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
Literally everything I make from this website is fantastic. This cake is elite. Texture, flavor, sturdiness for frosting and decorating, freezes well (just follow Sally’s how-tos – she’s done all the work for you!). It was a beautiful centerpiece and dessert for a baby shower. Thank you!
Interested in making this came but wanted to decorate then refrigerator the cake overnight or up to 24hours. So I can make it in advance. If I do this do you recommend the cake be covered or uncovered?
Hi Ann, we recommend covering the cake. We hope you enjoy it!
Hi Sally, have you tried this as a GF option at all? If so, does it still work out the same or are changes required?
Hi Heather, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the exact results. Let us know if you try it!
Hi Lexi,
I tried the recipe with GF flour and I am very pleased to say that it was perfect! It rose like it was meant to however it did require a longer cooking time of between 40-50mins. I used Well and Good flour and swapped like-for-like. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a winner!
Is it ok to ice the cake and refrigerate (covered tightly) a full day before, or do you recommend only chilling it for up to one hour before serving?
Hi Emily, that would work!
Curious if you decorated it and chilled it for a day before serving. If you did was it covered or uncovered? How did it turn out?
Hey Sally!
I’ve made this cake so many times and it always turns out perfect.
My daughter has an egg allergy, can I substitute applesauce for the eggs? Or do you have another suggestion to sub the eggs? Or a different recipe?
Thank you!!
Hi Stacey, eggs play a crucial role in this recipe and we haven’t tested any substitutes. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
As a true advocate of Sally’s work, I found myself surprisingly disappointed with this recipe. The cake itself had a nice crumb but with little to no flavor. I tried adding more vanilla as a flavorless cake is a consistent issue I see with vanilla cakes but even then the it was bland. With the frosting, I found it so sweet, even when using only 60% of the written sugar measurements.
This is not at all against Sally’s work as there are many other incredible cakes she has published previously (the triple chocolate and carrot cake are consistent crowd pleasers).
Also, I would love if when you note that we can measure out our batter, if you could say how many grams you recommend weighing out per 9″ pan.
For two years, I’ve used this recipe for my Easter lamb cake with great success. The cake pan requires less batter than the recipe, so I made cupcakes out of what was left. I absolutely love how velvety this cake is, and the flavor lives up to its name. The frosting is also top notch – worlds better than other quick buttercreams.
Hi! I love your cakes and usually make them exactly as the recipe but is there a way to make it with less sugar but still keep the fluffiness? I’ve been asked to make some wedding cakes but with less sugar. What is the secret to the fluffiness? I’m thinking the baking soda in combination with the butter milk or sour cream? Thanks for your advice!
Hi Saffron, you can certainly try reducing the sugar, but keep in mind that it plays an important role in the overall taste, texture, and structure of the cake, so results may be different than intended. You might also enjoy these less-sweet frosting options instead: cream cheese frosting, Swiss meringue frosting, or whipped frosting.
You know it’s a good recipe when you mess everything up and it still comes out great. I was short on time, my butter was frozen. I ended up melting it by mistake and over-heated the buttermilk. Cooled them both in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, as that was all the time I had. It came out great and got rave reviews. It’s even better this morning (well, what’s the difference between cake and butterhorn or coffee cake?). Thanks, Sally!
Hi Sally!
I am trying to do a leopard print surprise cake. Would this hold up well with added gel coloring? Thanks in advance!
Definitely!
Hi Sally! Your vanilla cake recipe is truly the best! I made the two layers and put fresh Raspberrys in between them It was delicious! I also mad a mixed berry drizzle. My whole family loved the cake! Thank you for sharing your lovely recipes!
P.S. Do you have a recipe for Apple Strudel? It is one of my favorite desserts and I want to try making it on my own! Thank you!
Hi Sophie, so glad you love this cake! We don’t have an apple strudel recipe at this time.
I only have AP flour and don’t want to buy a whole package of Cake flour for just this one cake. Do I need to add anything to the recipe because of the change? I have no idea how cake flour differs than regular flour.
Hi Lindsay! Here’s our DIY cake flour substitute recipe you can follow.
Hi Sally, could you swap out nonfat unflavored greek yogurt for the buttermilk?
Hi Pam, buttermilk (or the DIY version in the recipe Notes) is really best here. It’s necessary to help activate the baking soda and it helps create an extra moist cake crumb.
Hello Sally,
I used this recipe for a round 9″ cake and it was absolutely delicious. I need to bake a cake for a really big crowd, and would like to use this recipe in a really large sheet pan if possible. Maybe a 18×12 if I can find one. Would I need to triple this recipe and would it even turn out as good. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
Hi Maria, Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
I’ve made this recipe two times now for my daughter’s birthday cake and both times came out perfectly! Everyone at the party raved about how delicious it was. Thanks so much for an amazing recipe!
Hi! Could I add vanilla bean to this cake and frosting? If so, how much would you recommend? Thanks!
P.S. I’ve been baking your recipes since 2015! I only ever use yours and they never fail!
Hi Katherine, yes, you can use the same amount of vanilla bean in place of the vanilla extract. Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes—we hope you love this cake!
Hello! After reading the instructions mentioning to keep the cake refrigerated, I was wondering if the cake is shelf stable? Or does it need to be refrigerated until being served?
Hi Kim! After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, we would refrigerate it. But, use your best judgment and whatever you are comfortable with- we’ve never had any problems leaving frosted desserts at room temperature for a day.
Could i just make this exact cake but just add cocoa to make a choclate cake. I love the texture and moisture of this cake but my granddaughter wants chocolate cake.
Hi Beverly! Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as swapping cocoa powder into this cake. Here’s our reader favorite chocolate cake recipe instead 🙂
Hi Sally!! I was wondering if you would know the exact measurements for box egg whites for this recipe.
Hi Cara, The carton of egg whites should give exact instructions for replacement quantities.
Hi, how does this compare to “The perfect white cake” recipe that is also listed on your page? In which situations would you choose to make this cake instead of the other one – e.g. is one denser, sturdier, etc.?
Hi TJ, the white cake is made with only egg whites for a pristine white crumb. It’s just ever so slightly a bit lighter. That one produces 2 layers (or a 9×13-inch sheet cake), whereas this vanilla version produces 3 layers. Both are fantastic, can’t go wrong with either!
Hi Connie, we haven’t personally tested it. Let us know if you do!
Thank you for the recipe! For the UK readers out there, I’ve had success replacing the cake flour with a supermarket brand of “sponge flour”. It is 9.4% protein so still a bit high, so I replaced about 25g of the 433g with corn flour (cornstarch in the US). And because it is self-raising, I left out the baking powder and only added a tsp of baking soda to make sure it would still react well with the buttermilk and sour cream.
Following your notes on your Triple Chocolate Cake recipe, I replaced half a cup of buttermilk (120ml) for 90g of sour cream. I baked 2 layers in a 20x30cm tin, which amounts to similar surface area of your 3 9-inch round ones.
Overall it turned out really well! Good moisture and structure and fed a crowd.
Hi!
Is it ok to use liquid egg whites rather than egg whites from an egg?
Hi Amy, you can use carton egg whites if needed.
This cake is magnificent, it’s the lightest most flavorful cake I have ever made. I made it for= my cousins birthday and my sister who doesn’t really like vanilla said it was the best cake she ever had.
I have some vanilla sugar I would like to use up. Can I replace the regular sugar for vanilla sugar?
Hi Emily, yes, absolutely! Vanilla sugar would be fantastic in this cake.
Can you use GF 1:1 flour? Thanks so much!
Hi Tiersa, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the exact results.
Hi, I made this cake and even timed how long I beat each step but it didn’t rise as much as expected and many large air holes.
Also can I make it less sweet somehiw?
Hi Sandra! These aren’t super thick cake layers, but a cake can be too flat if it’s been over-mixed (all mixers are a little different!), or your baking powder or soda could be getting old as well. Some small bubbles in cakes are normal, but if you have larger bubbles or holes in your cakes it could be from any number of reasons. Some common causes of air bubbles are over-mixing the batter, using too much leavener, or adding the eggs all at once instead of one at a time. If the cake seemed a bit dry and dense (with the exception of the tops), this post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes may be helpful to review, too. Hope this helps for next time and thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I’m from the UK!
I’ve made this cake before with plain flour and baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Worked fine.
This time making the cake I have found some cake flour which is self raising. Do I still need to add the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda? I don’t want my cake to over rise!
Hi Martha, the use of self rising flour would require additional recipe testing so we can’t confidently recommend how to use it. Because it has leaveners already added into it, it’s best to use a recipe that is written specifically for self rising flour and stick to all purpose for this cake.
I used AP flour just because that is what I had, otherwise followed instructions (using white vinegar + 2% milk for buttermilk), and it came out absolutely perfect. So delicious. Sally’s recipes never disappoint me!
Hi Sally, is it possible to make a half recipe for this cake?
Hi Nate, you can halve this recipe if needed. This cake pan sizes and conversions guide may also be helpful for scaling to a smaller pan.
I tried this recipe and even though I reduced the amount of sugar, it came out extremely sweet. I only added 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead of 2 and it still came out super sweet. Not sure why it has so many good reviews.
Hi Sally, I want to attempt this recipe but only have 1 9in springform cake pan. Do you recommend that I reduce this recipe at all and if so by how much? Thank you
Hi L, if you have a sturdy, reliable springform pan that doesn’t leak, you can use it for this recipe. However, we don’t recommend baking it all in one pan. That will be a bit too much batter and will cause it to rise and bake unevenly. It’s best to bake the cake in individual layers, so if you only have one pan, you can leave the remaining batter covered at room temperature while waiting for the baking layer to finish. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the cake!