My Vanilla Cake recipe is the ultimate dessert for vanilla lovers.
It's flavored with a blend of different types of vanilla and then generously frosted with creamy buttercream that has also been enriched with different kinds of vanilla- making it the perfect birthday cake! 🎂
This week, our son is turning eleven and has requested his favorite vanilla birthday cake and a puppy🐶. Making the cake is within my expertise, as I have baked this particular vanilla cake for his birthday nearly every year.
The puppy will have to wait; I'm already quite busy. 🙃😁 Now, for the vanilla cake recipe. As I mentioned, this cake is very simple to make and consistently yields tender and moist crumbs. Most importantly, it's quite delicious!
I incorporate vanilla bean, pure vanilla extract, and a touch of clear vanilla to give it a cozy, nostalgic scent that takes you back to childhood.🍦Afterward, my husband took over and lavishly frosted it with creamy and luscious vanilla buttercream.
Then, added the finishing touches. He's absolutely amazing! 😍 He's always the one who decorates all of my cakes.
How to Make Vanilla Cake
Note: The full instructions are provided in the recipe card below.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans, tapping out any excess flour.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, salt, and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix in the pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla flavor, and vanilla bean seeds until well combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Alternately add the dry ingredients and evaporated milk to the batter in three parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the racks, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.
How to Make Vanilla Buttercream
- Sift Sugar and Milk: Sift together the powdered sugar and powdered milk to remove lumps. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Cream Cheese: In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, cream cheese, pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla, seeds from the vanilla bean, and salt until smooth and well combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar Mixture: Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If needed, add a tablespoon or more of cream or milk to achieve your desired consistency. Be careful not to overbeat; the frosting should be spreadable but not runny. Reserve about ⅓ cup of the buttercream for decoration.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one layer of the vanilla cake on a cake stand or platter. Spread a generous cup of buttercream over it, then add the second layer and repeat. Top with the final cake layer. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with rainbow jimmies and use the reserved frosting in a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip to create your desired pattern on top of the cake.
Camila's Tip: To extract seeds from vanilla beans, split them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife.
Related Recipes:
- Coconut Sheet Cake
- Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pineapple Upside-down Cake
- Red Velvet Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Sheet Cake with Mocha Frosting
- Nesquick Chocolate Cake with Brigadeiro
Recipe
Easy Vanilla Cake
Tools
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 375 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled off with the back of a knife
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder
- 170 g (1 stick plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter , room temperature
- 60 ml (¼ cup) avocado oil or grapeseed oil
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup evaporated milk or whole milk , at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 400g (2 cups) granulated sugar
- 15 ml (1tablespoon) pure vanilla extract
- 15 ml (1tablespoon) clear vanilla flavor ,
- ½ vanilla bean (seeds scraped off)
For the Buttercream:
- 750 g (6 cups) confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dry whole milk , such as Nido Brand
- 336 g (3 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- ½ vanilla bean (seeds scraped off)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Rainbow jimmies and Wilton 1 M tip for decoration.
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans, tapping out any excess flour.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, salt, and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix in the pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla flavor, and vanilla bean seeds until well combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Alternately add the dry ingredients and evaporated milk to the batter in three parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the racks, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.
How to Make Vanilla Buttercream
- Sift Sugar and Milk: Sift together the powdered sugar and powdered milk to remove lumps. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Cream Cheese: In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, cream cheese, pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla, seeds from the vanilla bean, and salt until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar Mixture: Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If needed, add a tablespoon or more of cream or milk to achieve your desired consistency. Be careful not to overbeat; the frosting should be spreadable but not runny. Reserve about ⅓ cup of the buttercream for decoration.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one layer of the vanilla cake on a cake stand or platter. Spread a generous cup of buttercream over it, then add the second layer and repeat. Top with the final cake layer. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with rainbow jimmies and use the reserved frosting in a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip to create your desired pattern on top of the cake.
- Camila's Tip: To extract seeds from vanilla beans, split them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife.
Notes
Notes:
- Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess with the back of a knife. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in a dry cake.)
- This vanilla cake gets its flavor from pure vanilla extract and clear vanilla. The vanilla cake layers can be made a day ahead; wrap the cooled layers in plastic and aluminum foil and store them at room temperature overnight.
- You can also assemble and frost the vanilla cake the day before serving, cover it with a cake dome, and refrigerate it overnight. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.
- You can make a homemade sour milk substitute if you don't have buttermilk. Pour 1 cup of whole milk into a liquid measuring cup and stir in 4 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. The acid will curdle the milk slightly.
- The recipe works in a 9×13-in cake pan, bundt, or 24 cupcakes. However, cooking time will vary.
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.