An easy Vanilla Cake with a soft and moist crumb and great vanilla flavor. We used our popular Buttercream Frosting here but it’s also fantastic with a Chocolate Frosting. This Vanilla cake recipe is the perfect base for a birthday cake or any special occasion.
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Watch the Easy Vanilla Cake Recipe Video:
This cake really is easy and can even be made ahead. Watch the video tutorial for how to make the perfect vanilla cake and best Buttercream Frosting (which isn’t overly sweet like most American buttercreams).
Why we Love this Vanilla Cake!
Everyone needs a great vanilla cake base and I hope this becomes your new favorite! It’s made from scratch and the combination of ingredients gives it amazing texture and flavor. We used the same base as our famous Vanilla Cupcakes and made this stunning cake. You’ll love the perfectly level cake layers – there’s no need to trim them.
How to Make a Vanilla Cake from Scratch:
Here is a quick visual reference for homemade vanilla cake. Get the full print-friendly recipe below.
- Butter and flour two 9″ cake pans and preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- With an electric mixer, beat Butter and Sugar 5 minutes.
- Beat in eggs 1 at a time then beat in vanilla.
- Add flour mixture in thirds alternating with buttermilk and mixing between each addition.
- Divide between 2 cake pans and bake at 350˚F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes then transfer cakes (we use this cake release tool) to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
How to Frost a Cake:
Frosting a cake is the fun part. Once your cake is fully at room temperature, make your Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. We love the vintage vibe of waves in the frosting like we did with our chocolate cake but you can also crumb coat the cake and pipe the frosting onto the cake.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake platter.
- Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top, going to the edges.
- Cover with the second cake layer with the top side down for a perfectly level cake surface.
- Coat the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting and use an offset spatula or spoon to create waves in the cake.
Add sprinkles if desired. Sprinkles are the easiest way to turn a plain cake into a birthday cake!
Our Best Baking Tips:
- Room temperature ingredients are critical so your batter blends well without separating or becoming grainy.
- Avoid Substitutions! We always recommend trying the recipe as written before experimenting.
- Measure Correctly – check out our post on how we measure ingredients for baking.
- Weigh your pans – we use a digital food scale to make sure the layers are evenly divided.
How to Keep Leftover Cake Moist:
If you have sliced your cake and want to refrigerate leftovers for later, cover the cut side of the cake with plastic wrap, placing it directly onto the cake. This will prevent moisture loss and keep your cake from drying out.
More Top-Rated Cake Recipes:
These are the best-loved and best-reviewed cakes on our site. These are the ones we make most often.
- Chocolate Cake – rich, moist and decadent
- Tiramisu Recipe – coffee-infused Italian dessert
- Tres Leches Cake – the moistest cake you’ll try
- Perfect Cheesecake – with irresistible cherry sauce
- Pumpkin Cake – with the best cream cheese frosting
Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, or plain kefir, room temperature
- 1 Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour two 9" cake pans, tapping out excess flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set flour mixture aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until thick and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition then scrape down the bowl. Add 4 tsp vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Reduce mixer to medium speed and add the flour mixture in thirds alternating with the 1 cup of room temperature buttermilk, allowing the flour and buttermilk to incorporate with each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed and beat until just combined and smooth.
- Divide batter evenly between 2 prepared cake pans and spread out the batter into the pans smoothing out the tops with a spatula. Bake on the center rack at 350˚F for 28-30 minutes. Rest in pans for 10 minutes then run a knife or thin spatula around the edges to loosen and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before applying Vanilla Frosting.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Tried to make this into a marble cake and it was a little dense. Used whipped cream instead of buttercream to frost it. Cake was dense.
Hi Patricia! I haven’t tried making this with cocoa but likely it would need modification since cocoa is a dry ingredient and also absorbs liquid.
I have not found a perfect Vanilla cake , that is until I tried yours. It came out identical to your cake & was so easy to make. The crumb is perfect & I am thrilled to have finally found my go to recipe for Vanilla cake. Thank you so much for sharing this beauty Natasha. 🙏
Hi Antionette! I’m so happy you finally found the perfect recipe! Thank you so much for the feedback.
Hi Natasha, Ive made this recipe and its the best! I want to recreate it for my kid’s birthday party but as a single layer 1/2 sheet cake size (18×12). Would this recipe amount work for that size? Or what would you recommend? TY!
Hi Jen! I’m so glad you love the recipe. I wish I would have tested this recipe in different sizes, but I did not try any other size pans to know how to adjust it accordingly.
I would recommend using a cake conversion chart such as this ADAPT BAKING RECIPES TO FIT A DIFFERENT PAN SIZE.I hope that helps!
it is so goood and i like
Hi Natasha. Can I use oil instead of butter or use half the amount butter and the other half oil? Thanks
Hi Lara! I haven’t tested using oil with this specific recipe. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
Hi Natasha,
Have you used this recipe to make cupcakes? And if so did you still bake them on 350 and for how long?
Hi Quiana, you can use this Vanilla Cupcake recipe. I hope you love it.
i havent tasted it yet but befor i put it in the oven i tasted it and it was amazing my sister was begging for more. Thank you Natasha all your recipes are truly amazing especially your beef stroganoff. My mom has been making it eversince i showed her the recipe and whenever she makes it the house goes wild. Even at parties and dinners she always serves it and everyone FIGHTS for it literally
You’re so welcome, Seraph! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
can i use homemade buttermilk .. what is the recipe
Yes, you can mix 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and set it aside for 5-10 mins and it’s ready to use.
I halved the recipe and it turned out very well. Sorry I can’t seem to load a photo but I am pleased. I used to small springform pans
Hi Beth! That’s great to hear. You cannot upload a picture here, but you can tag me on Instagram or Facebook. #natashaskitchen
Hello Natasha! I made this cake before and it came out delicious !!
My friend asked me to make this cake for her bridal shower, but it needs to be a little taller than this one, so do you think it will be stable enough with 3 layers And with Swiss-merengue butter cream frosting ? Thank you
Hi Julia! Yes, this is a stable cake to stack and would also work great with Swiss meringue buttercream.