This cake is perfectly moist, fluffy, and delicious. I make this cake for my birthday every year, and it’s always a hit! It comes out perfectly every time and suits everyone’s taste.
Origins
This recipe took me quite a while to make. I have always loved the classic vanilla cake, but the box version with allergy substitutes worked well enough that I did not really put any effort into making a homemade version until a few years ago. I did not know what I was missing! Starting a few months ago, I made vanilla cakes almost every week, testing many different variations of a recipe that I had come up with. After many, many trials, I finally created this wonderful recipe!
What Does It Go With?
So many things! You can really do whatever you would like, but my favorite options are either with my Dark Chocolate Frosting or my Milk Chocolate Frosting. With either of these options, you can create a cake that is sure to wow anyone.
How is it so Moist?
Non-dairy sour cream! I know it may sound kinda odd, but it works wonders in cakes. It keeps the cake super moist without making it greasy or dense and does not affect the flavor. Don’t worry, your cake will not taste like sour cream!
I also use a mix of butter and oil, to keep the cake super moist while also having the added flavor benefits of the butter. In my opinion, if a cake has oil in it along with butter, it is 100x moister.
Why Oil and Butter?
Using only oil in chocolate cakes can work, but using only oil in vanilla cake takes away an amazing flavor. Chocolate is such a strong flavor, so the flavor of butter does not help too much, but in vanilla cakes, it is a game changer. Vanilla is a very delicate flavor, and the butter flavor amplifies it very well.
What Size Can I Make This Cake?
It can be many different sizes, but I would recommend making a four-layer six-inch cake or a two-layer nine-inch cake. These are the sizes that I make all the time, and they always work out well and are perfectly sized.
If you make two nine-inch cakes, I would recommend baking them for around 30 minutes because they are thinner, therefore taking less time to be fully cooked. To make six-inch cakes, I would recommend using two very deep 6″ cake pans. Bake those in the oven for about forty minutes. After cooling, cut each 6″ cake in half to make four layers.
Need Help Assembling Your Cake?
Check out my article on assembling layer cakes for step by step and video instruction!
Final Tips
Even though most of this recipe is very straightforward, here are a few things that I would recommend paying special attention to.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and oil for a full three minutes! This will ensure that the cake is super fluffy, which is important in any cake.
- Sift the dry ingredients. This will also contribute to making sure the cake is super duper fluffy.
- Add the milk and flour mixture to the butter in the correct order. This will ensure that your cake has the proper texture. The order should go like this: half of the flour mixture, half of the milk mixture, half of the flour mixture, and half of the milk mixture.
That’s it! I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!
The Best Vanilla Cake
Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate2
9" layers30
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesIngredients
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 fake eggs (I use Ener-G Egg Replacer)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup soy-milk (most milks should work)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease two 9″ inch cake pans or two tall 6″ inch cake pans.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter and oil together. Add in the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix together again. Add the sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Measure out your soy-milk.
- Add half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Add half the milk and repeat this order another time.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (the taller the cake, the longer it will take). Let cool until room temperature before adding frosting. If you made two six-inch cakes, I would recommend cutting them in half horizontally to create four layers.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- As always, you can use real eggs instead of fake eggs and cow milk and butter instead of the non-dairy version.
- For step by step instruction on how to cut different layers and how to assemble a cake, check out How To Assemble A Layer Cake.
