The Most Amazing Vanilla Cake is moist and flavorful and made completely from scratch. It’s the best homemade vanilla cake you’ll ever have!
Ever since my Most Amazing Chocolate Cake became a viral sensation, people have been begging me to create the most amazing versions of a variety of different cakes. I’ve already made the Most Amazing White Cake which has gotten rave reviews, as well as its cousin the Funfetti Birthday Cake. Today I’m bringing you a vanilla version. I think you’ll be equally as happy with it. You’ll never used a boxed yellow cake mix again!
MY OTHER RECIPESWhen making a a vanilla cake, I highly recommend lining the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. This prevents a thicker crust forming on the bottom as well as ensures that your cake will come out of the pan in one piece. I have used both butter and nonstick cooking spray to grease my pans for this recipe and I do not flour the pan. Both work great.
This recipe is written for three 9-inch layers. A three tiered cake produces the ideal cake to frosting ratio. A 9-inch pan is a standard size. 8-inch and 10-inch pans will require adjustments to the recipe.
Several of the ingredients in the recipe are listed as being room temperature. By following this method you’ll have a better texture in the end so it is worth the patience. For the milk, I simply warmed it in the microwave for 30 seconds because the idea of leaving it out on the counter to reach room temperature didn’t sit well with me.
This recipe is developed using salted butter because that is what most people tend to buy and have on hand. I like to keep my recipes convenient for home cooks so salted butter is used whenever possible in my recipes. Unsalted butter certainly works, but you may need to add a pinch more of salt. There is a combination of butter and vegetable oil in this recipe. I find that vegetable oil gives the cake a lot more moisture.
Feel free to use whatever frosting you’d like with this cake. In the photos I used a chocolate cream cheese buttercream just like I used for my Most Amazing Chocolate Cake.
Watch the video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe and share even more tips and tricks for the perfect white cake. As always, you can find my complete collection of full-length recipe demos on my YouTube Channel.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
A: Why yes it can! They are baked at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes and this recipe makes about 36 cupcakes.
Q: Can I make this recipe into only two layers?
A: Yes you can, you’ll need to divide the recipe by 2/3rds. But no, I won’t do the math for you. I truly believe that the most amazing chocolate cake must be 3 layers.
Q: Do you have a substitute for eggs?
A: There are numerous options for substituting eggs in baking recipes. You can always try using one of those.
Q: Can I use a different pan size?
A: You are certainly welcome to try, but you’ll need to adjust cooking times and be careful as to how much you fill the pan. This recipe is written for 9-inch round pans, which is a standard size and is meant to be eaten as a 3 layer cake.
Q: Can I make this recipe gluten free?
A: Use gluten free flours at your own risk. Not all gluten free flours are equal and most don’t work as a straight forward substitute for all-purpose flour. I have not tested any gluten free flours in this recipe as I do not have Celiac’s disease.
Q: Do you have a chocolate version?
A: Why yes I do. I call it The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake.
Vanilla Cake Recipe
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Grease three 9-inch pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add in flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed in.
- Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before layering and frosting with your favorite frosting.
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Denise Newbold says
I was asked to make a vanilla cake for someone wedding, and I’ve never made a cake that big. For 60 people do you have a recipe that large for vanilla cake. Thank you, would be very. Appreciated
Rachel Farnsworth says
This recipe feeds about 20
Anastasia says
Thank you for this recipe. It turned out nice, moist, not too sweet, pretty easy to make too. I had to keep cakes in the fridge overnight before frosting them so they became a little dense but it didn’t effect the taste.
Angie says
You are one amazing baker and teacher!!
Your Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Cupcake and your Chocolate Cake is the best thing that happened to my oven!!
I followed the recipes to the letter and voila! I have a go-to recipe for all my cakes!!
Simply amazing for want of a better phrase.
Thank you for selflessly sharing your knowledge and affecting lives all around the world.
xoxo
AMY says
Hi ! Would it work if I used this recipe to make a rainbow layered cake so just adding gel food colouring to each layer? Or would this change the consistency of the cake?
Many thanks!!
Rachel Farnsworth says
Gel food colorings in small amounts won’t change the consistency of the cake.
Shafaq says
Can i use milk instead of buttermilk
Rachel Farnsworth says
https://thestayathomechef.com/buttermilk-substitute/
jam says
i love this recipe, thanks a lot… but got some problem with the structure, the cake sunk in the middle while baking, i used 9″x3″ pan. 🙁 and i dont know why..
Rachel Farnsworth says
Usually a sunken cake has to do with your oven and it not having a constant temperature. Cakes are fickle that way. Did you happen to open the oven while it was baking?
JessieJ says
So originally, I had planned to make this recipe for an order I had for an 8-inch cake, 3 layers. I completely forgot to buy baking powder and after realizing this I just said I’ll make it for the family and myself. It took more than 30 minutes to bake completely, maybe 40 minutes, but then again, it was on 325 ‘supposedly’, lol. After taking it out, I left it to cool and didn’t expect it to be anything of substance, but then I cut a piece out only to realize it was mind-blowing! The almond extract i added in place of the vanilla gave it a wonderful flavor and it wasn’t too dense. Thank you Rachel for this recipe! This time I will make sure to follow it to a T. Oh, and I don’t find buttermilk where I live to be affordable so I did 2 and 1/2 cups milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar. Also, I put only 2 and 1/4 sugar instead.
Louanne says
After an exhaustive search for a fluffy, moist and delicious yellow cake recipe, I finally found your recipe. Thank you! This recipe does create the most AMAZING yellow cake! Everyone loved it, and my husband and teenage son – experienced and picky cake eaters – said “just make this cake – always!” Can’t wait to make your chocolate version, too.
Janelle says
I saw in another comment that this vanilla batter can be marbled with the chocolate version (my FAVORITE cake by the way). I’m just curious if the different thicknesses of the batters make a difference. The batter for the chocolate cake is very thin – I was actually worried I had done something wrong the first time I made it! You stated that this batter is very thick, as is my usual vanilla cake recipe. I just don’t know if that will cause a problem when it’s time to marble the batters together. Thank you for any advice or suggestions!
Jane Yearwood says
What is your favorite cake flour?
Rachel Farnsworth says
Whatever is at the store 🙂
Lara says
Can I put the batter in the fridge for a couple of hours if I want to use the pans in the oven again later?
Rachel Farnsworth says
Should work!
Lia says
Can you use cake flour for this recipe?
Rachel Farnsworth says
Yes, you can.