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 a 3-tiered wedding cake so 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 this DIY 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
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.
I use and recommend Fat Daddios brand. 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.
- mixing bowls and spatula
- toothpick or cake 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 on medium speed for 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 is NOT 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 a food 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!
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 with swiss 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
Quick and Easy Cheater’s Swiss Meringue
Sturdy Yet Moist and Fluffy Chocolate Cake
❤️ Tried this recipe and loved it? If you made this recipe or any other recipe on this site, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating + review below – or tag @thebakeologie on Instagram and hashtag it #bakeologie !
Fluffy and Buttery Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 625 grams all-purpose flour (22 oz )
- 18 grams baking powder (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons )
- 6 grams salt (1 teaspoon)
- 454 grams butter, unsalted, at room temperature (16 oz )
- 533 grams white granulated sugar (19 oz )
- 9 grams vanilla extract (2 teaspoons )
- 400 grams eggs (weight is without shell) (approx 8 large eggs) at room temperature
- 488 grams whole milk (17.2 oz )
Instructions
- PREPARATION. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease the bottom of two 8x 3 round pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper (Note 1).
- PREPARE THE DRY INGREDIENTS. In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.625 grams all-purpose flour18 grams baking powder6 grams salt
- CREAM THE BUTTER, SUGAR AND VANILLA. In a stand mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.454 grams butter, unsalted, at room temperature533 grams white granulated sugar9 grams vanilla extract
- ADD EGGS TO THE MIXTURE. Add eggs to the mixture, two at a time. Blend until incorporated and scrape the sides as needed.400 grams eggs (weight is without shell)
- ADD THE DRY AND WET INGREDIENTS. 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!488 grams whole milk
- 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. Divide each cake into 2 to get 4 layers.
I did this recipe in September last year for the first time as I didn’t have a recipe large enough for my baking pan and often had to upscale other recipes or make the batters multiple times. THIS IS NOW MY GO TOO!! It didn’t have a strong enough vanilla flavor for me but that could just be the vanilla extract brand I buy… I’ll be doing the chocolate version Easter weekend sooo…will comment once done ✔️
So good to know that this vanilla cake worked well for you! Yes, the choco version is great too – both recipes are truly reliable.
Thank you, Shan, for taking the time to share your feedback. I appreciate it so much. 🙂
I made this a couple of times and it was absolutley delicious as long as you ate it straight away on its own. So it was my go to for a 50th wedding anniversary commission and when it was layered up with Swiss meringue buttercream looked fantastic but on cutting the cake it was really dense and pretty solid not at all nice. Do you have any ideas what could have gone wrong?
Hi, Amy! Were you using an oven thermometer? If the oven temperature is too low, it will take longer for your cake to set which may cause the centre to collapse as it cools, leading to a dense cake once it has cooled. Every time my oven alerts me that it has reached the temperature I set, in my oven thermometer it’s not there yet so I wait for a few minutes until it REALLY reaches my desired temp. My previous oven was also 10 degrees off so I set it to 360 F instead of 350 whenever I use it.
I only have 2” high cake pans. Can I use the 8” recipe in my 10” pans?
thank you for sharing!
Nothing has been mentioned about preparing the pans for the batter. Spray, shortening and flour, bottom only or sides roo?
It’s in step #1 in the recipe card. I usually use butter or non-stick baking spray.
Hi Trish, I am practicing for my daughter’s wedding cake and going to do a practice test with your cake today!! My daughter wants 3 layer cake per tier. I assume I could just divide the batter equally between 3 pans. How much to do you estimate I should reduce bake times for 6″, 8″ and 10″pans?
Thanks, Wendy
Hi, Wendy! I don’t have the exact time but what I would suggest is to check your cake 5-10 mins before the suggested baking time to see if they’re done. When a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the cake, it should come out clean with little or no crumbs. The top should be light golden brown as you see in the photos. Add another 3 to 5 mins if they’re not reasy yet. The key is to watch for visual cues. 🙂
Your baking time will be longer since you have more batter in each pan. Remember not to overfill your pan. Goodluck and I hope you will love this vanilla cake!:)
Hello! I wanted to try this recipe for a 3 tiered cake but the person I’m making it for really wants a whipped cream filling. I know it’s not recommended but is it possible to use whipped cream filling with this cake recipe? Given that I will be using dowels and cake boards to help support the weight.
Hi, Ariana. I can’t guarantee your cake won’t collapse if you use whipped cream filling, not just for this cake, but for any tiered cakes. Depending on how warm is your venue, the cream may melt. I don’t have much experience on using whipped cream for tiered cakes, but maybe try to Google “stabilized whipped cream” and see if that is a good alternative?
Absolutely thrilled with this recipe! Thank you! It’s always a risk when trying a new one but I’m so pleased I did. It looks, tastes, feels and smells beautiful. I baked the 8 inch and 10 inch rounds and am so happy with them. The 10 inch made so much mixture I needed to split it into two big bowls before adding the flour and milk! I used wraps around my tins and have lovely even layers. 160⁰c fan forced for the times shown worked really well. So happy to have a reliable vanilla recipe that can be stacked! Thank you!!!
So great to know that, Kelly!!! Thank you for giving this recipe a try and I am so happy you loved it! You should make the chocolate version too. 🙂
Just about to start making this cake in a 6″..I note the total weight of the battery should be 1330 approx which leaves about 137g for eggs but my 4 eggs without shells weigh 235g…do I continue with 4 eggs or take some out so the weight is correct?
1 large egg in Canada is about 50grams each (without shell) so 4 eggs is, more or less, 200 grams. For your scenario, I would take out 35 grams and use 200 grams. Divide your final batter weight evenly between your pans.
Hello there. I want to make a 10″ cake. I was looking at your chart for pan sizes. Does the conversion for a 10″ cake make 2 cakes or just 1? Thank you!
Hi Karen! They are all for 2 cake pans as well.