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?
Love homemade cakes from scratch? We've put together a collection of the 25 Most Baked Cakes of the last 12 years on Rock Recipes. You are sure to find several to love.
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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.
I'm not getting that page Crystal. Are you following an old link from Pinterest or something?
This cake is so good! I just made this cake yesterday for my boyfriends birthday! Everyone said it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!!!
So glad you liked it Amber. It is a popular cake on Rock Recipes.
Hello Barry
I would like to know what brand of salt you used for this recipe ?
I just use regular table salt. Is the brand of salt that important? Not sure I understand why you're asking that question.
Is the sugar caster sugar or normal sugar?
Are you in the UK? We don't use the term caster sugar here. This is regular granulated white sugar.
If you make cupcakes fill half not 3\4 full. Saves time trimming! Tastes yummy!
Depends on the size of your cupcake pans I guess. I do find variances even in the different sets I own.
Any recommended changes to this recipe with high altitude?
Sorry, I know nothing about high altitude baking. I live next tot he ocean here in Newfoundland.
Hi Barry, I recently came across this recipe via Pinterest & tried it yesterday for a birthday cake order. I doubled the recipe as I needed a 12" square cake. I'm in Johannesburg, South Africa, so there is only all purpose flour available. I baked the cake twice & both times it sank in the middle whilst still in the oven. Although it tastes great, it looks terrible. Could the flour be the reason, does high altitude cause this, should I maybe have baked at a higher temp, any ideas? Lots of questions I know, but I'd really like to make this cake work.
High altitude is always a factor though I have no experience in that as I have always lived next to the ocean. A cake that rises too fast is one that will often fall though, so perhaps less baking powder is the key?
I made this cake today as a test run for my son's birthday cake. I made it in a 13x9 inch aluminum pan. It is beautiful and delicious! What a great recipe. Thank you! This will be my go to recipe for a vanilla cake!
I have made this one time before and the other day my 10 year old daughter said this was the best cake she ever had. I was about to make it again today and noticed I have salted butter is this going to cause a problem?
I often use salted butter in baking but omit any salt in the recipe.
Hi! I'd like to make this cake in two, 10-inch round pans. Would you recommend multiplying the ingredients by 1.5?
Probably but I've never baked it like that. My 10 inch pans are deeper so they might take up to 2x the batter.
thanks! I doubled the recipe and my 10-inch pans took almost all the batter. I baked the left over batter separately in a smaller pan and found the cake to be just slightly dry, but with lovely flavour. I am worried that the larger, 10-inch layers might be a bit dry too. Have you ever brushed or sprayed on a simple syrup to 'rescue' a cake that is a bit on the dry side? I would like to try this but have never done it.
Hi Barry ! 😉
I have a question by what can i replace the evaporated milk cause it is out of stock here .. please help 😉
Thank you
Elodie
A lot of the flavor comes from the richness of thae evaporated milk. Substitute whole milk in a pinch but you will lose some of that taste.
This cake has great flavor, but mine keep sinking! I am hoping it's just that my baking powder is bad. Any other thoughts on why it might be sinking?
Never had that happen. How old is the baking powder. Be sure not to over measure the baking powder too.
Hi Barry,
I've tried this recipe twice and both times it's tasted wonderful, but fallen in the middle. I was super careful about overmixing and flour amounts etc. I'm not at high elevation, so just wondering what I can do to prevent it falling in the middle? I appreciate your help!
It sounds under baked. Did the toothpick test work properly.
Hello I plan to make this recipe but just noticed I bought self rising flour and cake self rising flour .. Will both be ok ? Should I omit any ingredients or half anything?
The baking powder I would assume. They don't sell self raising flour here so I've never used it.