Fluffy and Buttery Vanilla Cake | bakeologie (2024)

Made from scratch basic Vanilla Cake that yields tall and sturdy cake layers that are great for stacking tiered cakes. It’s buttery, tender, and full of vanilla flavor – a great base cake for all occasions!

Do you need the chocolate version? Head on to Sturdy Yet Moist and Fluffy Chocolate recipe.

Great for Wedding Cakes and Tiered Cakes (for Stacking)

I’ve been looking for a great basic vanilla cake that can be my go-to vanilla cake recipe whenever I make tiered cakes. I tried many and never found one that is for keeps, until now.

I’ve used this recipe to make a3-tiered wedding cakeso I can say that while it is soft and fluffy, it is firm enough to use in multi-tiered cakes. As we know, for tiered cakes, it is suggested to stay clear of softer, less stable cakes and filling like chiffon cake, pastry cream, and whipped cream.

Are you thinking of doing a DIY wedding cake? I’ve shared all the recipes, timeline, resources, and tips in thisDIY Wedding Cake post.

Thick layers for Tall Cakes

This recipe yields a tall vanilla cake, that’s why you would need a cake pan that is at least 3 inches in height.

If you don’t have a tall cake pan, you can line some parchment paper around the pan for extra height.

The photos you see here were taken while I was doing my final cake for my cousin’s wedding. Unfortunately, I have forgotten to take a photo of the cake right out of the cake pan.

I then further cut each round into half to give me a total of 4 layers, which is what you see in the photos.

Ingredients for vanilla cake

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• fine salt
• unsalted butter at room temperature – What is room temperature butter?
• granulated white sugar
• vanilla extract
• eggs (large size) at room temperature
• fresh milk (whole / full-fat)

Tools and equipment you’ll need

• Digital Food Scale

Ditch your cups and weigh your ingredients – it will give you consistent results every time. Try it and you will never look back on using cups again!

There are a lot of reasons why you should measure by weight and entirely a topic of its own. This recipe uses a lot of flour – measuring it incorrectly would greatly affect the outcome of your cake.

• 6, 8, or 10 inch Round Baking Pans, at least 3-inches high

I use and recommendFat Daddiosbrand. They heat faster and cools quicker, preventing overbaking. It has straight sides for perfect layers!

If your existing pan’s height is below 3 inches, see recipe note no. 1.

• parchment paper

• mixing bowls and spatula

• flour sifteror afine mesh strainer

• stand mixer

• toothpick orcake tester

How to Make

Preparation:

• Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C).

• Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.

• Grease the bottom of two 8x 3 round pans, then line with parchment paper (Note 1 in recipe card).

Make the vanilla cake batter:

Making this cake involved 3 parts: Creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs, and adding the remaining dry and wet mixtures alternately.

In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.

RELATED: Stand Mixer Speed Guide

Add eggs to the mixture, two at a time. Blend until incorporated and scrape the sides as needed.

Add the flour mixture in four parts alternating with the milk in three parts, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Remember to add the next flour or milk until just incorporated; be careful not to overmix!

Bake the vanilla cake

Pour the cake batter into prepared pans and spread it so that is it smooth and flat in the pans.Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack before removing them from the pan.

Torte each cake into 2 to get 4 layers like in the photo below.

FAQs

Do I really need to sift the dry ingredients?

The process of sifting breaks any lumps in flour that would weigh down the batter so your Vanilla Cake will yield a tender (not delicate) crumb. When flour is sifted with other dry ingredients, such as baking powder, sifting helps to combine them evenly before they are mixed with other ingredients. It is important not to skip this step!

Why do I need to cream the butter and sugar?

When creaming the butter and sugar together, the sugar is like punching little holes in the butter and those holes, in turn, will capture air. These little bubbles capture the gases released by your leaveners when baked, giving your cake a lighter texture. A properly creamed butter and sugar should have the color of pale yellow, not white.

Using a stand mixer, I typically whip the butter and sugar onmedium speedfor 5 minutes.

My cake came out dry – What did I do wrong?

There are several possible reasons why your cake came out dry. One common mistake isNOT measuring your flour correctly. If you’re still using cups to measure your flour and other baking ingredients, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of using afood scale!

Baking is an exact science, so one ingredient that’s not measured correctly can totally break the outcome.

Another common reason is overcooking them. As not all ovens are the same, remember to treat the cooking time stated in any recipe as a guide.

Your cake is perfectly done and needs to be removed from the oven when the toothpick/ cake tester comes out either clean or with a few dry crumbs.

Always begin checking your cake at the earlier doneness time specified in the recipe. I like to set my timer a few minutes earlier than the shortest baking time called for.

You can always bake something longer, but over baked or burnt products are ruined! Always check for doneness about 5 minutes before the suggested bake time.

Can I Make This Into Cupcakes?

One of the most frequently asked questions – How do I turn this cake into a cupcake? Simply half the recipe of the 6-inch vanilla cake to get about 12 cupcakes.

I did the math for you!

To make 12 cupcakes (50g of batter for each cupcake), you’ll need:

• 175 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp regular table salt
• 130 grams unsalted butter
• 150 grams granulated white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs (about 100g without shell)
• 140 grams whole milk

For cupcakes, bake at 350F for about 15-17 minutes.

Adapting This Vanilla Cake to Different Pan Sizes

The photos you see at the beginning of this post are the 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch vanilla cake, with all the layers sliced and leveled.

Here is a chart of the amount of ingredients you’ll need depending on pan size.

NOTE: This is on the assumption that the height of the cake remains the same – only the circumference of the pan changes.

Batter Weight (before baking): 6-inch is around 1,310 grams, so 655 grams of batter per pan.

Follow the same procedure as written in the recipe but you may need to adjust the baking time. Remember that the time indicated below is only a guide as not all ovens are the same.

It is a good habit to check for doneness 5 minutes earlier than the shortest baking time called for. If the cake isn’t done yet, check again after 3-4 minutes.

Recipe for round cakes from 4-inch up to 12-inch pans

This Fluffy and Buttery Vanilla Cake is one of the most popular recipes at Bakeologie. Over the years, a lot of people made and loved this cake and have been asking how to make it in different sizes.

I’ve put together a resource with all the ingredient quantities for round cakes from 4-inch up to 12-inch. Now, no more guesswork!

learn more

If you have tried this recipe and wanted to make it in other different sizes , this is the answer for you!

Check out my shop page or grab the Master Recipe for Fluffy and Buttery Vanilla Cake directly through this link.

What Frosting Goes Well With This Cake?

I recommend pairing this vanilla cake withswiss meringue buttercream. I love swiss meringue because it’s smooth, silky, and not tooth-achingly sweet! It can be used on a variety of cakes and cupcakes as it can easily be flavored.

You might want to try:

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Champagne Buttercream

Quick and Easy Cheater’s Swiss Meringue

Sturdy Yet Moist and Fluffy Chocolate Cake