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!).
Hey can I use 10% half and half cream or regular 2% milk instead of the whole milk?
Hi Yasmin! I would go with 2% milk as a substitute. It should work, although the cake may not be as moist as intended without the added fat from the whole milk.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I just tried it and couldn’t stop nibbling on the crumbs while the cake was cooling. I paired this with your strawberry buttercream which is also delicious!
Yay, Rosabelle! I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe as much as I do! I bet it was amazing with strawberry buttercream. Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you so much Whitney! You are amazing! and yes very ambitious ..
Thanks for the words and sharing this.
Thanks Whitney!
The second and third layers turned out much better. I’m thinking I mixed too long in certain steps. Plus I allowed the cake to cook for awhile and then attempted to flip it over to cool upside down, this is when it crumbled. The next layers I allowed to cook in the pan for a little while then removed and left them alone!
I love your channel and am learning so much! I’m making my daughters wedding cake this week with your recipes!
The taste is amazing!! But my cake crumbled when I tried to flip it half way thru cooling. I was able to do this with the chocolate cakes.
The taste is on target but the cake is so moist and fluffy. What did I do wrong? I’m baking another layer as I type this. Same batter so I’m afraid the same thing will happen.
Oh no! Did the cake get stuck to the pan at all? Did you have enough support when you went to release it from the pan? Since the cake crumbled during release I’m wondering if it was due to something related to that. This is my method for preparing cake pans and releasing cakes from them just in case that had anything to do with the crumbling: https://sugarandsparrow.com/preparing-cake-pans/ Let me know how your second layer went.
Good vanilla cake!
I’ve baked this cake twice in the past few weeks, once using a 6-in pan and a 9-in pan, and most recently using two 9 inch round pans. Somehow during the first try, the 6-in layer remained a bit soggy/doughy in the middle; however the nine inch layer turned out pretty good. During my second try the two 9 in layers came out perfectly.
These cakes don’t rise up to be very huge. They have a nice crumb and are tasty. I used regular buttercream frosting with them.
Everyone seemed to love the cake so I’m definitely going to save this as one of my go-to recipes for birthdays. My go-to recipe for family birthdays has usually been an Italian style butter and ricotta pound cake, but this was a nice change, and the recipe I plan on using alternately with Broma bakery vanilla cake for special occasions.
Thank you!
Yay, Preeti! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe has become a new go-to recipe for birthdays! Thanks so much for letting me know, it’s really encouraging. Also, if you want to bake it in a 6 inch pan again maybe give it a few more minutes in the oven to prevent the center from being doughy.
Hi Whitney!
I’d just like to say I followed this cake recipe for my sisters baby shower and it was a huge success! So thank you!I’m planning on making another cake this weekend for my cousins birthday! I just wanted to ask if this recipe would work using 3, 8 inch tins?
Yay Maaria! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit! For three 8-inch tins I would use this Funfetti Cake recipe but omit the sprinkles. It’s the same Vanilla Cake recipe, only it makes enough batter for three 8-inch tins: https://sugarandsparrow.com/funfetti-cake-recipe/
Hi Whitney, I followed this recipe exactly but divided the batter into two 20cm(8″)wide x 9cm(3.6″) high pans and baked in fan assisted oven. It took longer to bake, about 45 min and actually crumbled and almost fell apart when I took it out of the pans after cooling slightly. What did I do wrong?
Hi Denise! I’ve never baked this recipe in tall pans or a fan assisted oven before, but I do know that for fan assisted ovens you need to adjust the temperature lower than the recipe recommends for baking. Fan assisted ovens run hotter and bake things much faster, so that could totally be the reason the cakes crumbled (they sound overbaked). Next time, try lowering the temp by 25 degrees and baking at 325 instead of 350. I’m not sure what the bake time will be for a taller cake pan such as the ones you’re using (mine are only 2 inches tall), so I would check the cakes around the 40 minute mark and see how much more time they need from there. Hope that helps!
Hi… I have a question… I need to make a
10 x 3” cake. Can you adjust the Vanilla cake recipe so I know how much I would need for this size. And also how long do I bake it.
I just baked the cake recipe but I don’t think it was enough batter because it did not come out to the top of the pan. Plus the middle of the cake browned before the other parts of the top of the cake. Help… I need to make this cake for a wedding shower. It just came out of the oven so I don’t know how it taste… Hopefully as good as yours!Please respond as soon as possible thank you.
Hi Doris! For a cake of that size I would double the recipe. Be sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full because otherwise they will overflow when baked. As far as baking time goes, I’ve never baked this recipe in a 10 inch pan before so I’m unsure of the exact time, but I would check the cakes at around 40 minutes and see if they need more time from there. You’ll know they’re ready when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Hope that helps and let me know how it goes!
Hi! I have made your cupcake version of this recipe several times and they were AMAZING!! I am wanting to make a treasure cake for a pirate themed party, so I need to use a tube pan. Would this recipe bake correctly in the tube pan versus multiple round pans? I sure hope so! XO Samantha
Yay, Samantha! I’m so happy the cupcake version of this recipe has been a hit. I’ve never tried baking this cake in a tube pan before, so I’m not sure how long to bake it for but I’m sure it will work with the right baking time. Let me know if you try it!
Hi Whitney,
I’m so excited to make this cake !!! I was wondering how I could make this recipe for three 8 inch cakes ?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Alexandra! To make enough batter for three 8 inch layers, use my Funfetti recipe and omit the sprinkles. It’s the same vanilla cake recipe, written for three 8 inch pans: https://sugarandsparrow.com/funfetti-cake-recipe/
Hello, I have a question regarding the vanilla cake recipe. It calls for 2 3/4 cups (290g) cake flour. I live in Australia and I’m a little confused with regard to the amount. Is the recipe in metric or US cups? On Google it says 2 3/4 US cups converts to 330 g – but I’m really not sure. I have the same problem with the sugar measurement (how much cups in metric and amount in grams) Could you please kindly confirm the measurement for cake flour and sugar in grams and metric cups. Thank you!
Hi Hiba! Different ingredients weight different amounts, so for example cake flour will weigh less than plain flour, plain flour will weigh less than granulated sugar, and so on. That being said, the 290g is correct for 2 3/4 US cups of cake flour and 358g is correct for 1 3/4 US cups of white granulated sugar. I hope this makes more sense!
Hi Whitney,
Love your recipes and guides! Do you think subbing in 1/2 cup of freeze dried fruit for sugar would work to add fruit flavor to the cake?
Thanks,
Jake
Hi Jake! In my experience, adding freeze dried fruit to cake batter hasn’t worked out (works great in buttercream though!). That said, I do have fruit flavored cakes on this blog so try using the search bar to see if I’ve got what you’re looking for. If not, let me know what flavor you’re interested in!
This is the ONLY vanilla cake and vanilla buttercream recipe I’ll use! The recipe is so simple and straightforward, and it always turns out amazing! I’m so glad I found this blog!
Yay! So happy to hear that, Mallory! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Hi Whitney,
You do such a great job answering everyone’s questions with specific details. It’s been really helpful to me as I prepare to make a wedding cake for my niece. She wants a lemon cake and I was wondering if I could just add lemon zest to this recipe or should I add lemon juice in place of some of the milk too?
Hi Lisa! So happy to hear that my posts have been helping as you prepare to make your niece’s wedding cake. How special! For the lemon cake, use this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/lemon-layer-cake-recipe/ it’s the same vanilla cake base, only made into a lemon cake. Enjoy!