Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
Vanilla Buttermilk Cake is the old fashioned layer cake we all know and love. The cake has a moist, fine crumb and lovely vanilla flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Cake
You’ll love this cake because it has a very soft and moist crumb that is reminiscent of a cake made from a box-mix.
WHAT??? Why would I talk about cake mix on this everything-baked-from-scratch blog?
But wait, stay with me a minute. While I’m convinced that I can always spot a cake made from a mix because there is a certain artificial flavor that comes through, cake mixes do have one thing going for them.
Cakes made from a mix have a the super soft, very fine crumb that many, many people think of as the quintessential old fashioned layer cake. It’s the kind of cake that I grew up with, and maybe you did too.
But we don’t have to resort to using cake mix.
Why Vanilla Buttermilk Cake is so soft
- There are two important ingredients in this recipe that create the type of super-fine crumb you get from a cake mix — buttermilk and oil.
- Buttermilk is acidic and acidic ingredients tenderize the cake crumb.
- Oil stays liquid when chilled, so cakes made with oil are softer than cakes made with butter, especially if they have a perishable filling that needs to be stored in the fridge.
- The recipe starts by emulsifying the oil and eggs with the other wet ingredients. This forms lots and lots of tiny air bubbles in the batter, which are then expanded by the baking soda and powder. This produces a very fine and even crumb that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour – I like to use bleached cake flour for the softest and most tender cake. Unbleached cake flour is also a good choice. As a last option, use all purpose flour to make the cake flour substitute in this post.
- Buttermilk – Acidic buttermilk makes the crumb on the cake tender and adds a beautiful flavor. For this cake I don’t recommend using a buttermilk substitute.
- Oil – Any neutral oil will work in this recipe. I use a basic vegetable oil.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Sift the dry ingredients to remove lumps and to distribute the salt and leavening.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to emulsify the eggs, oil and sugar.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Divide the batter between three 8 inch pans. If you only have 2 pans, put 1/3 of the batter in one pan and 2/3 of the batter in the other. Torte the larger cake after baking.
- The recipe can also make 18 vanilla cupcakes.
- Bake until the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the prettiest cake slices, I always trim the brown crust from the layers before filling and icing the cake.
For a real old-fashioned slice of heaven, fill and frost this cake with simple-to-make American Buttercream. If you prefer your frosting less sweet, try Italian Meringue Buttercream or Ermine Frosting.
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Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 11 ¼ oz cake flour (2 ½ cups, see note)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 oz vegetable oil (1 cup)
- 4 large eggs
- 8 oz buttermilk (1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 16 oz granulated sugar (2 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line the bottom of three 8"x3" round cake pans with parchment paper, or butter and flour the bottom of the pans (don't butter/flour the sides). (see note)
- Sift 11 ¼ oz cake flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon table saltand ¼ teaspoon baking soda and set aside.
- Combine 8 oz vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 8 oz buttermilk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 16 oz granulated sugar in a mixer bowl. Mix on medium speed to combine the ingredients, continue mixing for 2-3 minutes to emulsify the ingredients. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed or a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Cool completely before filling and icing.
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Lovely
Can this be made in two layers instead of three?
Made the cake. It makes great strawberry short cake.
Hi,
How long does this cake keep for and can you freeze it ?
Yes, the cake can be frozen. Double wrap it in plastic to prevent freezer odors from getting into the cake. Will keep for at least a month if properly wrapped. The baked cake can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days (refrigerate if you fill it with a perishable filling).
Can you mix in the dry ingredients by hand instead of using the mixer? I don’t want to over mix and end up with a dry cake. My mixer throws flour when mixing flour into a running mixer. Any tips
Just to clarify, over mixing doesn’t necessarily cause a dry cake. For certain recipes, over mixing can cause a tough cake. Yes, you can mix the flour in by hand. I would use a balloon whisk to avoid creating lumps of flour. If you’re using a stand mixer the pouring shield really helps avoid flying flour.
@Eileen Gray, so would it be better to stir the dry ingredients in just enough so flour ingredients is wet and then use the mixer as instructed
It’s a fairly wet batter so you could certainly mix it completely by hand. Whether you work by hand or mixer just mix until the flour is completely incorporated. The most important step in mixing this batter is getting the wet ingredients emulsified. The emulsified batter translates into an even and tender crumb for the cake. So as long as you use the mixer to emulsify the wet ingredients then adding the flour either by hand or mixer will work.