cake flour anywhere would it be better to use a substitute cake flour or just all purpose flour?
Hi Brooke, You can make this DIY Cake Flour Substitute.
The cakes just came out of the oven. They look and smell divine!
Can I refrigerate the fully frosted and decorated cake for 24 hours? I don’t have time tomorrow to frost it. It has to be done today.
Thanks!!
Hi Eileen, absolutely. Make sure the cake is well covered to keep freshness. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, do you have a brand of cake flour that you recommend?
Hi Kristin, we like Swans Down or Softasilk brands. Both are usually available at grocers.
Have you ever tried this recipe with an egg substitute?
Hi Breana, we haven’t, but let us know if you do any experimenting!
I and my family have never been disappointed by anything I’ve baked using a Sally recipe, and of the top three recipes on the web for vanilla cake, this is the only one that uses cake flour and buttermilk, which are excellent choices for a good cake recipe.
i never really rate things online but this is genuinely my favorite recipe ever!!! i dont bake alot but its so so nice and fluffy and dense and everything ^_^ 100% without a doubt my favorite cake!!!!! i love it so much its the best!!!
This cake batter turned out awful. It took AN HOUR to bake a single 6in cake. I used cake flour and sifted all my dry ingredients. I’m super disappointed. The batter was incredibly thick. I bought brand new baking soda and powder just for this. I have no idea what went wrong.
Hi Rachel, I want to make sure I understand your review. This recipe is for a 3 layer 9-inch cake. Did you bake this amount of batter into 3 6-inch pans? Because that is too much batter for each pan, and I am not surprised it wouldn’t bake through properly.
Hi! Can I make 3 8 inch layers with this recipe? I only have 8×8 baking dishes
Hi Jessi, other bakers have reported baking this cake batter in two 9×9 pans with success! You could use three 8×8 pans for thinner layers. Let us know what you try!
Hi Sally! I love this recipe. How can I twice the amount? Just double the ingredients?
Hi Bea, for best results, we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
Hi Sally! Love all of your recipes! I am looking to make this cake but want to do some simple piping around the top and bottom. Do you think the icing will yield enough for the decorating, or do you recommend making another batch? Thank you!
Hi Ally! We would make extra buttercream for piping.