This Classic Vanilla Cake recipe pairs fluffy vanilla cake layers with a silky vanilla buttercream. The perfect cake for birthdays, weddings, and holidays!
This classic Vanilla Cake is one of the most beloved recipes on Liv for Cake.
I always thought that there were so many of these recipes out there that I’d stick to more unique ones. But really, I think the world needs my version of this simple, classic, delicious flavor combination.
Truthfully, most of my cakes use this vanilla cake recipe, but I’ve never paired it with a vanilla buttercream.
I know it’s easy enough for some people to grab a cake recipe from one post and a frosting recipe from another, but for those of us that are a little less comfortable mixing and matching for fear of epic failures, I’m putting it together for you into one recipe!
How to Make this Homemade Vanilla Cake
This vanilla cake recipe is the one I use as the base for all of my white/yellow cake-based recipes.
I’ve changed up the liquid like in this Pink Champagne Cake, the butter in this Brown Butter Cake, and sugars in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, etc. to create different flavors. Some recipes require more experimentation, like this Coconut Cake.
Cake Tip!
Modifying cake recipes requires expertise and experimentation, so don’t make changes to a recipe unless you’re confident it will work out. It’s always best to ask if you’re not sure!
I use the creaming method to make this vanilla cake which requires:
- Creaming the butter and sugar
- Incorporating the eggs one at a time
- Alternating adding the flour and liquid
I use buttermilk in this vanilla cake recipe because I love the flavor and texture it gives the cake. The buttermilk in the cake helps ensure that it’s not super sweet, and it works well with any kind of frosting.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own at home:
- Simply add 1 Tbsp of either fresh lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup of milk. Stir and let sit for about 10mins. The milk will start to curdle and essentially turn into a perfect buttermilk substitute.
That being said, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand and if you prefer a sweeter cake, you can use regular milk instead. Ideally use whole milk, but I never have that on hand, so I use 1% and it works just fine.
Milk substitutes such as almond milk or coconut milk, etc. will work fine too.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
I used a Swiss meringue buttercream here because it’s my favorite, but you can use an American buttercream instead if you prefer.
If you’re going to make Swiss meringue buttercream for the first time, have a read through my detailed tutorial so you know what to do and what not to do to make it a success. I provide a thorough step-by-step process as well as tips and troubleshooting.
I chose to decorate this classic vanilla cake with simple rosettes and sprinkles. I used a decorating comb to make the lines in the sides of the cake, and I love how it turned out!
Definitely going to be trying the other combs in the set, as it’s such an easy way to give a pretty result.
I typically shy away from decorating combs since they remind me of grocery store cakes (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but this one gives it a particularly modern, clean look.
Keys to Success with this Vanilla Cake recipe
Or any cake recipe, really. When it comes to baking, especially cakes, it’s best not to take shortcuts. You want to follow the recipe exactly as written and pay attention to any notes.
Here are the key things you should keep in mind to help bake cakes successfully:
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature. Or whatever temperature is specified in the recipe. This helps make sure everything gets incorporated together properly. Not doing this can result in poor emulsification and a less-than-perfect final product.
- Measure your flour properly. Spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup rather than using the measuring cup as a scoop. The latter packs in the flour and can result in dense and dry cakes.
- Don’t skimp on creaming the butter & sugars. You want to make sure they are pale and fluffy. Beat for at least 2-3 minutes.
- Fully incorporate each egg one at a time. Again, for proper emulsification and to ensure a good texture, add one egg at a time and mix well until adding the next.
- Don’t overmix once you add the flour. Mix on low and only till the flour is just incorporated. Overmixing can cause dense but also fragile and crumbly cakes.
- Grease & flour your pans & line bottoms with parchment. To help ensure cakes come out cleanly.
- Use baking times as a guideline only. Every oven is different. Some run hot, some run cold, some have hot spots. Only you know how your oven bakes and it will require some testing on your part to know what works for you.
- Cool your cakes in the pans for 10mins. Any more and the sugars will start to set and the cakes will stick to the pans, any less and the cakes will be too fragile and might break when you’re turning them out.
- Cool cakes completely before frosting. This is critical or you’ll melt your frosting and have a very hard time of putting the cake together.
Following these steps will really help ensure your cakes are successful. It will also make your life easier and less stressful, trust me!
If you’re looking for a delicious vanilla cake recipe, whether it be for a birthday, anniversary, or any celebration (even if it’s just making it through the week), you will love this cake!
Looking for more Classic Cake recipes?
- Classic Chocolate Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Coconut Cake
- Classic Birthday Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Classic Hummingbird Cake
- Classic White Cake
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I convert this recipe?
- The recipe as-is will also work in three 6″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe. Baking time may need to be adjusted. You can use two 9″ as well but the layers will be thinner (reduce baking time accordingly).
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes depending on size.
- You can bake it in a 9×13 pan. Baking time will be slightly shorter.
- You can bake it in a Bundt pan as well but you’ll need to increase the baking time.
- For other conversions go here. Bake time may vary depending on pan size.
- Baking time will vary if you change the pan size. Every oven is different so I can’t say for certain what you’ll need to adjust it to. Be sure to check on the cakes while they are baking.
Can I make it in advance?
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
- The finished cake (whole or sliced, stored airtight) can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
- There is a Metric option in the recipe card. If you click it it will convert everything to grams.
- This conversion is done automatically and I cannot guarantee the accuracy but many readers have had success using the metric option on my recipes.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
- For best results, use actual buttermilk, but if you don’t have any you can make your own at home by combining 1 cup of milk (whole milk ideally, but I often just use 1%) with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar and letting it sit for 10mins.
Tips for this Vanilla Cake recipe:
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can make your own (see post for details) or you can use regular milk or milk substitutes instead.
- If you’d prefer to use an American buttercream, you can use one full recipe of Simple Vanilla Buttercream instead.
- Or if you’re looking for a chocolate buttercream version, check out my Classic Birthday Cake.
- If you want a white cake instead of a yellow cake, use this recipe here.
- I used a decorating comb for the texture on the sides of the cake. I used the left side of the one on the left pictured here.
- I prepare my cake pans using Homemade Cake Release and line with parchment paper.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my How to Bake Flat Cakes post!
The BEST Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Assembly:
- confetti sprinkles
- nonpareils
Instructions
Vanilla Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (about 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for 30-35mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.
Vanilla Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a pot with 1-2″ of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- Add vanilla and whip until smooth.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth with a bench scraper.
- If desired, use a decorating comb to give texture to the sides.***
- Mix confetti and nonpareils in a small bowl. Press sprinkles gently along the bottom of the cake and sprinkle along the top. For the speckled sides, I grabbed a pinch of sprinkles and tossed them randomly at the sides.
- Pipe rosettes using a 1M tip with remainder of frosting.
Notes
This recipe was originally published on June 12th, 2017 and was updated with new content on January 30th, 2023.
frinzaofficial says
This is such a delightful and tasty cake. I’ll try this recipe and will come and share a picture for you.
Olivia says
Thank you! So glad you like it 🙂
Ange says
This is such a great recipe – I’ve used it so many times! Do you think I could add jimmies to make it a funfetti cake?
Olivia says
Hi Ange! I’m so happy you like it. For sure! Just fold them in gently at the end. I would use 1/4 cup or so.
Kayla says
Hey there!! I’m wanting to try out this cake recipe for an order and I’m wondering how thick each cake layer turns out once leveled ?? My last vanilla recipe I used they came out super thin and I had to make another batch so that my cake would be tall enough!! I’ll be using 2, 8in pans.
Olivia says
Hi Kayla! The cakes should bake right to the top of the pans or close to BUT that assumes that you use baking strips and the cakes bake level so you don’t need to trim them: https://livforcake.com/flat-top-cakes/
Wendy Streeter says
Absolutely loving your recipes, especially the baileys and coffee cake which is just amazing. Was wondering if you have made any using gin, or if it could be substituted in any of your recipes..
I want to make a vanilla cake with a strawberry filling but also use some strawberry gin
I would be so grateful for your suggestions or thoughts
Many thanks
Wendy
Olivia says
Hi Wendy! Thank you! You could definitely replace some of the milk with gin (1/4 cup or so) and that would work fine. And/or you can brush a gin simple syrup on the layers after they’ve baked 🙂 https://livforcake.com/simple-syrup-recipe/
sharlene says
Hi liv! I was just wondering how many cups of batter this recipe makes 🙂 I am planning on making a sheet cake (11×15 that needs approx 12 cups of batter) using this recipe and im not sure if i should double or triple these meaurements. Please let me know! Thank you so much 😊
Olivia says
Hi Sharlene! I haven’t ever measured it but based on this it says two 8″ pans should be 12 cups? https://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html That doesn’t seem enough for an 11×15 pan though unless you’re planning a thinner cake. I know this recipe should work as is for a 9×13 pan.
Dallas says
I’m so heroes because I got feedback of a dense cake(I don’t know if they let it come to room temp). Should I use cake flour. I did with your strawberry and mascarpone and got great reviews but don’t want to mess up this recipe. It’s for a birthday cake and I hate I can’t taste stuff before I give to people haha.
Dallas says
Not on this cake but on a cake I made so I’m nervous now making cakes lol.
Olivia says
Hi Dallas! My cakes tend to be more on the dense side rather than light and fluffy, but it shouldn’t be too dense. Overly dense cakes can be from overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added — it develops too much gluten. But also from things like ingredients not being at room temp etc. You can use cake flour instead if you prefer and that should work fine. I do find it’s best to do a trail run of a cake so you can try it first before giving it to someone. You can reduce the recipe to make a smaller cake or cupcakes if you like 🙂
Lisa says
Making this for my twin sister and I birthday this weekend ❤️ We decided to do a cookies and cream cake because both our kids love Oreos lol.
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! I hope you both love it 🙂
youngchef says
vandisimo perfecto.its brilliant
Olivia says
Thank you!
Oriana says
Hi Liv,
I love this cake but I’m not sure why it always looks a little bit curdled once I start adding the milk and it never quite comes back. Everything is room temp and in the first addition of flour it looks beautifully smooth, when I add milk it curdles, it gets a little better every time I add the flour but it never becomes smooth again. It’s like it’s too much liquid or something. Any guesses? It happens with the coconut cake recipe as well which is very similar but with coconut cream. Thanks
Olivia says
Hi Oriana! This happens to me sometimes too, but usually when I’m rushing and/or if the milk is still slightly on the cold side. Do you add the milk all at once or stream it in slowly? Something is breaking the emulsification. It doesn’t affect the end result too bad, but it’s not ideal for sure. Is it possible the eggs are still a bit cold when you add them? It’s usually a temperature thing that causes it.
Oriana says
Hi Liv,
I’m sorry I missed your reply, thanks for being so quick! Eggs are always room temp, I live in Ecuador and we don’t refrigerate eggs here at all. I am adding milk all at once, maybe I should do it slowly? It’s true that even though they look curdled they always come out delicious, but it’s so frustrating to think that maybe they could be even better! Thank you so much for your help, I love all your recipes.
Monique says
Hello, is there a reason for using granulated sugar instead of caster? Could you substitute the granulated with caster? Thank you x
Olivia says
Hi Monique! Granulated sugar is our standard sugar here as caster sugar is less readily available in North America. You could use caster instead if you prefer.
Erin says
How would you suggest to make this as a half sheet cake? My pans are 2″ deep. Might do 2 or layers.
Olivia says
Hi Erin! What are the dimensions of your pan? A half sheet pan is 18×13 I think but most sheet cakes are 9×13. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Katrina says
Hi. Just wondering, if I want to freeze the buttercream is it okay to store it in a double zip lock bag? I used a plastic reusable container before but after few days the container cracked.
Thank you.
Olivia says
Hi Katrina! Yes, that will be totally fine. Be sure to bring it to room temp and rewhip it before use.
Nazir says
What if I only have 8inch cake tin
Can I bake half the batter at a time
Or will letting the batter sit effect it to much?
Olivia says
Hi Nazir! It’s best to bake the batter right away as letting it sit out will change the texture of the final cake. It won’t be a disaster though, if you don’t mind each layer being slightly different.
Sam says
This really is the best vanilla cake recipe. I used homemade cake flour, and made high -elevation changes, and my cupcakes turned out perfect. Thank you for such a perfect recipe.
Olivia says
So happy you love it, Sam!
Joelle says
A tip, buy cheapest eggs. Not organic. Sometimes you can get a 6 pack at safeway. They have the palest yolks to make your cake less yellow
Olivia says
Thanks for the tip Joelle!
Amy says
I want to try this recipe for a 3 tier wedding cake, but, I want to add sprinkles to the batter. How much do you suggest?
Olivia says
Hi Amy! I would add about 1/4 cup of sprinkles to this recipe.
Camille says
I just happened on your site and it’s beautiful!!! Your vanilla cake recipe is exactly (sort of) what I was looking for. Can this be adjusted to make a 10″ round cake or 9×13 sheet cake? If so, what would I use as measurements?
Olivia says
Hi Camille! Thank you! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
The recipe should work as-is in a 9×13 pan but you’ll need to adjust the baking time. For two 10″ rounds you should 1.5x the recipe.
Tanya says
Recipe looks delish! Can you tell me if Australian would be the same as US metric?
I am quite time poor wondering wether I could make the cake and fully frost and put it in the freezer? If so would I be able to put sprinkles on too or would they leak colour into buttercream? Also how long would it need to be out of freezer to then be ready to serve?
Olivia says
Hi Tanya! In metric all should be the same, yes. You can make the components in advance and freeze those and/or freeze the fully frosted cake. I would put sprinkles on after to be sure. I would thaw it in the fridge overnight and then take out for 2-3 hours to bring to room temp.
Alice says
Hi Liv. does this cake freeze well?
Olivia says
Hi Alice! For sure, it freezes great either frosted or unfrosted.
Rebecca says
Hiya is it vanilla sugar or vanilla essence for the buttercream
Olivia says
Hi Rebecca! It’s vanilla extract.