Easy Vanilla Cake
User Reviews
5
Easy Vanilla Cake
Description
The Easy Vanilla Cake recipe combines all-purpose flour, butter, avocado oil, eggs, evaporated milk, and multiple forms of vanilla flavoring including vanilla bean seeds for depth. The method starts with creaming butter and sugar until fluffy, which creates a light structure, then eggs and vanilla are incorporated. Alternately adding the dry ingredients and evaporated milk helps achieve a smooth, well-mixed batter. Baking three 9-inch layers results in a classic round cake suitable for layering and frosting. The accompanying buttercream blends confectioners' sugar, dry milk powder, softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extracts to yield a smooth and creamy frosting with a subtle tang from the cream cheese. This frosting complements the moist cake layers perfectly.
The cake can be assembled and decorated with the buttercream; rainbow jimmies provide a decorative element if desired. It serves well as a birthday or celebration cake or any time a vanilla cake is desired.
From the notes, proper flour measuring by spooning and leveling is important to avoid a dry crumb. The cake layers and frosting can be made ahead and stored refrigerated or frozen with proper wrapping to maintain moisture. Bringing the cake or frosting to room temperature before serving or decorating ensures proper texture. Substitutes like homemade sour milk are suggested if buttermilk is unavailable, and the recipe can be adapted to other pan sizes or cupcake formats, though baking times will vary.
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 375 g all-purpose flour spooned and leveled off with the back of a knife, 3 cups
- 4 tablespoons baking powder non aluminum
- 170 g butter room temperature, unsalted, 1 stick plus 4 tablespoons
- 60 ml avocado oil or grapeseed oil, ¼ cup
- 5 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup evaporated milk at room temperature, or whole milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 400g (2 cups) granulated sugar
- 15 ml vanilla extract pure, 1 tablespoon
- 15 ml vanilla extract clear vanilla flavor, 1 tablespoon
- ½ vanilla bean seeds scraped off
For the Buttercream:
- 750 g confectioners' sugar 6 cups
- 1 tablespoon Dry whole milk , such as Nido Brand
- 336 g unsalted butter softened, 3 sticks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract clear
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- ½ vanilla bean seeds scraped off
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- rainbow jimmies Wilton 1 M tip for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans, tapping out any excess flour.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the flour, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, salt, and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix in the pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla flavor, and vanilla bean seeds until well combined.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Alternately add the dry ingredients and evaporated milk to the batter in three parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the racks, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.
How to Make Vanilla Buttercream
- Sift Sugar and Milk: Sift together the powdered sugar and powdered milk to remove lumps. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Cream Cheese: In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, cream cheese, pure vanilla extract, clear vanilla, seeds from the vanilla bean, and salt until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar Mixture: Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once fully incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. If needed, add a tablespoon or more of cream or milk to achieve your desired consistency. Be careful not to overbeat; the frosting should be spreadable but not runny. Reserve about ⅓ cup of the buttercream for decoration.
- Assemble the Cake: Place one layer of the vanilla cake on a cake stand or platter. Spread a generous cup of buttercream over it, then add the second layer and repeat. Top with the final cake layer. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with rainbow jimmies and use the reserved frosting in a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip to create your desired pattern on top of the cake.
- Camila's Tip: To extract seeds from vanilla beans, split them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife.
Notes
- Measure flour by spooning into the measuring cup and leveling to prevent a dry cake texture.
- The vanilla flavor comes from a combination of pure and clear vanilla extracts plus scraped vanilla bean seeds.
- You can bake the cake layers a day ahead, wrapping them tightly and storing at room temperature.
- Assemble and frost the cake the day before serving; cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before serving.
- To substitute buttermilk, use whole milk with lemon juice or vinegar, let sit 10 minutes before use.
- The recipe adapts to different pan shapes and cupcake tins, but adjust baking time accordingly.
- Frosting can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days; re-whip if needed before applying.
- Cake layers can be frozen up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator overnight before assembling and frosting.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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