BEST Vanilla Cake

I whole-heartedly believe this is the BEST vanilla cake you can make at home. It’s so plush and bouncy just like a box mix but stays so rich and moist. The flavor is also next level using TONS of vanilla bean paste paired with a not-too-sweet vanilla bean buttercream. This is definitely going to be your new go-to vanilla cake recipe.

Secret to the BEST Vanilla Cake

This recipe is based on my popular vanilla cupcake recipe which was tirelessly tested to perfection. Luckily, the same process and ingredients work for this vanilla layer cake version!

So for this batter in particular, much of the magic comes from the reverse creaming method.

Standard cake batter is made using the traditional creaming method that you’re likely the most familiar with. Start by mixing together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients followed by the dry ingredients.

This vanilla cake recipe uses the reverse creaming method. It feels a bit backwards at the start, but the first step is to combine all of the dry ingredients including the sugar.

Once combined, the fat (in this case it’s both butter and oil) is mixed straight into the dry ingredients. The fat builds a coating around the flour which slows the formation of gluten. This in turn creates a delicate cake.

Then all of the wet ingredients are combined separately and then poured in to the dry and fat mixture. Overall, this method requires fewer steps and is much easier than the creaming method, in my opinion.

Reverse creaming also changes the crumb of a cake. Rather than having a much more open consistency with many many tiny little air pockets, reverse creaming creates a cake that has a tighter and bouncy crumb.

This is the secret to creating an incredibly tender vanilla cake that’s still so rich and moist!

Vanilla Cake Key Ingredients

A wide variety of ingredients were tested to figure out what creates the best crumb, consistency, and flavor. So these are the shining stars of this recipe:

• Cake Flour – Due to the lower amount of protein in the flour, it creates a light, fluffy, and delicate texture. I included instructions on how to make your own out of all-purpose flour, but I suggest sticking with prepackaged cake flour for the best results!
• Sour Cream – To balance out the lightness of the cake flour, pairing it with sour cream is a match made in heaven. Sour cream creates a more sturdy cake (while adding tons of moisture) which creates a very interesting balance of textures. These cupcakes are light and tender, but also so rich at the same time.
• Water – It may seem like a basic ingredient, but water adds SO much moisture to cakes without weighing it down. It’s surprisingly one of my favorite cake baking ingredients.
• Butter + Oil – You rarely want to use all oil in vanilla cake because the vanilla flavor itself isn’t enough to mask the flavor of the oil. BUT, oil does produce an incredibly moist cake so by using both butter and oil in this recipe, you get the best of both worlds.
• Milk Powder – Just 2 tablespoons of dry milk powder really helps to elevate this cake! Both in flavor and consistency as it’s basically pure protein in powder form. It also creates a lot of structure and bounce.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – Last but not least, the vanilla flavor. I really wanted a TRUE vanilla flavor in these cupcakes and you just can’t get that anywhere else besides vanilla beans. But vanilla beans themselves are rather expensive so vanilla bean paste is the next best thing. It stretches much farther, which is definitely necessary since we’re using an entire tablespoons in this recipe.

More on Milk Powder

Dry milk powder is essentially just milk without the moisture. It’s made by evaporating milk to a point where only the fat and protein remain. What this does in baking is create a sturdy consistency that isn’t tough or chewy. It basically enhances any dessert it touches!

For this vanilla cake recipe, milk powder is there to ensure an even rise while also enhancing the flavor. It adds a sweet smoothness that is very hard to explain, but it’s easy to tell when it’s not there.

If milk powder isn’t in your typical baking pantry, I definitely urge you to try it out for this recipe! Then add 1 or 2 tablespoons to any of your future bakes and watch as it creates delicious cookies, cakes, brownies, and more. I also use it in my brown butter brownies and vanilla cupcakes.

Baking with Cake Strips

While optional, cake strips really help with this recipe. These are strips of fabric that are dampened and wrapped around each cake pan right before baking. The moisture barrier prevents the heat of the oven from hitting the outside of the cake too quickly. Therefore, the heat has a chance to slowly move from edge to center to create a much more even bake.

In the end, you’re left with a tender consistency all the way through – not just the center! You can see the slight difference in the photo on the right just above this text. The cake on the left was baked with a cake strip and the cake on the right was not. While subtle, you can tell that the cake on the right is much more well-done around the edges compared to the cake baked with the cake strip.

Best Cake Pan Material

Also optional, but this is good information to know especially if you’re an avid cake baker. The best material to use when baking cakes (or baking in general) is light aluminum.

This carries heat the absolute best as it doesn’t get super super hot and it also cools down very fast, leaving you with cakes that have a nice golden crust. So if you’re ever left wondering why your cakes or bakes turn out way too dark around the edges, it could be the pan you’re using.

Really dark metal pans create really dark edges (a good rule of thumb to remember) and glass just don’t hold heat the best. My entire collection of baking pans are ALL light aluminum as it makes a huge difference! The only downside is that they have to be washed by hand…but that’s a small price to pay for the most perfect bakes.

Whipped Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Vanilla cake is only as good as its frosting and this one pairs perfectly with its rich vanilla bean flavor and incredibly creamy consistency.

And while it’s an American buttercream, which is typically VERY sweet, this one is perfectly balanced and will please any frosting hater.

The key is to use very soft butter and whip it for a surprising amount of time. First, the butter is whipped for 5 minutes. Then the bowl is scraped down and mixed for ANOTHER 5 minutes. In the end, the butter will be glossy and nearly white – creating the perfect base for the buttercream. This whipped texture is what allows the frosting to hold its shape so that we don’t have to rely on tons and tons of powdered sugar.

Although there is still some, only three cups of powdered sugar go into this frosting. It’s balanced with a pinch of salt and lots of vanilla bean paste. Last, warm water is added to smooth everything out and create the most silky smooth American buttercream.

Vanilla Cake FAQs

For more of the BEST cake recipes, check out my:

• Moist Chocolate Cake
• Funfetti Cake
• Perfect Carrot Cake
• Cookie Dough Cake
• Fresh Strawberry Cake
• Lemon Raspberry Cake

Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make this vanilla cake recipe. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!

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