The VERY BEST Homemade Vanilla Cake

April 8, 2020 by thedomesticrebel | 49 Comments

Move over, boxed mix! There’s a new cake in town and it is the BEST VANILLA CAKE EVER! Not even an exaggeration, this vanilla cake is AMAZING. Super soft, ultra moist, deeply flavorful and SO simple. You ONLY need THIS recipe from now on!

There is a very fine line between confidence and cockiness, and today I am toeing that line with the following declaration: this is THE BEST VANILLA CAKE EVER! Yes, I shouted it from the rooftops. No, my neighbors did not care. (Their loss).

I’ve been trying to perfect vanilla cake for awhile. A cross between yellow and white cake, vanilla cake is a mixture of both, with the lightness and airy crumb of a white cake with the moisture and tenderness of a yellow cake. The best of both worlds.

Of course, with a name like ‘vanilla cake’ it HAS to be vanilla-y enough to make a difference. Using both vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract lends a superb, richly vanilla flavor and those tell-tale specks of vanilla bean swirled throughout.

This cake tastes like a moist, fancy bakery-style cake with ingredients you can pronounce and that you probably already have in your pantry right now. Below I have a few tips to ensure your vanilla cake comes out perfectly:

Room temperature ingredients ensure that your cake is baked to perfection. But is it necessary, you ask? YES! I promise I’m not adding an extra step for fun. When a recipe calls for room temperature dairy and eggs, it is to create the best possible outcome for your baked good. Room temperature ingredients cream and blend together better than cold ingredients do, and when you use room temperature ingredients, they create an emulsion which traps air inside. The trapped air expands when baking and creates light and fluffy cakes. Trust me, you need to use room temperature dairy and eggs for this recipe for the BEST outcome.
Butter and oil are both used, and you can’t omit one. Butter is used for flavor, of course, but the oil is what gives the cake ample moisture and richness. You cannot substitute more butter for the oil as this will result in a drier cake recipe. Both butter and oil together create the perfect texture for this cake.
Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. This ensures that your frosting doesn’t melt into a gooey mess once you frost your cakes! And when it comes to frosting, any flavor of frosting will do! For this recipe I used vanilla buttercream, but I would adore this with chocolate buttercream, too!
This recipe can be adapted for different pans. For three layers, simply divide the batter among three 8 or 9″ round baking pans and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until done. For cupcakes simply divide among 24 muffin cups and bake for 15-18 minutes or until done. For a 9×13 rectangular cake pan, bake for about 30-35 minutes or until done.

Whatever you do, MAKE THIS CAKE! It is seriously amazing. I love how moist and fluffy it is and how it is sturdy enough to hold a thick slathering of buttercream icing. The vanilla flavor is potent and delicious and this is a fantastic cake base for any and all frostings and accouterments.

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4.83 from 23 votes