The Best Homemade Vanilla Cake: A Soft, Moist, Bakery-Quality Classic You Can Make at Home

A perfect vanilla cake is the backbone of countless celebrations—birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, casual Sunday desserts, or simply because the craving strikes. The Best Homemade Vanilla Cake delivers everything a true vanilla lover hopes for: a soft, delicate crumb, rich buttery flavor, and a fragrant vanilla aroma that fills the kitchen as it bakes. This cake is elegant, timeless, and endlessly versatile, making it one of the most essential dessert recipes to master.

If you’ve ever bitten into a store-bought cake that looked stunning but tasted artificial or dry, this recipe will feel like a revelation. Homemade vanilla cake has a soul—warm, comforting, and unmistakably fresh. Unlike boxed mixes, this version uses real butter, high-quality vanilla, and buttermilk to create a tender crumb that’s moist without being dense. It slices beautifully, frosts like a dream, and tastes even better on day two.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn not only how to make the best homemade vanilla cake but also why each ingredient matters, how to troubleshoot common cake mistakes, smart substitutions, fun variations, and serving ideas to elevate your dessert game.

Let’s dive into the ultimate vanilla cake experience.

Why This Vanilla Cake Works

This recipe checks every box for flavor, texture, and reliability:

1. Real Butter = Real Flavor

Butter is the star. While oil adds moisture, butter provides unmatched flavor—warm, nostalgic, and rich. Creaming the butter with sugar incorporates air, giving the cake structure and rise.

2. Buttermilk for the Softest Crumb

Buttermilk brings acidity, helping tenderize the gluten and create a melt-in-your-mouth texture. It’s the secret baking weapon behind many famous bakery cakes.

3. High-Quality Vanilla Extract

A cake named vanilla cake better taste like vanilla! Using pure vanilla extract—or even a mix of extract and vanilla bean paste—creates a deep, aromatic profile.

4. Perfectly Balanced Leavening

Baking powder provides height without making the cake crumbly or dry. The result is a sturdy layer cake that holds shape yet stays impossibly soft.

5. Simple Ingredients, Exceptional Output

No complicated techniques. Just good ingredients used in the right way.

Ingredients

For the Vanilla Cake

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (or 2 tsp extract + 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

For the Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2–3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

Make the Vanilla Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cream the butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract.
5. Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the remaining flour. Do not overmix.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops.
7. Bake for 25–30 minutes until the centers spring back when gently touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool completely in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

The Best Homemade Vanilla Cake

A soft, moist, bakery-quality vanilla cake made completely from scratch using real butter, buttermilk, and pure vanilla.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 28 minutes mins

Total Time 48 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Calories: 390

Ingredients

  

Cake Batter

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1.75 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs large, room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk room temperature

Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3.5 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• Baking pans
• Wire rack
• Hand mixer or stand mixer

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla.
5. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
6. Divide batter between pans and bake 25–30 minutes.
7. Cool completely on wire racks.
8. Beat butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla to make frosting.
9. Frost cake layers and serve.

Notes

Use room temperature ingredients for best texture.

Make the Vanilla Buttercream

9. Beat the softened butter for 2 minutes until creamy.
10. Add powdered sugar gradually while mixing on low.
11. Add vanilla and cream; whip for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
12. Add more cream if needed for spreadability.

Assemble

13. Level cake layers if needed.
14. Spread buttercream between the layers, then frost the top and sides.
15. Chill 20 minutes before slicing for clean cuts.

Tips for the Best Results

Room Temperature Ingredients Matter

Butter, eggs, and buttermilk mix better and rise higher when not cold.

Don’t Overmix

Once the flour is added, overmixing can make the cake tough.

Use High-Quality Vanilla

It’s the star of the show! Real extract > imitation every time.

Bake Even Layers

Check cakes at the 25-minute mark—overbaking is the #1 cause of dryness.

Cool Completely Before Frosting

Warm cake + buttercream = melted mess.

Variations You’ll Love

• Vanilla Bean Cake: Add 1 full scraped vanilla bean.
• Funfetti: Fold in ½ cup rainbow sprinkles.
• Strawberry Layer: Add sliced strawberries between layers.
• Lemon-Vanilla: Add 1 tsp lemon zest to batter.
• Chocolate Frosting Swap: Use chocolate buttercream for a birthday-party classic.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream for a summery version.
• Pair with coffee or tea for an elegant afternoon treat.
• Turn into a layered birthday cake with sprinkles and candles.
• Top with caramel drizzle for a decadent twist.

Why Homemade Vanilla Cake Beats Store-Bought

Fresh ingredients, customizable sweetness, richer vanilla flavor, and no preservatives—plus homemade cakes simply taste like love. You control every flavor note.