Perfect Vanilla Butter Cake
This is the only Vanilla Butter Cake recipe you’ll ever want or need. Mixing technique can make a big difference when making cake batter. Find out the best way to get a light and tender cake.
Table of contents
Why this is the best Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe
First of all this is a great recipe because it is a balanced recipe.
Professional bakers use the “Baker’s Percentage” to balance the ingredients in a recipe. With this knowledge I worked for months developing the best vanilla cake.
In fact, this exact recipe was the base for hundreds and hundreds of wedding cakes I sold when I had my wedding cake business.
You can find the percentages for this Vanilla Butter Cake recipe in this all-encompassing post describing how to create the best cake recipes.
Once you have a balanced recipe you need to think about mixing technique.
I make my butter cakes using the “reverse creaming” method of mixing. Reverse creaming makes a cake with a soft and tender crumb. You can see side by side comparisons of reverse and traditional creaming below.
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour – Has a lower protein content than all purpose flour so it makes a softer cake. I prefer bleached cake flour. Bleached cake flour is acidic which tenderizes the cake and allows the batter to absorb more liquid for a moister cake.
- Sour Cream – Is used instead of milk as the “liquid” in this batter. Because sour cream is acidic it tenderizes the crumb of the cake and the added fat enriches the batter.
- Eggs – Extra egg yolks in the batter enriches the cake and emulsifies the batter for an even and soft crumb. The whites are whipped and folded into the batter for an extra light and soft cake crumb.
- Cream of Tatar – This acidic ingredient stabilizes the whipped egg whites and acidifies the batter for a softer crumb.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed instructions and measurements.
- Draw an 8″ circle on parchment paper using your cake pan as a guide. Cut out two circles and use them to line your cake pans.
- If you don’t have parchment paper butter and flour the bottom of the cake pan only, not the sides.
- In a small bowl whisk together the yolks, sour cream and vanilla.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients on low speed and add the butter. Mix until it forms a thick paste. Add the reserved sour cream.
- Mix the batter on high speed until it is light and aerated. Scrape the bowl and beater.
- With the mixer running on low, add the yolk mixture. Mix until combined.
- Whip the whites with the cream of tarter and the remaining sugar. Do no overwhip the whites.
- Fold the whites into the batter in two batches.
- Fold just until there are no streaks of whites.
- Evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Smooth to even level then use the tip of your spatula to make an “X” in the center of each cake. This will help the cake rise more evenly in the oven.
- Bake until the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes then cool completely before icing.
What’s the difference between vanilla cake and yellow cake?
Most people use the terms “vanilla cake” and “yellow cake” interchangeably. Vanilla is the flavoring in the cake. The cake is yellow because of the eggs in the cake.
That being said, not all vanilla cakes are yellow cakes. If you eliminate the egg yolks in the cake and make white cake flavored with vanilla, it too is a vanilla cake.
Reverse Creaming vs. Traditional Creaming
Before posting this recipe I decided to do a quick kitchen experiment to back up my claims that reverse creaming is the way to go for this cake.
I used the same ingredients and mixed them with traditional creaming, reverse creaming and reverse creaming with the eggs separated and the whites whipped and folded in.
There were distinct differences between the three cakes.
- Cake 1 (traditional creaming method) had an open and regular crumb, but was not as tender as I would like and it had a slightly oily mouth-feel.
- Cake 2 (reverse creaming) was very tender, velvety and soft.
- Cake 3 (reverse method with whipped whites) had a slightly irregular but very tender crumb. It was not quite as velvety as cake 2, but it was lighter and quite tender. This was my favorite cake!
Three cakes with the exact same ingredients, but different mixing methods. Left=Traditional Method, Middle=Reverse Creaming, Right=Reverse with Whipped Whites
This is a really great all purpose yellow cake that is tender yet strong enough for stacking or carving. For more information about cake batter, visit the Baking School page.
Frosting your Cake
I like this recipe filled and iced with Italian Meringue Buttercream or Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
American Buttercream is slightly sweeter than meringue buttercream and is also nice with this cake.
Storage
The uniced cake can be stored for 2-3 days at room temperature for up to 2 months in the freezer. Do not refrigerate the cake unless it is filled or iced with a perishable frosting.
More Cake Recipes
Now that you’ve made this recipe what should you do with all the extra egg whites? Check out this collection of recipes that use extra whites for some great ideas.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star review.
Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks (room temperature)
- 8 ounces sour cream (1 cup, room temperature, divided)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces granulated sugar (1 ½ cups, divided)
- 9 ounces cake flour (2 cups, see note)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 ounces unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 large egg whites (room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line two 8"x3" round cake pans with a circle of parchment paper or butter and flour the bottom of the pans only, not the sides.
- Combine 6 large egg yolks, 1/2 the sour cream and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract in a small bowl, whisk to combine, set aside.
- Into a mixer bowl put 1 ¼ cups of the sugar, sift in 9 ounces cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda and ¾ teaspoon salt. Mix on low speed for 10 seconds to distribute the leavening. Add 8 ounces unsalted butter to the flour mixture. Mix on low until the butter is incorporated and the batter looks like a paste. Add the other ½ of the sour cream to the flour and butter mixture. Increase the speed to medium and mix about 3 minutes until the batter lightens in texture. If you're using a hand mixer add another minute or two to the total time.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low, add ½ the egg yolk mixture. Mix until mostly incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the egg yolk mixture. Scrape the bowl and mix until incorporated.
- In another bowl, whip 3 large egg whites with ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter on medium high until they form soft peaks. Turn the mixer to medium low and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Turn the mixer to medium high and whip the whites to full peak. Fold the whites into the base in 2 parts, folding just until there are no streaks of egg whites.
- Divide the batter between the 2 pans and spread so it’s level.
- Bake until the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack. When fully cooled, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before filling and assembling the cake with your favorite frosting.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Hi Eileen!
My name is Dewanya Gray, and I just had to tell you THANK YOU! I am an exceptional cook, but I have been trying to learn how to bake a vanilla butter cake from scratch.
Finally!
I’ve tried many online recipes.
All the cakes come out dense or get super hard lol.
I made this recipe last night.
I followed every step, just like the video and as you wrote in your blog.
I used every ingredient just like you directed.
It’s so good, I can eat it as is so my 16yr old daughter says
Super tender, mines is sort of like a pound cake.
Thank you, Eileen!
Great cake…
Hey Dewanya, you just made my day!!! I’m so glad you like the cake.
Awesome!
Your welcome, and thanks again.
Have a great year!
I will look into more of your recipes.
Can I pls use margarine in case I have no butter
Hi Margi, Margarine’s can vary quite a bit so I can’t say exactly how the cake will turn out. But it’s worth a try. If the margarine is salted you might want to eliminate the salt from the recipe.
Hi, there – thanks for posting this recipe! I am on a search for a delicate cake to make a special Valentines Day dessert. One question: I’d like to bake this as a 9×13 sheet so I can cut smaller circles for layer assembly later – will this work? Any suggestions as to changes in baking times?
Hi Jen, I’ve baked this recipe in sheet pans hundreds of times. It will bake faster. I would start checking at about 10-15 minutes. Depending how evenly your oven bakes, you’ll probably want to turn the trays half way through baking. This recipe will make two quarter sheets (9″x 13″) or one half sheet (12″ x 17″).
Hi, I have been looking into making your chocolate chip cookie layer cake and have been looking at the ingredients and method of all the sections. The only part i’m a bit unsure of is the cakes in this cake recipe as they don’t state the size of egg needed for the egg white & yolk. In the UK we have small, medium, large, extra large and I imagine size will affect the recipe as it would increase/decrease quantity. Would you be able to clarify the size of egg needed for this recipe?
Thanks
Hi Ryan, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I always use large eggs. I’ve edited the recipe to note the correct egg size. You are right that using the wrong size eggs would change the outcome.
I am making a carved pirate ship cake covered with buttercream and thin fondant layer. I will use my 8” or 9” square cake tins for the cake building blocks. Would you recommend this recipe or one of the pound cake recipes from your ebook? Thanks and LOVE your site.
This is the recipe I used for all my carved cakes for my cake business. I’ve carved everything from a dolls head to a sitting dog with this recipe, so it should work for your pirate ship.
Ok great…I will try it. Would this quantity fit in a square pan? I have a variety of sizes from 8” to 10” square. Any suggestion for baking time? Sorry to bombard with so many questions… It’s just really great for a hobby baker to ask an experienced person! I did try the perfect pound cake recipe whipped cream version. I put it in an 8” square pan. That worked really well. Many thanks!
I would say this recipe would fill two 6″ square pans or one larger square.
If I’m making cupcakes and don’t need that much batter, could you just do half of everything?! And do you happen to know the difference between a butter cake and a vanilla cake. I have a client wanting a butter cake but to my knowledge it’s the same as vanilla….
Hi Chantel. A butter cake is made with butter as opposed to oil or another fat. Vanilla is just the flavor. Any type of cake can be vanilla is that’s the flavor in the cake. You could halve the ingredients for a small batch. I would guess a full batch would make about 1.5 dozen cupcakes (that’s just a guess it could be a few more or less).