Vanilla Cake Recipe

This Vanilla Cake is soft, moist, and flavorful. It’s a butter-based cake, just like the traditional butter cake but more tender and less greasy.

I love vanilla cakes; however, I’ve managed to make it on the greasy side of things for quite some time as this was the way my mom, grand-mom, and aunts made it. Since then, I’ve started cooking on my own; I’ve realized that there are many better ways to make these cakes. I have cut down on the amount of butter I use in my cake by 50%. Not only are the cakes more tender but also very delicious.

This recipe is for a two-layer cake with buttercream frosting. It is easy to make and is the perfect cake for a birthday or special occasion. Most people love vanilla, so this is the ideal recipe to share with you. I made it from a similar base as vanilla cupcakes. If you have a birthday, there is no rush in making this cake. You can make the cake in two days; you can bake the cake one day and apply the frosting the next day. It can always be done ahead of any event and have it ready to go. Frosting is very flexible and easy to apply, you can experiment with it all you want.

How to Make a Vanilla Cake from Scratch

Grease and line two 8″ round baking pans and preheat the oven to 350 ˚F.
Sift flour and baking powder and mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Using an electric hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add eggs one and a time and beat at low speed while adding.
Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the mixture, then add the milk. Beat on low speed until thoroughly combined.
Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until thoroughly combined.
Divide between 2 cake pans and bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

You can leave the cakes to cool while you make your buttercream frosting. Make sure the cakes are cool to room temperature before applying the frosting.

How to make Buttercream frosting

Measure 4 cups of confectioners or icing sugar, sift into a large bowl, set aside.

2. In another large bowl, add butter, using an electric hand mixer, beat butter for about 5 minutes. Beat the butter so that it doubles in amount and changes to a lighter color. The butter will change from yellow to off-white. Beating the butter enough is very important, especially if you do not wish to add coloring to your frosting. I didn’t beat my frosting for this long, only for about 3 minutes, as I wanted a peach or coral color. If the butter is a little yellow and you can add rose pink coloring, you will get the peach or coral color I made.

3. Add the icing sugar, one cup at a time, and beat to combine thoroughly.

4. Add the milk a teaspoon at a time to get the consistency you want. If you are piping, you would like a thinner consistency than if you are spreading. Add vanilla and beat until you get your required consistency. Add your coloring as desire and apply it to your cake. Using sprinkles always give a cake the birthday look and it’s easy to apply.

5. To frost the cake:

Place the first cake layer on a cake platter
Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top, straight to the edges.
Cover with the second cake layer placing the top side down so you can get a perfectly level cake surface.
Coat the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting and decorate as you desire.

This Vanilla Cake with buttercream frosting is super soft and delicious. Making this to share with you was fun and exciting. So whatever the event, you will enjoy making this Vanilla Cake.