This homemade vanilla cake is soft, fluffy and full of classic vanilla flavor. It’s an easy from-scratch layer cake with a tender crumb and finished with creamy buttercream.

Homemade vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream on a white cake stand.

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Best Vanilla Cake From Scratch

I love a good chocolate cake, but this homemade vanilla cake is one I come back to again and again. It has that classic buttery vanilla flavor, a soft and tender crumb, and just enough structure to stack beautifully as a layer cake.

I usually keep it classic with vanilla buttercream or a chocolate buttercream frosting, especially for birthdays and special occasions. But vanilla cake is also one of the easiest cakes to make your own, so I’m including plenty of frosting and filling ideas if you want to change it up.

XO - Jamielyn

Ingredients Needed

This classic vanilla cake recipe is soft, sturdy, and easy to dress up with almost any frosting. It’s a reliable choice for any celebration that calls for a homemade layer cake.

Vanilla cake ingredients including cake flour, sugar, butter, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Flour: I use cake flour in this recipe as I find it lends a softer texture, however, you can use all-purpose flour. You’ll end up using less all-purpose and may find the cake is slightly denser, but either choice is great.
  • Granulated sugar: A dessert needs sweetness! 
  • Baking powder: A leavening agent that will react so nicely with the acid in the buttermilk. It will help to keep it light and fluffy.
  • Fine sea salt: We’re using unsalted butter which allows us to control the amount of salt we use. It helps to bring out flavors.
  • Unsalted butter, at room temperature: It needs to be soft enough to cream, so if you’ve forgotten to take it out of the fridge, here are some tips on how to soften butter. 
  • Buttermilk at room temperature: A sour tangy milk that adds richness and moisture to all kinds of baked goods including this cake. Here’s how to make buttermilk using any milk you have on hand. 
  • Pure vanilla extract: Since the vanilla flavor shines through it’s important to use a good quality pure vanilla extract, that doesn’t have an overpowering alcohol flavor. You can also use vanilla beans. The flecks of vanilla throughout the cake are just a bonus!
  • Eggs & egg whites: Using both whole eggs for binding and moisture along with egg whites for a light, fluffy, airy consistency to the cake batter results in the perfect balance of softness and structure.

DIY Ready-Made Cake Mix

The best part about this recipe is that you can pre-measure all of the dry ingredients and keep the vanilla cake mix stored in a jar to have on hand whenever you need to make a quick cake, this cake balls recipe or homemade vanilla cupcakes.

Simply bring the wet ingredients to room temperature and mix away!

How to Make Vanilla Cake

The best part is this cake all comes together in one bowl, no creaming butter and sugar separately.

Step-by-step photos showing how to make vanilla cake batter and bake the cake layers.
  • Combine dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If using a hand mixer, whisk that together on low speed. 
  • Add wet ingredients. We are using a reverse creaming method for this cake (more information on this reverse creaming). Turn the mixer up to medium and beat in the butter for 1 minute until it’s combined and coarse. Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla on low speed until combined. Then you’ll add in 1 egg at a time followed by the egg whites until the batter is smooth.
  • Pour batter evenly. Pour into both prepared cake pans and smooth out the tops to ensure a level cake. 
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Bake the batter until golden brown around the edges. Insert a toothpick into the middle of them. If it comes out clean, they’re done. Let them sit and cool for 5 minutes in the pans before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Serving a slice of vanilla layer cake with vanilla buttercream.

Frosting Options

Any of these pair well for finishing your homemade vanilla cake:

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips for the best vanilla cake recipe:

  • Only spray the parchment paper on the bottom of the pans with spray, not the sides. Otherwise, they’ll become too dark too quickly.
  • Wait until the cake has completely cooled before frosting it. Then, once it’s frosted, put it in the fridge to set.
  • Level the cakes before frosting. If you have a cake leveler it may make your life a bit easier, but if not, I’ve got you. Use a serrated knife to carefully slice off that rounded top of the cake to ensure a flat-level surface. This makes it much easier to stack the cakes once you’ve added frosting.
  • Frost the cake using an offset spatula which will help with an even smooth layer of frosting without taking any crumbs off with it.
Slice of moist vanilla cake with a bite taken from the fork.

Love cake recipes? You’ll also want to make strawberry cake, yellow cake and my best coconut cake recipe, too!

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Serving a slice of homemade vanilla cake with a cake server.

Homemade Vanilla Cake Recipe

4.99 from 126 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 14
This homemade vanilla cake recipe is soft, fluffy, and full of buttery vanilla flavor. Made from scratch and topped with buttercream, it’s an easy layer cake for birthdays and celebrations.
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Video

Equipment

  • 2 9" cake pans

Ingredients 

  • 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
  • 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

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of 2 9-inch 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, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Turn the mixer to medium and beat in the butter for 1 minute, or until the butter is combined and the mixture is coarse in texture.
  • Reduce the speed to low, and mix in the buttermilk and vanilla for 1 minute, or until combined. Turn the mixer to medium and beat 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  • Turn the mixer to low, and add 1 egg at a time until each is combined. Pour in the egg whites and mix on medium-high for 30 seconds, or until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter evenly into the pans and smooth out the tops.
  • Bake 25 to 30 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

Make ahead: Measure out all of the dry ingredients and keep them stored in a sealed jar as a great gift or to make a quick cake or cupcakes when the mood strikes. 
Vanilla: Use a really good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, since this cake relies heavily on its flavor. 
Dark edges: If your oven runs hot, your cake may develop dark edges (especially if you spray the sides of your pan with nonstick spray). If this happens, simply wrap the cake in plastic wrap and wait 24 hours to frost. 
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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 497kcal, Carbohydrates: 79g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 137mg, Potassium: 213mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 35g, Vitamin A: 523IU, Calcium: 87mg, Iron: 1mg

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