Classic Vanilla Cake
Classic Vanilla Cake – tender and flavorful vanilla cake layers with a light and fluffy vanilla buttercream.
Classic Vanilla Cake
Happy Monday, friends! Thanks for helping me decide which cake recipe to publish today! I’m excited to share with you my new Classic Vanilla Cake. I’d like to think this is the only vanilla cake recipe you’ll need in your life from here on out! It’s that good!
I’ve had requests for a this cake for a while now. I usually suggest using my Classic White Cake as a vanilla cake, but felt like I needed a true vanilla option for you too.
This cake is similar to my Classic White Cake, with a few minor changes in ingredients – but major changes to texture and flavor! This cake is so tender and flavorful.
What’s Different
For the cake layers, I’m only using egg whites to keep a whiter color in the cake layers. Since I’m only using whites, that means I don’t have any fat from the egg yolks – which is what helps create moisture in cakes. To supplement the batter with more fat, I’ve added sour cream (which you’ve likely seen in the Golden Oreo Cake and my Champagne Cake). It’s my new love.
Moist Cake
I’ll be writing an entire blog post about how to get a moist cake every time you bake, but for now, my best tip (other than making sure you don’t over bake your cake) is: sour cream! Adding a little sour cream to a cake recipe that tends to bake dry will do wonders to the texture. More on that later!
Vanilla Bean Paste
This recipe calls for vanilla bean paste in the cake layers and buttercream. The bean paste is what creates those gorgeous specks you see. There are so many brands of vanilla and vanilla bean paste. I say, use whatever you can find and is cost efficient. I know prices have gone up significantly and it’s likely they’re not going down any time soon either. You can find vanilla bean paste at Walmart, Michaels craft store, Amazon and even some grocery stores now too. If you’re having a hard time finding paste, use extract – same amount.
Vanilla Buttercream
The buttercream for this one is my basic vanilla buttercream with vanilla bean paste. It’s one of the tastiest and easiest buttercream recipes you’ll ever have.
Buttercream Tips
Remember these few tips when making buttercream:
- Start with slightly cold butter
- Beat the butter alone for a few minutes
- Sift your powdered sugar
- Use heavy whipping cream
- Beat the buttercream for 3 to 5 minutes
For all my tips for making the best buttercream ever, head over to THIS post.
ADDITIONAL TIPS
Room Temperature Ingredients Matter
Remember, for your cake batter, make sure all of your refrigerated ingredients are ROOM TEMPERATURE. Having room temperature ingredients for the cake batter ensures your cake will bake evenly AND that it has a light, fluffy texture and rises well.
For more explanation on why room temperature ingredients matter, check out THIS IGTV post.
Flavor Combinations
If you’re looking to add more flavors to this classic vanilla cake, I’d suggest these as great fresh fruit or compote fillings:
- Strawberry
- Blackberry
- Raspberry
- Mango
- Peach
- Coconut
Happy baking!
Classic Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 tbsp. (13 g) vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream room temperature
- 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
- 1 tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
- 1 tsp. (5 g) salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk room temperature
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slighly cold
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1/4 cup (57 g) heavy cream cold
- 1 tsp (4.2 g) vanilla bean paste
- pinch of salt
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg whites on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between addition.
- Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and beat until incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 cup of the buttermilk. Repeat the additions, 1/3 cup flour mixture, 1/2 cup buttermilk and the final 1/3 cup flour mixture. Only mix until the flour mixture is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for another 20 to 30 seconds on low. Fold in the sour cream.
- Pour about 16 ounces of cake batter into each of the three 8-inch cake pans or 12 ounces in each of the 6-inch pans and bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Tip: spray your wire cooling racks with nonstick spray).
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy and pale in color.
- With the mixer on slow, gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream, vanilla, and pinch of salt.
- Once all of the ingredients are combined, turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for a couple minutes more.
- Before using the buttercream, make sure to beat it by hand with a wooden spoon or large spatula to help push out the air pockets.
ASSEMBLY
- Place the first cake layer top side up, in the center of the cake board.
- Spread about 1 cup of the the buttercream over the cake layer.
- Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream and spread more buttercream across the layer.
- Place the final cake layer top side down on the buttercream.
- Apply a thin layer of buttercream around the entire cake. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes. This is your crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, continue frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream.
Hi Courtney, when I started adding the eggs, I found by the time I got to the 5th and 6th egg white the mixture has curdled. Am I adding the eggs too quickly? I had to add a bit of the flour to compensate for the curdling. It got worse when I added the sour cream. Should I wait longer between each addition to prevent curdling? Your recipe still tasted yummy though but wasn’t sure if the texture was affected by the curdling. Thank you!
It will curdle a little bit but shouldn’t be a problem after you add the flour. Make sure you are taking your time adding the eggs one by one.
If I need to bake this in a 9×13, how long would I bake it?
Depends on your oven. It will take longer. Maybe 45-50 minutes? Keep your eye on it!
Hi Courtney! This has become my go to vanilla cake recipe! It’s so delicious and can be paired with all sorts of flavours for the filling and icing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
Thank you! I appreciate that!
Percent-wise, how much can I reduce the sugar without adversely affecting the texture/taste?
Maybe 1/4 cup. If you’re worried about sugar, check out my sugar free cake.
Hi Courtney!
Cant wait to try this recipe! I have a butter vanilla emulsion at home and wondering if I could substitute that in for this recipe or any recipe really.
Thanks!
Yes!
LITERALLY THE BEST VANILLA CAKE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!!!! So delicious!! I made a 6” layer cake and cupcakes for a baby shower and everyone raved. Didn’t believe they weren’t from a speciality bakery😜
Thank you so much!
Hi.
Can I substitute whole butter with oil in this recipe?
No.
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe! Im Making cupcakes and it has been requested that I do half of them chocolate. Would it turn out well if I were to half the batter and add cocoa powder? If so, how much would you add?
No I would recommend making my chocolate cake recipe instead.
I made this cake and the layers looked beautiful but when slicing them into thinner layers, I noticed that it is quite a dense can not light and fluffy. Is this correct?
It’s a denser cake yes.
I tried this recipe and it is so good!!! It was an absolute hit. The cake almost tasted like a sugar cookie. Thanks Courtney!
Thank you so much!
The flavor is wonderful, but maybe I did something wrong. I divided it between 3 8″ rounds, and when I took them out of the pan, the layers were so thin! Maybe 1 inch thick each? If I put all three together, the height wouldn’t exceed 4 inches. From the picture, I think this is way too short, right?
Did you use fresh ingredients? That could hinder the rising, if they are old.
Made this yesterday in a 9×13 pan for my daughter’s birthday. It took me about 50 minutes to bake. It was delicious, light, fluffy, and a new family favorite. This was the first time I have used vanilla paste. Totally worth it, the smell was divine. I halved the butter cream and it was the perfect amount! Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you!!