The Best Vanilla Cake
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The Best Vanilla Cake. All bakers search for the best vanilla cake recipe. After 30 years, I developed my own moist, buttery, perfect vanilla cake. I've added Marshmallow Frosting too!
Originally published Aug 2010.
The best vanilla cake recipe is something every curious baker spends plenty of time searching for. I've tried dozens over the years and have conducted many experiments.
I tweaked each recipe trying to get the result I want. This one is the best I've tried so far.
It is quite moist and has a good density but not as dense as pound cake. I like the balance of texture that is achieved by using a combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour. It is important not to over measure the flour.
Essential ingredients!
One essential ingredient in this recipe is real dairy butter.
Margarine just won't cut it.
I've used whipping cream in other recipes but this one gets a lot of richness from using undiluted evaporated milk instead.
Finally, the vanilla flavouring is crucial. DO NOT use artificial vanilla flavouring! In fact NEVER use it! Use the best quality, real vanilla extract that you can find for real, exotically fragrant vanilla cake.
Vanilla paste is also delicious in this recipe. You use an equal amount to vanilla extract.
The frosting for the Best Vanilla Cake.
The frosting on this cake is a family favourite which goes by many names but is referred to at our house as Marshmallow Frosting. It has been featured several times on this site.
You can find our terrific recipe for Marshmallow Frosting here. It is the perfect frosting for this cake.
Looking for more cake inspiration?
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The Best Vanilla Cake
All bakers search for The Best Vanilla Cake recipe. After 30 years, I developed my own moist, buttery, perfect vanilla cake; with Marshmallow Frosting too.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cake or pastry flour
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted.
- 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Sift together both flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- For this recipe it is very important to be sure to sift the flour very well before measuring. Flour that is too compacted can cause a denser, heavier cake. If you do not have a flour sifter, put some flour in a bowl and whisk it for a minute before spooning the flour into the measuring cup to measure. Do this for both types of flour in the recipe.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after every addition.
- Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three equal portions, alternately with the evaporated milk. When adding dry and wet ingredients alternately in any baking recipe, always begin and end with the dry ingredients.
- Pour batter evenly into 2 well greased and floured 9 inch cake pans.
- Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch it carefully, you will not want to over bake this cake, as soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
As with all my cake recipes I recommend using aluminum cake pans for gentle even heating with much less chance of over baking.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
one sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 407Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 100mgSodium 224mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 1gSugar 36gProtein 6g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Great recipe! I tried it out recently with some added lime juice, and it came out great! Thanks for sharing. I'll be posting a recipe for the lime cake on my site with a link to this post 🙂
I made this cake for a friend's birthday and it turned out perfect!! So much so that my girlfriend requested cupcakes made from the same recipe. Any pointers on converting cooking time (without having to open the oven and toothpick them every five minutes)?
Cupcakes can be notoriously difficult not to over bake; oven temperatures, pan types and sizes and the amount of batter used can all be variables. Bake a couple first as a test to get the timing perfect. Even a minute over can dry out even the best cupcake recipe.
I made this cake with the marshmallow frosting for my son's birthday. This is the best vanilla cake ever. The frosting is easy to make and delicious.
Thank you so much,
Annie
So glad you enjoyed it. This remains one of the most popular recipes ever on my website.
Hey Barry,
I was wondering, do you think it would be okay if i covered the cake and frosting with fondant after frosting the cake?
Is this frosting compatible with fondant ?
This icing is too soft to use with fondant. I'd use buttercream instead.
Sorry I missed this comment earlier.
I made this for my daughters birthday cake, and it was amazing!! I used a different frosting, but would still love to try this one next time. But I will honestly say that I will never again use a different recipe for a white scratch cake. It was so moist and so flavorful, everyone else at the party today has asked me to forward them the recipe, and my six year old has requested the same thing for his next birthday. Also, I did it as a slab cake and it was awesome. Thank you once again for adding to my list(there's quite of few of your recipes on this list) of favourites!!
Thanks Leslie. So pleased to be able to be able to add a family favorite recipe to your repertoire
. That's why we do what we do. All the best, Barry.
This may seem obvious to most - but is it 1 cup of evaporated milk in total? It says fold in alternately with the dry ingredients in "3" equal portions. I just want to be sure!
1 cup in total, added 1/3 of a cup at a time. Happy Baking!
Hey Barry,
im also looking forward to trying your recipe, looks amazing and going by all the comments tastes amazing too..
like Kristina i was wondering if you have ever tried this cake with frosting (as crumber) then fondant? going to make this for my mothers 50th birthday cake.
thanks
This icing is too soft to use with fondant. I'd use buttercream instead.
thanks, also how many days in advance do you think i could make the cake?
What an unusual question? Isn't fresh always best? I never serve baked goods that haven't been prepared within 12 hours or so. I always insist on freshness. It's a standard on which I don't compromise.
Hi Barry... can i use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour? 🙂
I wouldn't. The cake will be heavier and tougher.
Hi, Barry. I made this cake today and I'm curious why mine doesn't exhibit the beautiful yellow color in your photo?
Hey Barry! cannot wait to try this recipe. It looks delicious.
Can I use the same frosting in the middle of the cake?
Gracias!
I have this cake in the oven at the moment. I've made it in an 8 inch tin with 3inch high sides. I wasn't sure if my 9 inch tins were right to use...they have approx 2 inch high sides...fingers crossed it works for me.