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.
Alison says
I bake a lot and love to try new recipes. I figured that I would give this a try because it was rated so highly. The batter is very thick and even with nonstick, greased pans, it does not come out easily. I agree with what some other people said here about the flavor being odd and somewhat like a dense sweet cornbread. I followed the recipe exactly, and went back to double check after because it tasted so “off”. I didn’t try this buttercream recipe so that might be fine, but I wouldn’t recommend the cake recipe if you are looking for a standard vanilla cake.
Olivia says
Hi Alison, sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. I’ve made this recipe many times, as have others, with great success.
How do you measure your flour? You should spoon and level it into your measuring up rather than scooping it. The batter is on the thicker side, but easily spreadable in the pans. It also sounds like you maybe overmixed it, which would cause it to be more dense and taste different. You should only mix until the flour is just incorporated.
Heather says
I am looking to pair this with a rectangular (9×13″) chocolate cake. I have a feeling a 9×13″ pan will be too big. Any suggestions?
Olivia says
Hi Heather! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. I use this site as a guide: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html Based on that, I think it would work, but the layer will be quite a bit thinner. You may want to 1.5x the recipe just in case.
Heather says
Thank you! I was thinking the same thing.
Meghan says
I’d love to try this cake but we have a milk allergy in the family – is there a substitute for the butter in the cake recipe that would still give a light texture?
Olivia says
Hi Meghan! I haven’t tried it but you could try using oil instead. Let me know how it turns out!
Meghan Savant says
It turned out pretty awful. Canola oil, coconut oil, and dairy free light margarine (all the stores around here carry) were all terrible. The cake is flat and dense and gross. Any other suggestions? Or just find a completely different recipe all together? I’m struggling because the dairy free recipes I find are also gluten free and/or paleo, and we don’t need to cut all that out, just the milk 🙂
Olivia says
It’s always tricky when modifying a key components of a recipe like that (the butter and milk). I would maybe look for an oil based vanilla cake instead as the proportions and mixing method would be different.
Carrie says
If the problem is lactose just purchase the milk drops and put them in the milk before incorporating it.
There is no taste difference
Betty Davis says
Use Coconut Oil as a substitute
Keira says
Hi Liv,
Would this sponge be suitable for fondant icing? Looking for a moist cake recipe that can stand up to fondant (don’t need to carve……..but would like sharp edges).
Love all your cakes……..so delicious!
Olivia says
Hi Keira! I think it would work great with fondant!
jennifer says
Hello, i would like to use this recipe. I have tons of cake flour. i am not sure how to use the cake flour in this recipe. Can you help
Olivia says
Hi Jennifer! You can just replace the all-purpose with cake flour (as long as it’s not self-rising). It should work fine and will make for a bit of a lighter cake. Let me know how it turns out!
Jacquelyn Harris says
Hi Liv,
Question about the buttercream. I’ve always done a Swiss buttercream where I whip the whites into a meringue while I heat the sugar and water over the stove till it is about 240 ( I think, I don’t have the recipe in front of me) degrees. Then I slowly drizzle it into the egg whites while beating. Once combined I beat until it is cooled then I add the butter…
I tried your way and I couldn’t get the sugar crystals to dissolve and they cooked to the bottom of the bowl..I was beating on low speed while on the double boiler instead of whipping with a whisk. Was this the problem?
I’ve never had a problem with a Swiss buttercream but I’ve never made it this was so I must be doing something wrong.
Olivia says
Hi Jacquelyn! Your version where you cook the sugar first is actually called an Italian meringue buttercream.
For the Swiss buttercream, I just use a hand whisk and gently stir the whites and sugar over a double boiler to make sure they cook evenly. Then once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot, I transfer it to my mixer and start to whip it. I hope that helps!
Katharine says
Looks delicious. My husband’s favorite cake is vanilla so I’ll be pinning this one to make for his next birthday. 🙂 Shared to my blog audience, too. Why is I’m not craving a piece a cake? lol
Olivia says
Thanks Katharine! I hope you guys like this one 🙂
Jami Spagnola says
I love this cake and frosting. Totally amazing. The only thing I found was my frosting had more of a salty butter tatse so I added some powdered sugar. But I will for sure make this again. I also made an 8inch and I think 6inch from the cake recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Olivia says
Hi Jami! So glad you liked it! Did you use salted butter for the frosting? The recipe doesn’t call for any additional salt.
London says
I am decorating this cake with another frosting recipe that covers two 6 inch cakes. Can I use two 6 inch pans for this recipe? If so, how much should I put in each pan?
Olivia says
Hi London! Sorry for the delayed reply. This recipe works for three 6″ pans, so you can either do that or make cupcakes with the extra batter or reduce the recipe by 1/3.
April says
Hi, how long would you cook this recipe using 3 6 inch pans.
Olivia says
Hi April! Baking time should be relatively the same. Maybe a tiny bit longer since they layers are slightly thicker.
Azil Russell says
When I made this cake recipe it tasted like sweet cornbread. And the buttercream did not whip up either, what am I doing wrong?
Olivia says
Hi Azil! The cake should not taste like cornbread.. how do you measure your flour? It’s possible there was too much or that the batter was overmixed which would cause a more dense cake. For the buttercream, did you read my notes in the recipe? You need to make sure there is no grease or egg yolk present for the meringue to whip. I hope that helps!
Megan says
I agree actually, it reminded me of a sweet cornbread as well. The cake like cornbread, not the heavy dense type of cornbread. Very interesting. .
Greg says
I was looking at the recipe and it looks great. My question would be can I add sprinkles to make it a confetti cake or will they sink to the bottom
Olivia says
Hi Greg! You can add sprinkles to the batter and frosting if you like! Just be sure to use ones that won’t bleed. I made that mistake once and my batter turned grey. I find the small round ones tend to bleed whereas the longer this ones work fine.
Amanda says
This recipe was great as far as taste, but the cake fully fell apart when taking it our of the pan. I would not recommend it to anyone.
Olivia says
Hi Amanda, sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. I never have issues with cakes provided my pans are prepared properly and my ingredients measured correctly. If the cake was falling apart I suspect you measured something incorrectly — likely the butter.
Audrey Robie says
I made this cake this week for my husband’s boss’s birthday (talk about pressure). I used 2 9 inch pans and it worked great. I also really coveted the flat top cake so I pinned wet towel strips around each pan while they baked. They came out so magically evenly cooked I almost thought I did not have the oven on. No browning or humps to worry about!!! The cake had to sit for 2 days before eaten due to bosses being too busy for cake… and even still it was moist and delicious. Thank you so much!!!
Olivia says
Hi Audrey! So glad you liked this cake as it’s one of my favourites! And glad to know the wet towel trick worked well! Flat cakes make such a difference.
Lisa says
Well ! Did tried making this cake and it turned up ao good, fluffy like a sponge cake and metingue cream is so delicious too Thanks for the recipe Olivia
Olivia says
So glad you liked it Lisa! 🙂
Amanda says
Hello. Just made the icing and it’s clumpy looking… like a cottage cheese look. Tastes great but not smooth. How do I save it?
Olivia says
Hi Amanda! You need to keep whipping it if it looks curdled. It will come together! (see recipe notes)
Daphne says
Hi Liv!
Can I use the Reverse Creaming method with your recipe? I like the texture that Reverse creaming lends to cakes
Olivia says
Hi Daphne! I’ve never tried it with this particular recipe, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know if you give it a go 🙂
MFR says
This was a delicious cake! I only made the cake and baked it in an 8-inch square pan and cooked it for 30 minutes. It was perfection! Thank you for sharing
Olivia says
So glad you liked it!! Thanks for the tip on the pan 🙂
Aisha says
Can you write the grams of the ingredients.Please
Olivia says
Hi Aisha! At the bottom of the list of ingredients you can click Metric to get the grams 🙂
Gina says
Made this recipe as cupcakes for my little nephew. Added mini chocolate chips. Got 18 cupcakes. Apparently, they were so good, my sister and two nieces polished them off! Nephew got 2, but was not happy about it! So I will be making him more! (My Sister does not eat cake and she killed these! So that says how good the recipe is!) The few I kept home stayed moist for at least 5 days.
Olivia says
Hi Gina! Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m so happy to hear that everyone liked this recipe!
Mary says
Thank you for the reply. I am going to to try the this again tonight actually. So I’m gonna make the cake mix 1.5x for the 9″ pans. And I checked my baking powder and it had exported like the month before so I got new baking powder this time too. I’m also gonna give the butter cream a go too. Keep your fingers crossed for me lol.
Olivia says
Good luck Mary!! Fingers crossed for a better second attempt. Let me know how it goes!
Mary says
Ok so I made the cake again and it came out perfect. I actually found this website called webstraunt and it helps you add or subtract from a recipe I wasn’t 100% on getting the measurements right so I just typed it all in on the site and it told how much to add to the recipe to make it 1.5x. The cake was absolutely delish. Dec gonna be my go to. I also made the butter cream it came out perfect as well. My husband would prefer it to have more of a vanilla flavor and less butter flavor so would it be ok to add a little more vanila. Thank you so much for the recipe and the help. Can’t wait to try something else
Olivia says
Yay! So glad to hear it worked out! You could totally add more vanilla and even less butter if you prefer (try 1 1/2cups butter next time — though that means you’ll have less frosting to work with).
Mary says
Ok ill have to give that a try. My husband’s bday is on the 20th and I’m trying to figure out a cake to make for him. Do have any suggestions
Olivia says
Hmmm, what kind of flavours does he like? I tend to lean towards chocolate cakes (if I had to choose), so here are a couple of my favourites:
https://livforcake.com/mocha-chocolate-cake/
https://livforcake.com/chocolate-dulce-de-leche-cake/
Mary says
He like a pretty much anything sweet lol. He really likes coconut cake but I make that every year. We have a one year old and I don’t think she would like it either. That’s what I’m gonna tell him anyways lol. Shh dont tell. I will have to check out your favs cuz lets face it I’m a girl and I love choc.
Olivia says
Lol! I love the chocolate cake recipe, so I hope you try it. I also have a Pina Colada cake that is kinda coconut!
https://livforcake.com/pina-colada-cake/
Mary says
I’m going to defiantly try the choc one. My mom loves them too her mother was a chef and she always asks me to make stuff for her she hates cooking which I find crazy. I went to culinary school My self cuz I love cooking and baking but ended up not using it. Well I do just at home for the kids and my huaband
Olivia says
Let me know how you like it!! 🙂
Mary says
Hey Luv so the choc cake rocked. Thank you. Ok so here is one I need help with. My sister bad this choc cake with choc bavarian cream filing (we think) and choc buttercream we arent sure if the butter cream was Bavarian choc of just the filing. Do you have any suggestions? My family keep asking me to make this one but I got nothing lol.
leah says
as novice but experienced cake baker I was dissapointed woth this recipe. I found the cake to be very dense. my family enjoyed it (so they said) but i wouldn’t use this recipe again.
Olivia says
Hi Leah! Sorry to hear you had trouble with this one. Cakes can come out dense for a few reasons:
– expired baking powder
– ingredients not at room temp or not incorporated properly
– overmixing the batter once adding the flour
I hope you give it another try!