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
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This is hands down the best cake I’ve ever made. It is now the staple cake in our house for every celebration!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Jessie!
Hi Natasha! I love your recipes and use so many! I’m looking to make this cake for Easter with either your lighter cream cheese frosting or your buttercream (love that it’s not so sweet like regular buttercream)
My question.. I’d like to add coconut extract to the cake and add coconut flakes to the icing (presses on after iced).
How much coconut extract would you add to cake and should I decrease the vanilla? Should I add coconut extract to icing?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Kim, I haven’t tried this with coconut to advise on the amount, but I think that could work in place of vanilla. If you happen to test this out, I would love to know how you like that.
Hi, Natasha, can I substitute sugar into stevia sweetener? Thanks a lot!
Hi Love, I haven’t tried that substitution to advise.
Hi Natasha, would this quantity work in one 10” round cake pan instead of 2×9” round pans? If yes, how long and at what temperature should I bake ?
Better to use fan force or conventional oven setting?
Love your real strawberry cupcakes, yum!
Hi Helen, I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t give you precise instructions for baking it in a 10″ round pan. I’m not sure how it would rise, but the bake time would need to be increased. I always share my recipes in regular conventional bake mode rather than convection since not everyone has that option.
Hi Natasha, I made your vanilla cake it was amazing but once I kept it in the refrigerator, the cake became really dense n was not spongy at all. Even though I kept the cake out at room temperature for couple of hours before eating.
How do I maintain the sponginess of the cake?
Hi Dareena, it should normally be soft in the center and not dense like a pound cake. Make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature, which helps to form the correct texture. Also, be sure to measure dry ingredients by fluffing the flour first with a spoon, then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape it off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup.
Hi! Can I stack the Vanilla cake and Chocolate cake or will the cake collapse? Thanks!
Hi, I honestly haven’t tried that but it might be a little too heavy to get it 4-layers high. If you try, you definitely need a sturdy buttercream in between layers.
Can I use a 8 inch cake tin
Hi Chole, I haven’t tested that but it should work, Here’s what one of our readers wrote “The cake and frosting were delicious! I used 2 – 8 inch pans and it worked perfectly well. I also added coconut on top of the frosting because I love coconut! Went very well with the cake/frosting! Thank you!!” I hope that helps
Can I use 2×8 inch cake tins. There around 7cm deep
Hi Emily, yes that should work. I hope you love this recipe.
I’m baking this recipe but doing it a day ahead, what’s the best way to store this in the fridge? and should I take it out of the fridge 2 hours before serving so it comes to room temperature without the buttercream messing up?
Hi Salma, this cake can be made ahead. After it is assembled, you will want to refrigerate the cake (covered with a cake cover or large inverted pot). It will be softer at room temperature so let the cake sit out a little bit before serving.
Hi Natasha!
I tried baking this cake a few weeks ago and it worked perfectly. I’m going to do it again today for a party. I have one question regarding food coloring. Is it okay to add food coloring to this cake, and how much? Anyways, thank you your recipes help me so much with my baking experience.
I’m glad it was a success! I haven’t experimented with food coloring in this recipe, but I imagine gel would work best. If you happen to test that, I would love to know how you like it.
Can l use gluten flour for this cake?
Hi Aracelis, I haven’t tested this with a gluten-free substitute. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
Hi Natasha, I tried this cake today. I made it in a single pan without any frosting (as I didn’t want to add extra calories) and it turned out awesome. Everyone at home liked it. Thank you very much for sharing 🌹
Glad everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing that with us.
I made this cake with chocolate buttercream frosting for my hubbies 60th and it was FANTASTIC. Followed all instructions. Qx: once the cakes are out of the oven, to speed cool downtime, is it ok to put in the refrigerator? I didn’t this time and the crumb was perfect. I don’t want to ruin the crumb.
Hi, it’s definitely best to let it cool completely to room temperature before refrigerating the cake to preserve the texture of the cake. You also risk food spoilage if you warm up the other produce and foods in your refrigerator by placing a warm cake in the fridge.
Hello Natasha,
What can be used instead of eggs for this recipe.
Ps. I made your bread dinner rolls recipe they came out amazingly delicious, soft and fluffy.
Many Thanks
May
Hi May, thank you for your great feedback. I actually haven’t tried an eggless version of this cake, I only have my Eggless Chocolate Cake recipe.
Hi Natasha,
Unfortunately, this did not work for me. It was really dense and had no flavour. I’m an experienced baker and I don’t know what happened as I followed it exactly.
Hi Lina, did you possibly swap your leavening or maybe check that your leavening is still active or not expired? I also suggest watching the video tutorial to see where things started to look different. Lastly, be sure to serve the cake at room temperature since it will firm up a little when refrigerated.
Hey Natasha,
I have been watching your videos since a while and i feel they are amazing!
I have a question in regards to vanilla cake, if i am unable to get buttermilk or plain kefir what is the best substitute.
Thanks!
Hi Umaima, You can also make your own buttermilk at a ratio of 1 cup whole milk to 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice. Combine and let it sit 10 minutes to curdle then stir and use.
My son wanted a vanilla cake for his birthday. So, I tried this recipe. It was a success! My family loved it. Thank you for another delicious recipe!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! Happy birthday to your son.
I have a convection oven. Is there any way that adaptations can be made to the recipe so l’d be able to use a convection oven?
Hi PJ, I use a conventional bake mode (not convection), so I can’t advise. I think an internet search may help that to see what the setting should be.
Hi Natasha!
I am planning on making this cake this weekend for my son’s 2nd birthday. Is it possible to make this recipe in a 9×13 pan? I do not own (2) 9 inch pans and did not want to purchase any if I could bake it in a bigger pan. I did not see it posted in any of the comments below. Thank you!
I guess I did not read further down. I saw a comment of someone who used a 9×13 pan. Going to give it a shot and hope for the best, lol. Thank you.
Hi Ashley, I honestly haven’t baked it in a 9×13, so I don’t have an exact baking time. You will have to watch for visual cues and go by the toothpick test. I would guess it’s at least the same bake time and probably longer.
I’m baking his tomorrow any baking tips so it doesn’t burn i made it today and the bottom burned and put it 250 for the same time you cooked yours and it burned i was sad to throw it away because it tasted good any tips on how not to let it burn and also i noticed this is similar to the cupcake recipe i liked that
Hi Nella, I haven’t had it burn before. Make sure your oven settings are for conventional bake mode (not convection). I hope that helps. It is very similar to the cupcakes.
Thanks Natasha i made it didnt burn thanks for the tip