This homemade vanilla cake mix recipe is easy to make with a few ingredients and then stash away in your pantry for those days you want to bake a vanilla cake for dessert!

Homemade vanilla cake mix in a glass jar.

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Homemade Vanilla Cake Mix Recipe

With four kids and a busy life, I always keep a jar of this homemade vanilla cake mix recipe in my pantry. It takes 10 minutes and 4 pantry staples to whisk together, and it makes twice as much as a store-bought box without any of the additives.

The secret to this vanilla cake mix is the cake flour, which bakes up a softer with a more tender crumb than the boxed kind.

When you’re ready to bake, just add butter, buttermilk and eggs for a homemade vanilla cake, or swap it into any recipe that calls for a box, like my 3-ingredient cake mix cookies.

XO - Jamielyn

Ingredients Needed

You only need 4 pantry staples to make this homemade vanilla cake mix recipe and a few extras to make the batter.

Cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt for vanilla cake mix on a marble counter.

Find the full printable recipe below.

  • Cake flour: I like to use this type of flour in my cakes because it results in a soft and tender crumb. If you don’t have any, you can substitute it for all-purpose flour. 
  • Baking powder: Make sure your baking powder is fresh before adding it to your dry mix. To check this, add a teaspoon of powder to a small bowl of hot water to see if it fizzes. If you don’t see any action, then you know it’s time to replace it!
  • Granulated sugar: Plain granulated sugar or cane sugar will both work.
  • Salt: I prefer fine sea salt, but table salt is good, too!
  • To make cake from vanilla cake mix: You’ll need buttermilk, softened butter, a quality pure vanilla extract, whole eggs and egg whites.

How to Make Vanilla Cake Mix from Scratch

Making homemade vanilla cake mix then storing in a jar.
  1. Measure and whisk. Carefully measure out all of the ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together making sure you get rid of any lumps. It’s important to measure the correct amount as it affects the texture of your cake. Check out these tips for how to measure flour accurately.
  2. Store. Spoon the mix into a quart-sized jar with a sealed lid. Keep in your pantry to use when making your next vanilla cake!

How to Bake with This Homemade Cake Mix

Now that you have your homemade vanilla cake mix, you can whip up a dessert in a flash! Using your mix couldn’t be easier. Also, this recipe makes about twice as much mix as the boxes from the store contain.

This batter is enough to make:

  • One 9×13-inch baking dish (bake 45 to 50 minutes)
  • 24 cupcakes (bake 30 to 35 minutes)
  • Three 8-inch round cake pans (25 to 30 minutes)
  1. Combine butter with cake mix. Pour the mix from the jar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the butter. You can also do this step by hand using either a handheld whisk or wooden spoon.
  2. Add wet ingredients. Once you add the wet ingredients, beat the batter until everything is just combined. You don’t want to overbeat the batter, or your cake could turn out to be tough.
  3. Bake. Check that your cakes are baked throughout by inserting a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean.

Recipe Tips

Here are a few simple tips I’ve discovered from making my own dry ingredient blend for a while that will help make sure the cakes you make from your own homemade version will turn out great every time.

  • Baking powder should be as fresh as possible. Opened baking powder will keep for about 6 months in your cupboard. Because you’re storing the cake mix, you want to make sure your baking soda isn’t nearing or past its expiry date. 
  • Remove lumps. Whisk or sift your cake mix ingredients to make sure there are no lumps before storing.
  • Cake mix add-ins. You can have some fun by adding some sprinkles, chocolate chips, or nuts into your batter just before baking.
  • Room temperature. Once you’re ready to bake, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Check out my guide on how to soften butter quickly!

Frosting Ideas

When it comes to frosting ideas for your vanilla cake, there are so many delicious options! A few of my favorites are classic buttercream frosting, vanilla frosting and chocolate buttercream frosting.

I use an offset spatula or knife for easy frosting. If you have the time, you can freeze the cake layers for 30 minutes before frosting to make it easier to spread without losing a lot of the crumb. This step is optional!

They Make Great Gifts!

Wrap a little bow on a jar of vanilla cake mix with some simple instructions on it and hand them out to your friends and family! I love to tie the instructions onto a tag, similar to my cookie mix in a jar.

Recipes Using Vanilla Cake Mix

Now that you have your homemade cake mix ready to go, there are so many delicious cake recipes you can make from birthday cakes to cupcakes, and more!

Homemade cake mix in a jar ready to store in the pantry

If you like this homemade vanilla cake mix recipe, don’t stop there! Try making your own pancake mix at home. You’ll love it.

More Cake Recipes

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See all
Homemade vanilla cake mix in a glass jar.

Vanilla Cake Mix

5 from 7 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8
This homemade vanilla cake mix is easy to make with a few ingredients and stash away in your pantry for those days you want to bake a vanilla cake for dessert!
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Ingredients 

Cake Mix

  • 3 ¾ cups (390 grams) cake flour , or 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

To Bake

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups (340 grams) buttermilk , at room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs , at room temperature
  • 2 large egg whites , at room temperature

Instructions

Cake Mix

  • In a large bowl, combine 3 3/4 cups cake flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  • Transfer flour mixture to a quart-sized jar and seal until ready to use.

To Bake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line bottom of cake pans with parchment paper and spray only the parchment with nonstick cooking spray. Do not spray the sides of the pans.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the jarred vanilla cake mix mixture. Beat in 1 cup softened butter on medium 1 minute, or until the butter is combined and coarse in texture.
  • Mix in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and 1 Tablespoon vanilla on low 1 minute, or until combined. Beat the batter on medium 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl
  • Turn the mixer to low, and add 1 egg at a time until all 3 eggs in total are mixed in. Pour in two egg whites and mix on medium-high 30 seconds, or until the batter is smooth and a little runny. Pour the batter evenly into the pans and smooth out the tops.
  • Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes in the pans before transferring the cakes to a rack to cool completely.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Box cake mix: A typical box of cake mix has 3 1/2 cups. This recipe makes about 6 3/4 cups, so measure accordingly if swapping for a box. 
Vanilla: Use a really good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, since this cake relies heavily on its flavor. 
Variations: This batter is enough to make:
  • 1 9×13-inch baking dish (bake 45 to 50 minutes)
  • 24 cupcakes (bake 30 to 35 minutes)
  • 3 8-inch round cake pans (25 to 30 minutes)
Frosting: Freezing cake layers makes it easy to frost without losing a lot of the crumb, but isn’t necessary if time doesn’t allow. Two of my favorites are Classic buttercream frosting and Chocolate buttercream frosting.
To Store: Keep the cake mix in a quart-sized jar or other airtight container in a cool, dry place, like your pantry, for up to 3 months. It also freezes well for up to a year.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 603kcal, Carbohydrates: 95g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 92mg, Sodium: 160mg, Potassium: 248mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 41g, Vitamin A: 610IU, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.