Vanilla layer cake is a tender, moist, and buttery two-layer cake topped with vanilla buttercream frosting. It's perfect for birthdays and celebrations!
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Moist, buttery vanilla cake with a small, tender crumb. Topped with sweet whipped buttercream frosting!
Cake size: 9-inch round two layer cake
Serves: 16 or more
More layer cakes: Chocolate Layer Cake, Lemon Layer Cake, Strawberry Filled White Cake
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Cake ingredients
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, eggs, whole milk, granulated sugar, and vanilla add moisture and flavor to your cake. Whole milk adds more moisture and flavor to your cake than a lower fat milk (like skim or 1%).
- Dry ingredients - Cake flour, baking powder, and salt balance with the wet ingredients. Cake flour has a lower protein content than other flours, like all-purpose or bread flour, creating a smaller, more tender crumb. All-purpose flour can work as a substitute, but your cake will turn out less tender.
Frosting ingredients
- Unsalted butter - Unsalted butter and the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired.
- Confectioner's sugar - May also be labeled as icing sugar or powdered sugar. Buttercream frosting is a sweet frosting, so it calls for a lot of confectioner's sugar. Don't be tempted to reduce the sugar listed, because your frosting will begin to taste like sweetened butter instead (the other main ingredient). If you'd like a less sweet frosting, make Ermine Frosting or Homemade Whipped Cream instead.
- Flavor - Vanilla extract and salt add flavor to your frosting and balances with the sweetness of buttercream frosting.
- Heavy cream - Necessary to create the light and fluffy whipped texture of this frosting.
How to make vanilla layer cake
- Add butter and sugar to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Add half of the milk to the batter and mix to combine. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and milk.
- Mix ingredients together until just combined and smooth (do not overmix your batter).
- Divide batter evenly between two greased and flour-dusted pans. Use a scale for accurate results.
- Spread batter into even layers.
- Bake cakes until they spring back when gently pressed in the center. They'll look golden brown across the tops and begin to pull away from the sides.
- Place one layer onto a cake stand or plate. Top with frosting, then add a second layer. Top with another layer of frosting, then spread remaining frosting on the sides.
Heather's top tip
To test for doneness, gently press the top of your cake. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, it needs more time. For accurate results every time, use an instant read thermometer. Cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure your butter, eggs, and milk are all room temperature before beginning (not melted, not cold). Room temperature ingredients emulsify when mixed and create a creamy, even batter that bakes up fluffy in the oven.
Do not frost a warm cake - Buttercream frosting melts around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Adding frosting to a hot cake will cause it to melt. Wait until your cake is completely cooled before decorating.
Use your favorite frosting - I've included my reader-favorite recipe for whipped buttercream frosting in the recipe card below. It's a sweet, no-cook frosting that's popular because it's easy to prepare. Some readers have commented that it's too sweet for their tastes. If you prefer a less sweet frosting, I recommend making ermine frosting instead. It's a less-sweet, cooked flour frosting (and my personal favorite!).
Want to add decorations? - Make an additional half batch of frosting if you'd like a nice, thick layer of frosting over your cake in addition to some decorations like piped rosettes.
Want thick frosting on a layer cake? - For thick layers of frosting like shown in the photos, make an additional half batch of frosting. Otherwise, the listed frosting will thinly coat the top, middle, and outside edges of your cake.
Storage
Room temperature - Homemade cakes are best served the same day they are baked and will keep, covered, at room temperature for about two days with ideal moisture and texture, slowly drying out over time.
Refrigerating - I don't recommend refrigerating vanilla cake unless your home is very warm (90 degrees or hotter) and the frosting is in danger of melting. Since this cake is made with butter, the frosting and cake will harden when chilled, and require an hour or more at room temperature to soften before serving.
Freezing cake - Unfrosted or frosted cake can be frozen for up to two months. To freeze a frosted cake, place uncovered in the freezer for about an hour, or until frosting is frozen and no longer sticky. Gently wrap in plastic and store in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months. To thaw, unwrap frosted cake first, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, bring it to room temperature for an hour before serving.
Freezing frosting - Buttercream frosting can also be frozen in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before rewhipping again to make it light and fluffy.
Frequently asked questions
This layer cake can be prepared in 9-inch or 8-inch round cake pans. This amount of batter can also be baked in a 13x18 or 9x13 sheet pan - see my recipe for vanilla sheet cake for full details! It's the same exact recipe made as a sheet cake.
Check your cake for doneness by jiggling the pan - if it moves, it's not done yet. If your cake isn't jiggly in the center, gently press onto the top with a finger. If an indent is left, it needs more time. If it pops right back, your cake is done.
The toothpick method is another popular way to check for doneness. Insert a toothpick into the center of your cake. If the toothpick comes back dry or with crumbs (not wet batter), your cake is done.
Yes, this frosting pipes beautifully and can be used for rosettes, borders, and topping cupcakes.
This recipe can be sliced to serve as many as 30-40 people with small slices (think wedding cake slices). Slicing large wedges will yield about 12-16 servings.
Troubleshooting
Baked goods can turn out dry for a few reasons:
- Baking too long.
- Adding too many dry ingredients.
- Adding too few wet ingredients.
- Butter-based cake is refrigerated (it feels dry when chilled, but softens when it comes back to room temperature).
It's important to follow the recipe exactly, including the measurements and exact ingredients listed. I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to make sure your cake doesn't get overbaked in the oven.
This is a baker's secret that's optional but effective! Brush simple syrup over your cake before frosting. A layer of simple syrup helps keep the cake moist for longer. Simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and granulated sugar, brought to a boil on the stove top until dissolved, then cooled to room temperature. I'd suggest about ¼ cup or more for this size cake.
Cake can turn out dense from expired leavening, overmixing the wet and dry ingredients (this overworks the gluten), not whipping the butter and sugar long enough, or adding extra wet ingredients (like adding sour cream or applesauce to make cake "extra moist"). If the balance of wet and dry ingredients is off, this can cause a change in texture, preventing your cake from rising properly in the oven.
All cakes, even vanilla cake, will brown on the outside edges due to a chemical reaction that happens when sugar is heated up. This is called a Maillard reaction and is completely normal. The insides will remain white and fluffy and the tops will be covered by frosting.
Sinking can happen for many reasons. Overmixing the batter (which adds extra air that's released during baking), underbaking, using expired leavening, using the wrong leavening, or accidentally doubling the leavening can all cause your cake to sink in the middle.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Layer Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (345 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (336 g) cake flour, measured properly*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (227 g) whole milk, room temperature
Frosting
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (454 g) confectioner's sugar
- ⅓ cup (75 g) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans, optionally lining the bottoms with parchment circles, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and granulated sugar. Beat until creamed and fluffy, about a minute. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated and smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients: cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Add half of milk, again mixing until just combined. Repeat once more to add remaining dry ingredients and milk.
- Pour batter evenly between two round cake pans and spread into an even layer.
- Two 9 inch round cake pans: 26-30 minutesTwo 8 inch round cake pans: 28-34 minutesBake your cake using the times listed above as an estimate, or until cake is baked through in the center. If your cake jiggles in the middle, it needs more time. If cake is not jiggly, gently press into the center with a finger. If an indent is left, your cake is not done. If cake springs back, it's done. Ovens can run hot, so I suggest using visual cues and not relying on time alone.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan(s) on a wire cooling rack.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and beat until creamy. Add confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Whip for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add additional heavy cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Gently flip and remove cakes from their pans. Trim the rounded tops with a serrated knife to make flat layers.
- Place one layer onto a cake stand or plate. Top with frosting in an even layer. Add second layer of cake and top with another layer of frosting. Spread remaining frosting onto the sides of the cake.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Measuring flour: * Use a kitchen scale for accurate results. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cake.
- Do not refrigerate your cake: Butter-based cakes harden in the refrigerator and will feel dry (until they come back to room temperature). Only refrigerate a cake if your home is very hot (reaching 90F or hotter) and your cake is in danger of melting.
- Storage: Unfrosted or frosted cake will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. If refrigerating or freezing unfrosted cake layers, wrap tightly in plastic and place in a tightly sealed container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for an hour before serving.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cake, based on reader comments and questions!
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