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!).
Hi!!
Amazing recipe!
I live in Brazil and there is no sour cream here. Can I replace for natural yogurt?
Hi Virginia! Yes, yogurt is a great sub for the sour cream.
Hi Whitney! I am making a 3 layer, 8 x 3 inch round cake for a wedding, but not the actual wedding cake. Any suggestions on what cake would be suitable and how to decorate the cake? I just decorated your heart shaped vintage cake & was very pleased how it came out. Thank you for all of your posts! I will follow you forever!
I’m so happy you’ve been loving my recipes and tutorials, Elisa! You can use any of my recipes for a cake that size, I would ask the wedding party what flavors they like the most and what kinds of designs they’re hoping for. Most of my cake recipes make enough for two 8-inch layers, so you’ll want to make 1.5x the recipe to make a third 8-inch layer if that’s the case. Here are all of my cake recipes: https://sugarandsparrow.com/category/recipes/cake/ and if you want something super easy that’s always a hit I recommend my one-bowl chocolate cake: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-cake-recipe/ hope that helps!
Hi Whitney! I’ve baked so many of your cake recipes, especially the vanilla cake & they always come out great using either a 6×3 inch or 8×3 inch round cake pan. I just made the vanilla cake in 2, 8×3 inch heart shaped cake pans & lowered the temperature by 25 degrees as directed by the heart shaped cake pan. The cake resembled a texture like corn muffins. Can you explain why this happened?
Hi Elisa! I’m not exactly sure why the texture came out like that. If you’ve baked this recipe before in other pans and it came out well, the difference could simply be the pan. Is it a dark pan? Those do tend to heat up more than aluminum pans and can alter texture.
I just wanted to say i Love your site. Thank you for sharing with us. About to make this, just wanting to clarify – the text say 365g of home made cake flour but the recipe notes say 325g, just wondering if it was an either or (which is unlikely) or 325g of home made cake flour 🙂 thank you
Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for catching that typo! The correct measurement for homemade cake flour will be 325g.
Hey Whitney!
All recipes I made from you are amazing! everybody loves them over and over!
Now I want to bake a cake but it needs to be tall and they love big pieces and it is for around 20 persons. What size pan would you reccomend. wider pans and lower layers and more layers. or Smaller pans with higher layers and less layers. Hope you understand my querstion haha.
greets Mandy!
Hi Mandy! I’m so happy you’ve been loving my cake recipes! To serve 20 people with large portions/tall slices, two 8-inch cake layers should be perfect. Most of my recipes are written for this pan size and the layers end up almost 2 inches tall. Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot for your answer again!!! I wil try that!
Just made this. Converted measurements to metric and multiplied by 1.5 to make 3 layers. It came out beautifully. I use 7 minute frosting and a filling to make a coconut cake. I do wish I had added some coconut flavoring to the batter but didn’t think of it until now. The layers came out a perfect thickness and even on top. It’s not an overly sweet cake but perfect for the very rich topping. 10/10 would recommend!
Yay Kathy! I’m so happy you loved this recipe and those flavors sound amazing!
Hi Whitney. I hope all is well. I love your recipes. The come out perfect every time. I have a question about the eggs in the recipe. Could I substitute the egg whites for boxed egg whites? I just hate to waste ingredients . If not, I understand but if i can, how much boxed. Egg whites can i use? Thank you in advance!
Hi Colleen! Yes, you can use boxed egg whites if you want. You’ll want to use 1/4 Cup of the boxed egg whites to equal 2 large egg whites. Enjoy!
This vanilla cake recipe is a true classic! Simple, moist, and full of flavor – it’s perfect for any celebration or even just a sweet midweek treat. Loved the step-by-step instructions, made it super easy to follow. Definitely adding this to my go-to cake list!
Thanks for this great vanilla cake recipe!
My first rating and review EVER and I’ve been baking since the old internet days 🙂 I have a home bakery and decided to put 5 top vanilla cake recipes to the test and gave out numbered samples to friends and family – and guess whose revipe came out on top with every taster? YOURS! Thank you for this wonderful, uncomplicated, magical recipe.
Ahhh thank you, Eileen! That makes me so happy!!
Hello, thanks for the recipe. I have a question if i have a small oven and can put only 1 pan in the oven. Can i cover the remaining with plastic wrap and wait the first batch baked and then do the second batch?
Thanks.
Hi Prisheen! Yes, you can totally bake the layers one at a time. Enjoy!
Hi Whitney, i love this recipe. I’ve literally just baked it but the end batter result looked curdled stil before putting in the oven…
Would you possibly know why? Ty in advance.
Hi Anna! The batter will look curdled after adding the sour cream, but it shouldn’t look very curdled by the time you add the milk at the end (see this video for how it should look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt3XVyZDvgY). How did it bake? My only thoughts if it looked curdled at the end of the recipe are that the dairy ingredients may have been colder than room temperature.
Hello! What would my measurements be if I wanted to do 1 layered 8×2 cake?
Hi Montse! For one 8-inch layer you’ll want to half the recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Whitney,
I am planning on make 9 inch 3 layer cake. Would I have to multiple the recipe by 1.5?
Hi Gurpreet! Yes, multiply the recipe by 1.5 and you’ll have enough batter for three 9-inch layers
Such a BEAUTIFUL cake. Can’t wait to make it. Also,,,,,loved watching the video of making the cake. You gave such insight on each step of the process. Thank you.
If i am making my cake flour should i use 290g or 365g of flour? Im in the uk so our cups are a different size so ideally wanted to weigh it. Thank you
Hi Chloe! If you’re making DIY cake flour, go with 365g. It weighs more since plain flour is the base.
Thank you. I made the cake today, it turned out well but did find it domed quite a bit. I don’t have a fan oven do you think a slightly lower temp would help with this?
The dome is normal! I usually just level the cake off. If you want a flatter cake you could try cake strips around the sides of your pans.
Hi there,
Just doing sone calculations
It say 290g cake flour.
1 cup is 120g flour.
So this would equal to 120 x2 + 90. 330g
Im doing the diy cake flour, so how much flour would I need? Thank you!!!
Hi P! 1 Cup of sifted cake flour is equal to 105g, which is how I get 290g for 2.75 Cups. If you’re doing DIY cake flour using all-purpose flour, 1 Cup of all-purpose flour is 132g, so you’ll measure out 2.75 Cups (363g), sift it, then re-measure by spooning and leveling in your measuring cup. Once sifted, you’ll have a little flour left over because after it’s aerated (sifted), 1 Cup of sifted all-purpose flour weighs about 118g. So all in all, after you make the DIY cake flour and it’s all sifted, you’ll want to measure out 325g. I hope that makes sense!