At long last, I’m documenting my go-to vanilla cake recipe that I’ve been making for over 10 years. I’ve used this recipe for countless birthday cakes, and even two wedding cakes, and it’s never let me down. It tastes great and is nicely hydrated, but most important, it’s sturdy enough for stacking and carving which is essential for layer cakes and character cakes (which I’ve recently retired from making, but still good to know).

The only annoying thing about the original recipe is that it calls for self-rising flour, which I would never tell anyone to buy, since you can easily make your own following the instructions in the post. Last month I found myself doing spontaneous baking powder math in the middle of making a half batch of this cake, and I vowed to write this post so I’d never have to do that again!

So here it is, plus a reminder for myself. The original quantities for this recipe as posted on Smitten Kitchen make three layers of an 8″ or 9″ cake that are on the thin side, and I forget this every damn time I make this cake! My recommendations below are to 1.5X the recipe for an 8″ or 9″ cake for nice thick layers and dramatic cake height, while you can use the second set of measurements for a smaller 6″ cake. The layers will be thick, but can be trimmed if needed, which is much better than having to remake more layers in a rush to get the height you want (speaking from experience).

You can also add a handful or two of sprinkles to the batter to make this a funfetti cake! Just be sure to toss them with a bit of flour first so the colour doesn’t bleed into the cake. Happy baking!

My Favourite Vanilla Cake

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

FULL RECIPE (use in three 8″ or 9″ cake pans)

  • 4 1/2 cups flour, minus 9 tsp
  • 6 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or 2% milk or whole milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 6 eggs

HALF RECIPE (use in three 6″ cake pans)

  • 3 cups flour, minus 6 tsp
  • 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk or 2% milk or whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line cake pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a small bowl (or large measuring cup), whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla.
  4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
  5. Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk/vanilla mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition until just blended.
  6. Pour batter into cake pans as equally as you can. I weigh each pan and divide by three to get the average, and do a few little adjustments so everything is equal.
  7. Bake 30 minutes (for 8″ or 9″ pans) or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire racks for 20 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely before decorating.