This is my favorite from-scratch vanilla cake recipe that was created after TONS of recipe testing in search of the perfect vanilla cake – one that has the light and fluffy texture of box cake mix, is packed with vanilla flavor, and super easy to make. This one checks all of those boxes and has become a go-to for me and for many of you, which makes me so happy! Pair it with vanilla buttercream and pretty sprinkles for the ultimate vanilla birthday cake, or pair it with any of my other frostings to mix it up. It goes well with everything!
One reader, Haley, says: “1000% this is the best vanilla cake recipe I have ever made. I quite literally NEVER leave reviews on things that I try, but there is no way that I could go without telling you how DELICIOUS this cake is.” ★★★★★
From-Scratch Vanilla Cake that Rivals Box Mix
I have a little confession to make: when I first started making cakes, my secret go-to for far too long was the box vanilla cake mix by Betty Crocker.
Phew. Now you know.
Since I became accustomed to the light and fluffy texture of said box mix, every time I tried to make a vanilla cake from scratch, the result seemed off. Blame it on the lack of Propylene Glycol Mono (or the handful of other ingredients in box mixes that you’ve never heard of), but my from-scratch vanilla cakes always ended up too dense, tasted a little cornbread-ish, and just didn’t have that fluffy appeal. Finding a go-to vanilla cake recipe from scratch felt like a mountain I had to climb, but after (what felt like) five hundred tries and a whole lot of not giving up, I’ve found a recipe that is beyond my wildest cake dreams.
Perfect Vanilla Cake Ingredients & Substitutions
This vanilla cake is soft and moist, so easy to whip up, and tastes like a dream. There are some key ingredients that make it this way, and I’ve listed them below. I’ve also shared some substitutions that can be made just in case you’re in a pinch:
- Cake Flour. To achieve the super soft texture in this cake, I swear by cake flour. It produces a much fluffier cake than all-purpose (or plain) flour because of its lower protein content (the more protein in your flour the stiffer the dough and less ability to maintain moisture). You can find cake flour at most grocery stores, but if all you’ve got is all-purpose flour in your pantry, here are instructions for how to make your own cake flour. Keep in mind that if you do use the homemade version, the gram measurement will weigh more (325g instead of 290g) since all-purpose flour is heavier than cake flour.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda. The leavening agents in this recipe. Using both makes it the perfect amount of fluffy.
- Unsalted Butter. The main fat in this recipe, which adds lots of moisture, great structure, and rich flavor. If you only have salted butter on hand, you can substitute that but be sure to omit the salt in the recipe if you do.
- Granulated Sugar. This not only sweetens the cake, it creates a tender crumb as well. You can substitute this with caster sugar if you wish and it will be even more soft.
- Whole Eggs + Egg Whites. I use two large eggs and two large egg whites in this recipe. The egg whites keep the cake lighter while adding the perfect amount of protein and binding power.
- Sour Cream. Sour cream adds the perfect amount of moisture to this cake. If you don’t have that locally you can substitute it for plain yogurt or Crème fraîche.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. I use an entire tablespoon of vanilla extract in this cake, which takes the flavor beyond! I recommend using a quality vanilla extract here (not imitation). You can substitute the extract for vanilla bean paste if you wish.
- Whole Milk. Since it has the highest fat percentage of any milk (aside from buttermilk), the whole milk creates a rich crumb while binding the ingredients together. You can technically substitute this for another kind of milk, but whole milk is going to yield the best results.
Vanilla Cake Baking Tips for Success
Even if you have all the right ingredients, it’s important to follow a few ground rules when it comes to baking this cake (or really any cake). Here are a few best practices that will really set you up for success:
- Start with room temperature ingredients. Cake baking is a science, and when ingredients like eggs, butter, and dairy are at room temperature, they form an emulsion which traps air in the batter. Once you place that batter in the oven, the trapped air expands and gives your cake a good rise and lovely, tender crumb. It’ll only happen when you use room temperature ingredients, so if you want your cake to live up to it’s true potential, don’t skip this step.
- Use fresh baking powder and baking soda. Each of these leavening agents are responsible for helping your cake to rise. Once their containers are open, they only have a six month shelf life! When they’re past their expiration date, the chemical reaction that causes your cake to rise won’t happen. If you want those cakes to rise beautifully, make sure your baking powder and baking soda are within that 6 month window.
- Use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Also known as the “flat beater” attachment, the paddle attachment helps incorporate just the right amount of air. Other attachments might add too much air to your cake batter, causing them to become over-mixed and potentially sink in the baking process. If you don’t have a stand mixer, an electric hand mixer works just fine.
- Be careful not to over or under mix. Under-mixing the batter will prevent important chemical reactions from happening in your cake batter, and over-mixing will lead to too much gluten development (aka a dense cake). In order to help you mix for the right amount of time, I’ve listed all of the mixing times in the recipe below. Follow those exactly for best results!
- Know your oven. I’ve written this recipe (and all of my recipes) for a conventional oven. If you have a convection or fan-assisted oven, you’ll want to reduce the baking temperature to 325ºF (163ºC) and check for doneness a few minutes earlier than specified.
Here’s a quick video to show you the process for making this vanilla cake:
If you love recipe videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of cake recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.
What Frosting to Pair with Vanilla Cake
This vanilla cake pairs well with so many buttercream flavors, but if you want to keep things on the vanilla spectrum, try pairing it with a double batch of my Vanilla Buttercream Recipe. It does not disappoint!
If you’d rather switch things up, a double batch of any of my frosting recipes will work great! I’ve got recipes for alternative cake fillings here as well.
Updates
In 2022: I slightly changed the measurements of these same ingredients to make this cake even more soft and light! The original recipe is in this youtube video if you’ve come to love that one.
In 2025: I finally updated the photos to show more of the inside of the cake! The exterior decoration changed to reflect a simpler design as well. Basically a smooth buttercream finish, these pretty rainbow sprinkles, and swirls on top created with Wilton Tip 4B.
Perfect Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2 3/4 Cups (290g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs + 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature
Vanilla Frosting
- 2 batches vanilla buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), beat the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and creamy. Add in the sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, mixing until just combined and scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the vanilla and sour cream, turn the mixer to high, and beat for one full minute. It will look curdled at this point, but don’t worry – it will become smooth cake batter at the end.
- Add in the dry ingredients all at once and turn the mixer to low speed. Mix until just combined, then slowly pour in the milk. Continue to mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs with a whisk to make sure there are no lumps. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before filling and frosting with a double batch of my vanilla buttercream (or any frosting!).
Hello, I’ve tried this cake and several others (vanilla, chocolate, apple spice). All are absolutely delicious but I find even when following measurements and room temp ingredients mine come out really dense (usually the vanilla or coconut) or almost like some parts didn’t cook all the way through but the outside is almost a little too golden/brown, toothpick in center comes out clean and I use everything as the recipe says (temperatures, times, cake pan sizes, measurements, evorrect mixer attachment, etc). Any thoughts on why this happens to me (also have used different ovens)?
Hi Danielle! What kind of oven are you using (conventional or convection/fan-assisted oven)? And what kind of pans are you using (light colored aluminum or dark colored pans)?
Hi! It’s a conventional oven, nothing crazy I assume it’s a pretty standard household one (not terribly old or new). The baking pans have been a lighter colored aluminum.
I made the recipe using the weighted measurements and all ingredients room temperature. I used 2 9-inch pans and the cake came out flattish, is this normal or is it supposed to be bigger? I wonder if I should’ve measured using the cups instead. Note: my baking soda and baking powder are new.
Hi Tamara! Baking this recipe in 9 inch pans will yield cake layers that are about 1 inch tall. Is that about the height you got? Baking in 6 inch pans (as pictured) yields cake layers that are a little over 1.5 inches tall.
Hi! I’m from Canada and I was wondering if it’s best to measure using cups or with the scale because I made the DIY cake flour and for 2 3/4 cups, it gives me 408g of DIY cake flour and not 325g so I’m not sure which is better! If I measure it by scale, it gives me less than 2 3/4 cups of cake flour. Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Tamara! I think Canadian cups are slightly larger than American cups, so I would go with 325g of homemade cake flour. It’s always best to measure by weight. Enjoy!
Hello, Whitney
I made this recipe over the weekend and followed each step closely. The cake turned out delicious and full of flavor, but it came out a bit dense. I realized afterward that my eggs and milk weren’t at room temperature—could that have caused the dense texture? Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi Mary! Yes, room temperature ingredients are essential to the texture of the cake being tender and light instead of dense. Next time try it with all room temperature ingredients and I’m certain there will be a big difference!
I’d like to add a taste of peach to it. Could I substitute the milk for peach juice?
Hi Celsa! Substituting the milk for peach juice will affect the texture since milk provides lots of fat for binding the ingredients together and adding moisture to the crumb. The peach juice won’t bind the ingredients in the same way and might even throw off the pH of the recipe. Instead, I’d recommend either 1) finding a dedicated peach cake recipe or 2) pureeing the peach, then reducing the puree before adding it. You could try that in place of strawberries in my strawberry cake recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-cake-recipe/ or 3) making vanilla cake layers and adding peach filling to get that peach flavor: https://sugarandsparrow.com/peach-filling/ hope that helps!
Great advice. I’ll go with adding peach filling. Thank you!
Hi, I am going to use this recipe to bake a 13” 2 shaped cake for my daughter’s birthday. Would you suggest I do 1.5x the original recipe? (I too have been partial to a Betty Crocker box in desperate times!)
Hi Megan! This recipe makes enough batter for a 9×13 pan, so it should make enough for a 13-inch number 2-shaped pan as-is. The batter amount is about 6 cups. If you want to double check, you can fill your pan up halfway with water and measure out how many cups of water make up that amount. Hope that helps!
hey! I’m looking at purchasing a few 6 inch pans for this recipe. Would you recommend 2 or 3 inch tall pans? (6 inch across). Thanks!!
Hi Victoria! I use these 2 inch tall cake pans: https://amzn.to/4cdnayM
Love this recipe, thank you!
I would like to use it for a smaller, but taller cake (so more layers). How would you adapt for say a 3 or 4 layer 6 inch cake?
So happy you love this recipe, Emma! It already makes enough for three 6-inch layers, but you could make 1.5x the recipe for 5 layers (or make 4 layers and have some left batter over).
I want to make your cake for an event and I will need 3 8” squares, should I multiply the recipe by 1.5 or 2?
Hi Jasmine! Since square pans require a little more batter than round pans I would double the recipe to have enough and divide it evenly between the three pans. Hope that helps!
OMG this is the BEST cake recipe!!! The cake is delicious .
Yay, Wendy! I’m so happy you love this recipe!