Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream
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This moist and delicious birthday cake recipe is adapted from one of my favorite baking books, Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri.
My daughter is turning eight years old this week, and she’s been begging me for two things: a puppy and her favorite vanilla birthday cake. The puppy is definitely not going to happen – we already have one crazy dog – but the cake’s easy. I’ve been making this simple vanilla cake every year on her birthday since she was two. The cake portion of recipe is adapted from one of my favorite baking books, Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri, and the frosting recipe was handed down from my great-grandmother.
What you’ll need to make vanilla birthday cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Whisk well to combine.
Next, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the egg whites and milk. Be sure the eggs are at room temperature, otherwise your batter may curdle. To warm them up quickly, place them in a bowl of hot water before cracking them. When the butter and sugar are creamed, beat in the vanilla and almond extract, then add one-quarter of the flour mixture and beat on low speed.
Next, add one-third of the milk/egg mixture.
Continue alternating adding the flour and milk mixtures, scraping down the bowl as necessary. The batter will look like this.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
Bake the layers for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are set and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for five minutes, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
While the cake cools, make the frosting. Begin by combining the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Beat until well combined.
Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth.
Then beat in the vanilla and salt.
If the frosting is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or cream.
When the layers are cool, frost the cake.
You can spread the frosting smooth, or swirl it casually with a butter knife. Since it’s an all white cake, I like to scatter some festive nonpareils or confetti sprinkles on the edges for color.
Or for a change, try topping the cake with heaps of shredded sweetened coconut — it’s amazing.
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Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream
This moist and delicious birthday cake recipe is adapted from one of my favorite baking books, Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri.
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
For the Buttercream
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 6 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
For the Cake
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Cut two 8-inch rounds of parchment paper and line the bottom of each pan; spray the paper with nonstick spray. (To measure the parchment paper, just trace the bottom of the pan.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very soft and light. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the egg whites and milk by hand in a medium bowl until just combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture, then one-third of the milk mixture, stopping and scraping down the bowl and beater after each addition. Beat in another quarter of the flour, then another third of the milk mixture. Scrape again. Repeat with another quarter of the flour and the remaining milk mixture; scrape. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture.
- Scrape the bowl with a large rubber spatula. Don't worry if the the batter looks a little grainy. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake the cakes for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are set and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on rack for 5 minutes, then unmold onto rack to finish cooling right side up (keep parchment paper underneath cake layers so they don't stick to rack). When cake layers are completely cool, transfer to cake plate and frost with vanilla buttercream. (I always flip the bottom layer of the cake so that the domed side is facing down and touching the plate. That way, the surface that you're icing is flat and will minimize any separating between the two layers when you put the other layer on top of it.)
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until creamy and well combined.
- Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat in the vanilla and salt. If the frosting is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or cream.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake layers can be frozen, without frosting, for up to 3 months. After they are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop and then frost before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 - 14 servings)
- Calories: 571
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 88g
- Sugar: 73 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 167 mg
- Cholesterol: 63 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Followed directions to a tee. I made this cake for a friend’s birthday because, in their 29 years, they’d never had someone make a cake for their birthday. I wanted to give him something that wasn’t out of a box. The cake looked darling and he was extremely grateful 🙂 the cake itself was a tad bit dry and, in my opinion, the frosting was too sweet. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, however, so perhaps it was my personal preference and opinion. Either way, great recipe. Thank you!
I was really looking forward to having this cake for my birthday as I miss vanilla buttercreams, having moved from the US to the UK. I followed the recipe exactly, temperatures and all, and the cake came like a brick! Flavour was good enough but so dense, not fluffy at all. What a shame. Should it be like that? Also as others have said, I added much less sugar to the icing in order for it to be edible and some family members still thought it was too sweet. Sorry, Jenn – I usually love your recipes (your cheesecake is one of my staples) but this one was a letdown.
Sorry this did not turn out for you, Kris! It definitely should not be dense, or heavy — because it just uses egg whites (instead of whole eggs), it should be lighter. Did you by chance make any substitutions?
I live at 6033 elevation. I think you add a little more flour, less sugar and baking powder and add more fluid but I’m not sure. Not sure if I should use cake flour either. Do you know the correct measurements I should use?
Hi Patti, I don’t have experience baking at high altitudes so, unfortunately, I not confident telling you if or how the recipe should be tweaked – I’m sorry! You may find these tips helpful though.
Jenn,
I’d like to make this cake for my daughter, who has an egg allergy. Do you have any suggestions for an egg substitute to use with the recipe?
Hi Rachel, A number of my readers that avoid eggs have mentioned that they use flax eggs when baking. I would assume many baking recipes would also work with some kind of egg substitute. 🙂
This is the perfect white cake for my moms birthday. It is moist, super easy to frost with the perfect buttercream. I added some almond extract to the frosting, as we love the taste.
Hello from sunny England! This looks truly delicious and I am making this on the weekend.. but I don’t have a mixer – can I do this by hand? I sure hope so 🙂
Hi Alex, I’ve never made this cake without a mixer but it is possible. Here’s a link on how to do it. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn!
I just finished preparing the cake mix and I realized I put all three sticks of butter into the cake mix. Is there anything I can do to save it?
Thanks,
Rita
Hi Rita, Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any way to fix it, although it may bake up just fine. You’ll have to try it and see. Good luck!
Hi Jen,
Have you ever considered adding sprinkles to the cake batter? Curious if you think would need to adjust sugar?
Thanks!
Hi Adele, I think you could get away with adding sprinkles here. Assuming you use a moderate amount, like 1/2 – 1 cup, you wouldn’t need to adjust the sugar. I’d love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
Delicious!
Great recipe! Made this cake last weekend and my husband is requesting that I make it again! I only used 2 cups of confectioners sugar for the frosting since some reviews said it was too sweet with 6 cups and it turned out amazing 😉