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.
Brittany says
What would the conversions be for 2, 9 inch round pans ?
Olivia says
Hi Brittany! 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
April says
Really quick easy tasty vanilla cake recipe! I didn’t make the frosting as I had left overs from Christmas cookies but definitely liked the cake!! Came out perfect! I saw some people having problems with how theirs came out. One thing people might not think about is spooning their flour into the measuring cup if the recipe doesn’t give grams so they get more accurate batter, also baking powder can go bad plus make sure to follow the room temp instructions(all mistakes I’ve had to learn from)! I like the simple elegant vanilla taste. Thank you 😊
Olivia says
Hi April! Very good tips indeed, thank you for sharing. I’m so happy you loved this one 🙂
Dan says
Thank you for this easy to follow and delicious recipe.
I am a 49 yr old man never baked and followed this and cakes have turned out great. Was getting bit nervous with jiggly cakes not being done but with two cakes baking I figure it takes longer. Anyway cakes came out just perfect and probably more relieved than anything but will now certainly do some more baking!!
Olivia says
Hi Dan! Your comment made my day. I am so glad you tried this recipe and loved it. I hope you try many more!
Sofia says
Delicious. My only problem is that the cake recipe called for regular flour and that made the cake heavy and dense so maybe use cake flour. I even sifted the flour before i added it to the recipe but its still heavy.
Olivia says
Hi Sofia! My cakes tend to be more on the dense side rather than light and fluffy, but it shouldn’t be unpleasantly dense. Overly dense cakes can be from overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added (it develops too much gluten) or not using room temperature ingredients so the cake batter doesn’t emulsify properly. Another issue could be too much flour. It’s best to spoon the flour into your measuring up and level it off. If you dip your scoop into your flour sometimes you get more than you need. It’s not meant to be a light and fluffy cake recipe. You can use cake flour if you prefer though.
America says
I did the same recipe and added 2tsp of sour cream and it came out amazing! Super spongy and not as dense.
Denisse Banegas says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Great success among my family after 1st time doing it! I did have some buttercream leftover so I baked again and made another cake.
Olivia says
Hi Denisse! Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you loved it 🙂
Hannah Rosenberg says
Hi is the cake batter meant to be thick?
Olivia says
Hi Hannah! It is more on the thicker side (thicker than batter you’d get from a cake mix) but should still be pourable and easily spreadable. If it’s thicker than that it would mean too much flour was used.
Anonymous says
It turned as flat as a pancake and crumbled in my hands when I tried to transfer it to a plate. I liked the flavor, but the depth was not as it was promised to be. |:(
Olivia says
Hi there! It sounds like something (or multiple things) went very wrong. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? I’d check the expiry on your baking power and make sure you used the correct amount of butter.
Karen Robinson says
My family and I really love your vanilla cake recipe!!
Thank you sooooo much for the dos and don’t tips as well!
Olivia says
Thanks so much, Karen! I’m happy you all loved it 🙂
Beginner_Baker says
Followed the recipe to a T. Second time ever make a cake from scratch. Cooked for appropriate time and center of cake has sunk in because it’s not cooked all the way. Put in for another 10 minutes and it’s still not cooked in the center. The longer I keep the cake in the more my edges burn. Very frustrating. It’s also my hubby’s birthday today and so I thought I’d make him a cake. I’m sure he’ll love it regardless.
Olivia says
Hi there! Sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. Baking times are tricky as every oven bakes differently. Here are my tips on testing when a cake is done:
1. Peek through the oven window. To see if the cakes are a nice golden brown (doesn’t really work for chocolate cakes).
2. Nudge the oven. Gently nudge your oven (assuming it’s free-standing and not built-in). If there is any jiggle in the center of the cakes, leave the oven door closed and bake for a few minutes longer.
3. Nudge the pans. Open the oven and gently nudge the pans. If there is any jiggle in the center of the cakes, close the oven door and bake for a few minutes longer.
4. Poke the cake. Gently poke the top of the cake with your finger. If the cake is firm and springs back, it’s ready for the next step.
5. Toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. When there are a few crumbs on the toothpick, the cake is ready. You want crumbs on there because the cake keeps cooking when you take it out of the oven.
Additionally, to help cakes bake more evenly and prevent those darker edges, you can use baking strips: https://livforcake.com/flat-top-cakes/
I hope this helps!
Michelle says
Hi how many eggs are in the cake recipe? I says add the eggs but I can’t see them listed on the ingredients list.
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! There are 3 large eggs. Listed right under the sugar.
Cheyenne says
How should I adjust the baking temp and time to make this in a 9×13?
Olivia says
Hi Cheyenne! Temperature should stay the same. Baking time is hard to say as every oven bakes differently. It should be somewhat similar but I always recommend to check on the cakes as they are baking.
Christine says
Can I add chocolate powder to the frosting ?
Olivia says
Hi Christine! Yes, or you can use melted chocolate. I would add it at the end. I have a chocolate version of this frosting here: https://livforcake.com/chocolate-cake-recipe/
Kelly says
Made this for a Birthday. Held up beautifully to decorate. Had a good flavor. Just felt heavy and dense. Again, it was good but felt and tasted more like a pound cake.
Olivia says
Hi Kelly! My cakes tend to be more on the dense side rather than light and fluffy, but it shouldn’t be too dense and should rise almost to the top of an 8×2 cake pan. Overly dense cakes can be from overmixing the cake batter once the flour is added (it develops too much gluten), not using room temperature ingredients so the cake batter doesn’t emulsify properly, or using too much flour. Glad you liked the flavour!
Karen says
Hi Liv! Can i use cake flour in this recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Karen! Yes, that should be fine.
Holly says
Do I need to keep this cake with buttercream refrigerated for my families safety?
Olivia says
Hi Holly! It will be fine at room temperature for a couple days but the buttercream will get quite soft. I usually recommend refrigerating for that reason.
Gabriela says
Omg is delicious, i Made it this weekend and was perfect, i was trying to find a good recipe and with ingredients that we have in home, like vintage bakery , thanks for sharing your recipe ❤️
Olivia says
Hi Gabriela! Thank you, I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Amber says
I read the directions a few times I didn’t see where it said at what stage to add the sugar to the cake mix. I just did it at the end. Hoping it turns out!
Olivia says
Hi Amber! This recipe doesn’t use a cake mix but this one does: https://livforcake.com/almost-scratch-cake/. It’s in step 4 where you combine all of the dry ingredients. For this recipe here you cream the butter with the sugar in step #3.
Chris says
So I did everything step by step used all the ingredients listed it came out really really thin doesn’t taste bad just really thin idk what I did wrong
Olivia says
Hi Chris! The batter should actually be on the thicker side so it sounds like something was either measured incorrectly or an incorrect ingredient was used. Did you make any substitutions?
Trina says
This buttercream recipe is terrible. I’ve made buttercream many times but this one was just so difficult & was NOT buttercream. DO NOT MAKE THIS!!!!!!!!!
Olivia says
Hi Trina! Sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. Swiss meringue buttercream can be more challenging than an American buttercream. I have a detailed tutorial with tips and troubleshooting here: https://livforcake.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream-recipe/
Beginner_Baker says
I agree with Olivia. I was wondering why this didn’t taste like buttercream and why I didn’t use the same ingredients as last time. This is only my 2nd time baking so I didn’t think much about it. I’m glad someone else said something. I also wonder why the author titled it vanilla buttercream if it’s actually Swiss meringue buttercream. Way to confuse us newbies!
Veronica Luckman says
Hi just curious in the pic of the cake how many servings / how many times has the recipe been “doubled” etc to achieve that size cake
Olivia says
Hi Veronica! I’m not sure what you mean. The cake pictured is made using the recipe listed.