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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Comments
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Hi Jenn,
Can a hand mixer be used for this recipe?
Thank you,
Janelle
Sure – you just may need to increase the speed a bit. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn! I have cake flour at home, can I use it instead of all purpose flour? Will it make any difference? Thank you!
Hi Maria, I haven’t tried cake flour with this recipe, so I can’t say for sure it if it would work. I’d stick with all-purpose for the most reliable results.
Hello Jenn – We just made this cake today (third time maybe!) and we did half Swans Cake Flour and half King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour and it came out moist and delicious! 🎂
Who knew that vanilla cake could be so amazing? It took me a long time to make this cake. Vanilla cake is never this good. But this cake is wonderfully flavourful. Just fantastic!
I am planning to make this recipe to my father’s birthday. It looks delicious!! Is it better to make it the day before or the same day? Thank you.
Hi Rachel, if you can make it on the same day you plan to serve it, that’s best but you can get away with 1 day ahead. Hope your father enjoys!
Thank you for the reply. If I did the day before or even the same day, should I keep the cake on the fridge until time to serve? Thank you.
Hi Rachel, Technically, because of the frosting it should be refrigerated, but I always store it on the counter and it’s been fine.
Love your cake! Two year old now wants cupcakes…please tell me how long to bake them. Thanks
Hi Kathy, Glad you like this! I’d start checking cupcakes for doneness at 25 minutes.
Could I use 2% instead of whole milk? Also would this recipe work in a 9×13 pan instead of two round pans? Would baking time need to be adjusted?
Thank you! Excited to try this recipe. I made your strawberry cake last week and it was so good !
Hi Lilly, Yes, you can use 2% milk, and regarding the baking pan I haven’t tried this recipe in a 9 x 13 and not certain it would rise evenly.
Hi! My daughter would like vanilla cupcakes with chocolate chips inside for her birthday. Which of your recipes do you think would be better suited to add the chips? This one? Or the vanilla cupcakes? Thank you!
Hi Lesley, I’d probably go with the cupcakes. I’d toss the chips in a tiny bit of flour and fold them into the batter at the end. (And I’d suggest mini chips as due to their lighter weight, they are less likely to sink.) Please LMK how they turn out if you make them!
Thanks for answering so quickly! I ended up making the Vanilla Cupcakes topped with the Old Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream. I used mini chips and they did not sink and the kids loved them. But I made a few without the chips and they rose higher and the texture was better, just to compare. The taste was delicious! The buttercream was so tasty and easy to decorate with. My daughter was very happy 🙂
Hi-
If I only have 2 9 inch pans will that work? How much would you adjust the baking time ?
Ai
Hi Ali, Bake time should really be the same if not a minute or two shorter – just keep a close eye on them. Hope you enjoy!
This cake came out too dense for my liking. You need to tweak the butter in the recipe. Too dense!
Jen
I love this cake, it comes out beautifully. My question is this, my friend the other day said she was craving Sanders caramel cake … could I use this vanilla cake recipe, and then take your caramel sauce from the caramel corn add butter and some confectioner’s sugar and make a caramel frosting?
Hi Julie, Glad you like the cake! I think you can definitely use the cake recipe, but for the frosting, I’d use a recipe that’s specifically for that instead of trying to tweak this one — I’m just not confident with how it would turn out — sorry!
I don’t have almond extract, is there any way I could substitute or miss the ingredient out?
Hi Maliha, you can just replace it with additional vanilla extract. Enjoy!
Hi there! Can I substitute oil for the butter? And if so how much?
Unfortunately, oil won’t work here, Siobhan. Sorry!