Go Back
+ servings
Vanilla cake
Print Recipe
4.87 from 44 votes

Vanilla Cake

This vanilla cake is moist, light, fluffy, flavorful and seriously delicious. It's also the easiest vanilla cake you'll ever make.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 12
Calories: 731kcal
Author: Alison

Ingredients

  • 2 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour Correctly Measured*
  • 1 and ½ cups White Granulated Sugar
  • 3 tsp Baking Powder
  • ¾ tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • ¾ cup Canola Oil Or Vegetable Oil
  • 3 tsp Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 and ¼ cup Butter Lightly Salted, Softened
  • 5 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 5 Tbsp Milk
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
  • Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder and salt.
  • Add the milk, eggs, oil and vanilla extract and mix into a batter. Do a quick whisk with a hand whisk to remove any lumps. Don't overmix.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
  • Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and placing them onto a wire cooling rack.
  • Let them cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream:

  • Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, start at slow speed and gradually increase speed. Let it whip for until your butter is smooth and pale in color.
  • Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat for a few minutes until very fluffy and smooth.

Video

Notes

  1. Measure your flour correctly using the spoon and level method - spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don't pack the flour into the cup and don't scoop it. Alternatively, weigh your flour on a food scale (click the link below the ingredients that says 'metric' to get the correct weight of each ingredient). 
  2. The butter for the frosting should be lightly salted. If yours is unsalted then you can add ⅛ tsp salt to the recipe. 
  3. Make It Dairy-Free: You can make this cake dairy-free by using a non-dairy milk option such as soy milk or almond milk. To do the same for the frosting, use a dairy-free vegan butter option such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. 
  4. You can make this in two 9-inch cake pans or three 8-inch cake pans. It also works in two 8-inch cake pans but the layers are quite thick. 
  5. Keep the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for up to a week. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 731kcal | Carbohydrates: 101g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 341mg | Potassium: 206mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 80g | Vitamin A: 679IU | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 1mg