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
- 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
- 1 tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
- 1 tsp. (5 g) salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, 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 (57.75 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 ½ 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, continue beating on medium-high speed until the texture is smooth and the volume is nearly doubled, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and beat until incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by ½ cup of the buttermilk. Repeat the additions, ⅓ flour mixture, ½ cup buttermilk and the final ⅓ 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 16-18 ounces of cake batter into each of the three 8-inch cake pans or 12-14 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! Quick question… I baked this cake tonight (my house smells INCREDIBLE) but it’s too late to crumb coat and frost. What is the best way to store your cake layers so you can come back to? Do I freeze them until I’m ready to frost? What if I wanted to bake up several so I have them on hand, how should I store?!
Always best to let cool to room temp, cover completely and freeze.
Hello,
Just wondering why you baked this cake at a lower temperature?
Thanks!
To make sure it didn’t brown at all around the edges and I noticed that when I bake these lighter cakes at a lower temperature, they’re less likely to give you problems with dryness from overbaking
Thank you for this recipe! I got married 1 month ago and LOVED my wedding cake but only got one piece. This recipe is almost exactly like it!
I used what I had, i.e. regular vanilla instead of vanilla bean paste, and it still turned out great.
This will forever be my go to classic vanilla cake.
Hi Courtney!
Can this recipe be reduced by half pretty straight forward or is there a ratio for the ingredients to be mindful of?
Thanks!
It can be reduced in half. For the eggs, better to use more than less.
Hi Courtney: Im so excited to try this receipe out this week. I was curious if I would be able to sub greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Yep!
Is there a typo in this recipe? I’ve made it twice now and it was awful
No typo. What’s going wrong with your cake?
Same here! I have not made this cake twice I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. But it’s dry and I feel like a sour cream gives it a weird taste. The cake is really dense and not moist and fluffy at all. Any advice?
This cake is beautiful! I was wondering how you got the rustic effect with the buttercream?
I just used my straight spatula on the sides!
Hi Court is there a sub for cake flour, I am in the UK and we have no cake flour like the USA… xx
You can certainly make your own cake flour if you’re in a pinch and can’t find premade cake flour. Here’s what you do:
1 cup all-purpose flour – 2 tablespoons
+
2 tablespoons corn starch
=
1 cup cake flour
For one cup of AP flour, take out two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons cornstarch. Then sift the mixture at least six times. You need to get the mixture as fine as actual cake flour, so don’t skip this step.
When all frosting is also completed how much will this cake weigh? Any idea about the completed cake weight?
Well you are putting in two pounds of butter in the frosting plus two pounds of powdered sugar and the cake is probably a pound so maybe 5 pounds?
Can I use all purpose flour or kamut flour instead of cake flour??
Needs to be cake.
This cake had great flavour but for me it took a lot longer to bake and came out quite dense. Any suggestions?
I added the egg whites slowly but all at once, would adding them one at a time work better?
I made your green velvet cake and it was amazing in flavour and so soft.
One at a time is suggested!
So I have been using a recipe for vanilla cake that I found off Pinterest for the last three years. Don’t get me wrong its a good cake but yesterday I was craving something different. A vanilla cake that lighter and more sophisticated in flavor. I came across this cake… lets just say WOW. This is the best from scratch vanilla cake I have ever tasted. SO GOOD. Light, tender, and with subtle hint of vanilla… just go make it now! you wont regret it! (also always always always room temp ingredients 🙂
Thank you so much!!
How did your cake come out so white? Are you using the vanilla bean paste? Or the extract? I used the paste and my cake is definitely not white. It’s delicious, but definitely has a brown hue from the vanilla paste.
I’m using the vanilla bean paste! could be how long you cooked it!
Hello!
I was wondering if I can use regular milk instead of buttermilk for this cake?
You can if you mix it with greek yogurt. half milk half greek yogurt. Otherwise it needs to be buttermilk.
This looks delicious. My daughter is asking for an almond cake. Could I substitute almond for the vanilla? Thank you!
Sure!
Can I use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes
Just curious to why there is baking powder and no baking soda? Given the acidic ingredients. So many recipes and they’re all so different and it’s confusing 🤣
Baking powder and baking soda can work similarly but need different amounts. I tend to use baking powder in my recipes.
Hi,
Why do you use 6 egg WITES in this recipe, and normal eggs in the marble cake (the vanilla one). What is the difference in using egg whites?
Thanks!
It makes the cake fluffier!
Just baked this exactly as you have it and ran into a few snags. The cake is a bit under done on top and the sides baked at an angle instead of straight. It also didn’t raise as much as I thought it would, and I made sure to use fresh and room temperature ingredients. Just wondering if you have any ideas for troubleshooting? Thanks!
Bake it until a few moist crumbs come out. And then use a cake leveler to flatten the top! It’s ok if they aren’t huge layers!
I’ve made this twice and also have had very white or “underdone” looking top, despite getting a few moist crumbs on my toothpick and the edges looking done. Is the white top normal? I’m used to cakes turning a little golden when done. Thank you!
Totally fine.
This is the most delicious vanilla cake I have ever had!! I doubled the recipe for a thick 9.2 three layer cake. AMAZING!
Oh my gosh this recipe is heaven! Even when…you are super distracted… and accidentally add the frosting recipe amount of butter… into the cake batter. Still turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing your incredible talent and recipes!!
Hi, Can I use the mentioned quantity in the recipe for 2 – 9” pan?
Yes for 2 it is the same.