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!).
DElicious! The crumb was tender. I made 3 six inch cakes, and wrapped each cake pans with cake strips. After baking, I weighed each cake pan with batter to 18 oz. for even layers. I was able to get 2 cupcakes with the left over batter. I’m really glad the recipe comes out with more batter because this gives me a chance to taste the cake. SO HAPPY this is another winner from Sugar & Sparrow!
So happy you love this recipe as much as I do! Glad it’s a winner!
My 6 year old daughter had a hard day at school and came home saying “Can we bake a cake? Baking always makes me feel better.” She picked this recipe based on the photos, and OMG am I glad we tried this! I love baking and have tried several different recipes for vanilla cake, and this is beyond the best one I have ever tried. It is amaaaaazing! Thanks to this cake, her day turned around!!!
I am so happy to hear that, Sarah! And that’s so cool that your daughter recognizes a love for baking at such a young age! Glad it was a hit and brought some joy to her day (and yours too!).
Dear Whitney, I only have one cake pan. Do you think it’s OK if I cook 1/3 of the batter and keep the remaining at room temp until the pan is free again? Thank you for your blog 🙂 I am from Belgium and flat you put everything in grams too 🙂
Hi Christiane! You can keep the batter at room temp, covered, while the layers are baking. Hope you love this recipe!
I cannot wait to make this cake for my grandson’s birthday! He’s 5. My cake pans are 8″ and I would like to use 3 ….. I too like a tall cake. Should I 1.5 the recipe? I do not have any 6″ pans at the moment! I LOVE your cakes, they are so elegant and gorgeous. I too grew up LOVING cakes! I hope to learn more about all the cool things you can do with icing. I am not really into fondant cakes, so when I stumbled on your sight, I was amazed! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Dana! So excited for you to make this cake for your grandson! My funfetti cake recipe is the same as this vanilla cake recipe (just omit the sprinkles), and it makes enough for 3 8-inch layers: https://sugarandsparrow.com/funfetti-cake-recipe/ if you want four 8-inch layers to make the cake extra tall, I’d say double this vanilla cake recipe. Hope you love this cake!
Someone Has probably already asked but what could you use instead of the half cup sour cream preferably if it’s a dairy free alternative thank you so much
Hi Michael! The purpose of the sour cream is to add extra moisture, and I usually recommend full fat greek yogurt as a substitute. I’ve never tried a dairy-free option before, but after a quick Google search it looks like there might be vegan soy-based sour creams that would make a good substitute. I can’t highly recommend it since I’ve never tried it before, but it sounds like an option worth trying. Hope that helps!
This is an amazing recipe. I told a chance and doubled it for two 10 inch cakes. Amazing amazing amazing. Thank you for sharing this with us and in such detail!!
So happy you love the recipe, Farhana!!
Hi Whitney!
I’ve followed this recipe to a T a few times and the layers were dense, not fluffy. Do you know any idea why? I don’t think I overmixed it.
I love your other recipes, though! Thanks so much!!
Hi Diana! It’s hard to say why the cake turned out dense without observing how long you mixed, what temp your ingredients were at, etc. The number one reason for dense cakes is over-mixing the batter, but it could also be caused by baking powder that is expired (it loses its freshness 6 months after opening), oven temp that is too low, and ingredients that are not room temp/improperly brought to room temp. Here’s a video I made to explain how I make this recipe with tips for success: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLMUYwvOnys&t=44s
Thank you so much for responding! The only thing I can think of is the oven temperature. I have a convection oven feature and I baked them at 325 degrees as opposed to 350 degrees using a regular oven feature. I will try 350 degrees the next time!
Hi Whitney, I’m in the uk so normally weigh ingredients so I followed instructions to make the cake flour (thanks so much) but the weight of 3 3/4 Cups was hitting 498g not 398g. My dilemma was do I put in 398g or use the cup measurements. The cup I was using was marked as holding 236.64g
Hi Tracy! That’s an excellent question, because I didn’t account for All Purpose flour weighing more than pure Cake Flour (and the homemade cake flour is made from All Purpose!). Even so, use the 398g measurement that the recipe calls for. Hope you love this recipe!
Hi Whitney, Greetings from Australia, Could you tell me how long to bake this recipe if I use 2-9″pans.
Hi Lee! For two 9 inch pans, the baking time would be 25-30 minutes. Excited for you to try this recipe!
I used this recipe for my husbands birthday cake and it was a hit!! Now attempting the unicorn cake as requested by my 3 year old for her birthday!
Yay, Erin!! So happy you love the vanilla cake recipe and can’t wait for you to make the unicorn cake next!
Hi! I’ve tried this recipe before and loved it! Now, I want to make it into a 9×13 sheet cake, would I need to adjust measurements?
Awesome, Isabel! So happy you love the recipe! You can bake this in a 9×13 sheet pan as-is. Just be sure to fill the pan no more than 1/2 full and check it at 40-45 minutes for doneness.
Hi, I made this recipe and it turned out amazing! So delicious! Just wondering if the batter divide evenly between 3 8 inch tins!
Hi Angel! So happy you love this recipe! For three 8-inch pans I would 1.5 the recipe to have enough.
Hi Whitney. Can I use evaporated milk in place of whole milk? Due to lactose intolerance, we never buy whole milk or any other (except for soy or almond milk).
I just recently discovered your blog and I’m really enjoying it. All your cakes look so “glamorous” – – – bet you have not had that adjective used for your cakes. :-). I’ll be trying some of your recipes real soon. I’m buying a cake turntable and leveler to get ready for layering and frosting cakes. I’m more of a cupcake/cookie/bars baker but you’ve inspired me to start baking cakes. Thank you very much for all your tips and recipes.
Hi Amparo! Thanks so much for your kind words about my cakes 🙂 I’ve never tried substituting the whole milk with evaporated milk before, but from what I’ve read online it looks like you can do a straight substitution for baking! Let me know how it goes!
I have been asked to make a rainbow Spider-Man cake for a kids birthday, would I need to double this recipe to make 6 or 7 layers of rainbow colours or would that recipe amount be enough to seperate add each different colour and make several smaller cakes for the layers?? Also is self raising flour ok to use rather than all purpose and baking powder?
Thanks kindly
Hi Cassie! Doubling this recipe will give you exactly six 6-inch layers. You’d need to mix the food coloring in to each separate pan to make each one a different color. I do not recommend self rising flour because it has too much leavening agent added (hence the term self rising!) and will cause the cake to sink in the middle since it already has just the right amount of leavening between the baking powder and baking soda. If you substitute it for anything, I would use this homemade cake flour recipe since cake flour is what makes this cake so light and fluffy: http://sugarandsparrow.com/homemade-cake-flour-recipe
Hi. The recipe sounds interesting. Is this cake suitable to go under fondant.?
This cake will totally work under fondant, Shanti! I hope you give it a try!