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 and Carving)
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.
How Can I Make This Ahead?
After the cakes have been removed from the pan and have completely cooled down. Double wrap each layer with plastic/saran wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. I did this when I used this recipe for a wedding cake.
If longer than 2 days, I suggest keeping them in the freezer instead. If freezing, double wrap it with plastic/saran wrap then wrap again in foil. The first layer keeps the cake tight and fresh and the aluminum foil ensures no condensation will seep in.
When you are ready to use the cake, transfer the wrapped cakes from the freezer to the refrigerator one day before assembling. Take them out of the freezer container to thaw, but leave them wrapped in plastic wrap/aluminum foil.
The cakes take at least 8 hours to thaw completely in the refrigerator. Make sure you’re thawing the cakes while they’re still in the wrapping. Condensation forms as foods thaw. This way the condensation will form on the wrapping, not the cake.
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
VIDEO
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.
Hi Trish, love this recipe! Just a quick question if that’s okay – the tops of my cakes cracked slightly and domed a little – the doming wasn’t such an issues as it leveled out once cooled, and I just cut off the cracked top. Is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again in the future? I baked for 65 minutes at 180°c as my cakes weren’t done after the recommended time, just wondering if maybe my oven was too hot? Thanks in advance! 😃
It’s definitely worth checking if your oven runs hotter than the set temperature. I always keep an oven thermometer inside my oven and only put my bakes when that thermometer indicates that it has reached my desired temp. Based on all the ovens I have used, it makes that “beep” sound that it has reached, let’s say, 350F but when I look at my oven thermometer it’s only at 320F. So I wait until my oven thermometer actually reaches 350 before I put in my bakes.
You could also try baking at 170°C next time and see if that gives you a more even rise. And lining the sides of your pans with baking strips can help too (just note that the baking time would be longer if using baking strips).
Hi Trish,
I made the ‘sturdy yet moist and fluffy chocolate cake’ last year for my son’s birthday cake – a layered/stacked/carved rocket! The cake was great. This year I’m stacking 3 x Bundt cakes to make a Volcano – last year was space – this year it’s dinosaurs – and I was wondering if this recipe would work in Bundt pans? And/or what adjustments might need to be made? Or if the aforementioned ‘sturdy yet moist and fluffy chocolate cake’ would be a better recipe? The pan sizes are 3 cup, 6 cup and 12 cup.
Many thanks 🙂
That sounds epic! I haven’t personally tried, but I think the chocolate cake recipe should work in Bundt pans too. Just be sure to grease your bundt pans really well so it won’t stick and adjust the baking times: the smaller Bundts (3 and 6 cup) will bake much faster than the 12-cup one. I’d also recommend reducing the oven temp slightly to 325°F (about 165°C) to help prevent overbaking or cracking. Keep an eye on them and test with a skewer. Can’t wait to hear how the volcano cake turns out!
Hello!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I’m looking at making a number 2 cake so going to be using a sheet pan 30 x 19 x 3.5cm. Please could you advise on measurements?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Trish. Hope you can help… 2 questions.
I am
Terrified of halving cakes as it always goes wrong, so considering baking this over 3 x 2 inch pans instead of 2 x 3inch pans, would that work?
Also, could I add some instant coffee powder to this to make it a coffee cake and how much would you suggest?
Thanks!
Yes, you can use a 2-inch high pan. The key is to fill your pan about 2/3 full – any extras you can bake as cupcakes. Baking time would be shorter as there’s less batter so watch for visual cues or for accuracy use a food thermometer. Cakes are done when they are at 200–210°F (93–99°C). This post has more details: https://thebakeologie.com/baked-goods-doneness-temperatures/
Hi I want to make 2 eight inch cakes but bake them in a heart shaped pan. Would this amount of batter be enough for the two pans? Also I only have 1 pan can the batter remain out while the other cake bakes? Ty.
I’m not sure about the heart-shaped pan. The key is to fill your pan up to 2/3 full and bake the extra (if there’s one) as cupcakes. The batter can sit at room temp for about an hour.
Absolutely love this recipe!! My new favourite!! I made a 6 inch cake and I’m still new to all this. I’m needing to make x2 3-layer cakes in a few weeks and both are 12 inches. Would you happen to have the measurements as yours go up to 10 inches and I’d appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you x
I’m so happy to hear you loved the recipe—thank you! For the 12-inch size, I actually have a version available for purchase on my site. (https://thebakeologie.com/ebook/) You can find it in my shop if you’d like to check it out! Hope it makes your upcoming cakes a little easier to plan. 🙂
Hey there, I’ve tried this recipe twice now first was i used a 9 inch instead of 8inch and shorten the bake time.. came out dense. Then tried the recipe for 6×3, I used a scale ( I mostly do with all my baking). I had one in 6×3 pan, then the other half in cupcakes form. When they were done (done before the suggested time), the cupcakes dome went sunken, but the texture is not to dense compared to the cake. Thr chocolate thought was perfect, kinda dense but moist at the same time.
I also noticed, the chocolate batter is a little runny than the vanilla..so I was thinking the thickness of the vanilla batter might be the cause of the density of the cake? I wanted to try this recipe for the 3rd time but i want to increase the milk a little bit? I really needed a stable but moist not dense cake for a 3 tier wedding cake for my friend. Thanks hopefully you’ll see my comment.
Hi, Monett. Thanks so much for sharing all the details. The vanilla cake batter is really thicker than the chocolate version.
Cakes/ cupcakes that sink in the middle after taking them out of the oven usually is an indication that they were undercooked. The batter rises in the oven as gases from leavening agents (like baking powder or soda) expand, but the middle is still too soft and lacks the structure. It seems that you were on the right track with the chocolate cake- it just needed more baking time.
If you’re going to try the vanilla cake again, may I suggest to start with the 6-inch, weigh all ingredients, make sure all ingredients are room temp. Common reasons for dense cake are overmixing the batter, undercreamed butter and sugar, your leaveners (e.g. baking powder)is expired, or cold or unevenly mixed ingredients – these are the things to watch out. This vanilla cake is very stable for tiered cakes and even for carving so I hope everything goes well on your next try!
Hello Trish! I might have taken it early.. so the 2- 9 inch cake that i baked, i thought was very dense after I tasted the 6inch ones so I stuck them in the freezer with the purpose of using them as a dummy cake..then I thought, it takes space so I decided to buy a Styrofoam and just eat the “dense” cake as is with no frosting. We’ll they were still a little cold but I noticed that it is actually moist and not hard dense but moist dense when i took a bite, it is delicious! The dark kinda hard crumb intimidated me that’s why I assumed it was too dense. Should I just slice off the sides or leave it? It looks nice on a naked cake. Anyways, I just bought 3 inches deep different pan sizes I’m keeping this recipe for the purpose of a tiered cake.. thanks again!
Hi! Thank you so much for the update—I loved reading this! I know exactly what you mean about the dark crumb looking a bit intimidating, but I’m so glad you gave it another try and found it moist and delicious after all. If you like the look of the edges for a naked cake, I’d say leave them as is! But if you want a softer bite or a slightly neater finish, a light trim works too. Excited to hear you’re planning to use this for a tiered cake—sounds amazing! Let me know how it goes 😊
Hi there! I am planning on using this recipe to make a friends wedding cake. Do you know how tall (roughly) the completed cake is with the exact dimensions you used- a 6, 8, and 10 inch 3 tier cake including frosting? I’m trying to find a box to transport the cake in and want to make sure I get one big enough! Thanks in advance!
Hi, Ashleigh! Mine was around 24 inches high, excluding the final flower topping – I added them after the cake arrived at the venue. More details at my DIY wedding cake post. Link is https://thebakeologie.com/diy-wedding-cake/
How do I stop the mixture curdling after adding the eggs? When I add the flour it looks better, but I feel I’ve done something wrong as it looks a bit like scrambled eggs before the flour is added – is it meant to??
Great question—and you’re not alone! It’s actually pretty common for cake batter to look curdled after adding eggs, especially if the ingredients aren’t all at room temperature. To prevent this, try adding the eggs one at a time and making sure they’re not too cold. (A quick way to bring eggs to room temperature is to soak them in warm water for about 2 minutes.) But don’t worry—once the flour goes in, the batter usually comes back together just fine, and it shouldn’t affect the final cake!
Hi, if I may please have help trying to figure out if I need to make any adjustment to baking time or recipe, since I have 2″ high pans. I’m making my wedding cake 4 tier cake (6in,8in,10in,12in). I appreciate your feedback so much!
Hi! You can still make this cake in 2-inch high pans by lining it with parchment paper to add height – please see full post for details. If you are opting for 2-inch high cakes, fill your pan up to 3/4 full and bake at the same temperature. I don’t have the specific baking time, but it’s good to start checking at 20 minute mark then add time from there depending on visual cues (e.g. the middle is not wet and a skewer comes out clean).