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    Decorated Treats » Recipes » Cake Recipes

    Moist Vanilla Cake (Easy Homemade Layer Cake)

    Published: Oct 18, 2020 · Modified: Jun 19, 2023 by Priya Maha

    Jump to Recipe

    I love this super moist vanilla cake. I call it super moist because that’s what this cake is all about. It has a wonderfully moist and fluffy texture and tastes so good when layered with buttercream!

    A round moist vanilla cake covered in white buttercream with pink and maroon rosettes and green leaves. A slice of the cake is cut out onto a white plate.
    Super Moist Vanilla Cake with Moist Crumbs - Perfect as Birthday Cake Too!

    If you are looking for a basic and easy to make vanilla cake that stays superbly moist, this vanilla layer cake recipe is definitely for you. It is my best vanilla cake recipe.

    And if you want equally moist cupcakes recipe with vanilla flavor, check out my vanilla cupcakes recipe.

    Jump to:
    • ❤️Why you will love this recipe
    • 📋Ingredients
    • 🧾Substitution and Variations
    • 👩‍🍳How to Make
    • 🍽️Serving & storage
    • 💡Expert Tips
    • 💭FAQs
    • ❤️More Recipes You Will Love
    • 📖Recipe

    ❤️Why you will love this recipe

    • This classic vanilla cake recipe requires only the basic ingredients you would need to make a cake. The cake is made using self-raising flour, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract, and coupled with a pinch of salt and some baking powder, you get a wonderfully moist and fluffy, classic vanilla cake.
    • The cake uses whole eggs, so there is no need to separate egg whites and egg yolks.
    • The steps to make this vanilla layer cake are very easy, you just add the ingredients one after another and continue mixing until the batter is ready, before baking it.
    • The vanilla cake texture is not only soft and moist, it is also pretty solid and so works beautifully for stacking into tiered cakes (wedding cakes) and carving, making this a perfect cake for weddings, birthdays and other special occasions.

    📋Ingredients

    For the cake:

    • Self-raising flour + baking powder + salt - combine and sift all these ingredients before adding into the cake batter.
    • Butter - I use salted butter. If you are using unsalted butter, increase the amount of salt by one eighth of a teaspoon. Use fine salt.
    • Granulated sugar (caster sugar) - for best results, use granulated sugar. Coarse sugar with leave your cake with sugar specks on the surface after baking.
    • Eggs - Use whole eggs and choose large size.
    • Milk - I used whole milk for a rich taste.
    • Vanilla extract - adds a lovely aroma and flavor to the cake. Use good quality extract for best results.

    For the vanilla buttercream:

    • Powdered sugar (Icing sugar) - sift the sugar before making the frosting to break any lumps.
    • Butter - I use salted butter. The buttercream tastes much better with salted butter.
    • Vanilla extract - this is to flavor the buttercream.
    • Milk or heavy cream (optional) - this is optional and only required is your buttercream is too stiff.

    *Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*

    🧾Substitution and Variations

    • If you do not have self raising flour, you can make your own by mixing baking powder to all purpose flour. For every 225g of all purpose flour, add one and a half teaspoons of baking powder. Mix well and sift both 3 times before using. For 440g of all purpose flour (as per recipe card below), use 3 teaspoons of baking powder.
    • Salted butter works best for this recipe, both for the cake and the buttercream. If you are using unsalted butter, add an extra one eighth of a teaspoon of fine salt. For the buttercream, add a small pinch of salt.
    • Vanilla extract can be substituted with vanilla bean paste in the exact same quantity. But do note that if you use vanilla bean paste for your buttercream, it may appear speckled.
    • If you are not a fan of buttercream (American buttercream), you can frost the cake with swiss meringue buttercream or cream cheese frosting. You can also try the cake with chocolate icing or chocolate ganache.

    This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!

    👩‍🍳How to Make

    Baking the cake

    Poster for making a cake.
    1. Start by adding butter and sugar into a large bowl. Make sure both the butter and sugar are at room temperature. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it's light and creamy. For the measurement given in the recipe below, this should take about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrap the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl halfway through the creaming process to make sure there is no butter left on the sides of the bowl. 
    2. After that, add the eggs in, one at a time. And with each addition, beat them well and make sure they are all incorporated before adding more into the batter. The next process is adding the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and milk into the creamed wet ingredients. Do it alternately, starting with about one-third of the flour mixture. Fold it in with a large spatula, followed by half of the milk. Repeat the process with the flour mixture, followed by milk and finally end with the last batch of flour. Make sure the flour is all well folded in before adding in the liquid.
    3. And finally, add in the vanilla extract. Give the vanilla cake batter a good mix and pour it into prepared tins.
    4. Bake these vanilla cakes for about 40 to 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. Remove the cake layers from the oven and let them cool in the tins for about 5 minutes. Loosen the sides with a jam knife and turn them over onto cooling rack (wire rack) to cool completely before decorating. For the recipe measure below, I made the moist vanilla layer cakes in two 7 inches round cake tins and layered them further with a knife after baking. You can also divide the batter into four 7 inches round cake tins and if you do, reduce the baking time to 17 to 20 minutes.

    Frosting the cake

    Poster for decorating a cake with buttercream.
    1. To assemble this awesome moist and fluffy homemade vanilla cake, start by leveling and layering the cakes. Since I made mine in only 2 cake pans, I layered each tier into 2 (with a serrated knife) so that I got 4 layers of cake in total. See here for more tips on how to layer cakes.
    2. Apply buttercream frosting between each cake layer and stack the layers up. Follow that by giving the vanilla layer cake a thin crumb coat. Place the crumb-coat frosted cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes for the buttercream crumb coat to set.
    3. Remove from the fridge and apply the final layer of the vanilla frosting with your palette knife. Start with the top of the cake and move to the sides. For this design, it is not necessary to smooth frost the cake, so it is generally a very simple and quick buttercream cake decorating idea. Nevertheless, eyeball to make sure the icing is evenly applied and there are no parts of the cake that look bulging with icing.

    Decorating the cake

    A moist vanilla cake covered in white buttercream with pink and maroon rosettes and green leaves. Cake is on a white cake stand.
    Super Moist Vanilla Cake Recipe - A Perfect Vanilla Cake
    • To complete the moist vanilla cake decoration, I randomly added simple rosettes in Wilton Burgundy and Rose Petal pink using star piping tip 21. The leaves were tinted with Wilton Juniper Green and piped with leaf tip 352. I completed the decoration with a buttercream pearl border, piped using round tip 12.

    🍽️Serving & storage

    • The cake can last at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days. Keep it in an airtight container to prevent it from becoming dry.
    • If you wish to keep the cake longer, refrigerate it. The cake should last for a good 2 weeks in the refrigerator. If not frosted, keep it wrapped in plastic wrap to retain its moisture. Otherwise, keep it covered in an airtight container.

    💡Expert Tips

    • For best results, use room temperature ingredients. Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature. Using them straight out of the fridge can result in your cake batter curdling. If that happens (normally after you have added in the eggs), add flour in small increments until the batter is no more curdled before adding in the milk.  But bear in mind to not over mix the batter after adding in the flour or the cake will not be as soft as it should.
    • Sift flour and baking powder together before using. Sifting helps to aerate it which in turn helps the cake to rise well during baking.
    • Make sure all the ingredients are measured accurately. It is highly advisable that you do not modify the quantity in your first try as that will not help if the cake does not turn out as it should. Use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients for best results.
    • To ensure a moist cake, do not overbake it. The cake should be removed from the oven when a toothpick (or cake tester) inserted in the center or middle of the cake comes out without any wet batter sticking to it. In fact, ideally, there should be tiny crumbs sticking to it. If the toothpick or cake tester comes out entirely clean, the cake might be overbaked already.
    • It is also important that the cake tins are well greased and floured. The cake tins can also be lined with parchment paper. But make sure they are well greased so that they are not stuck to the cake tins after baking.
    • When dividing the cake batter between multiple cake tins, it is best to weigh the cake tins after filling the batter in to make sure the batter is consistently filled in each tin. This will ensure the cakes are all cooked uniformly.
    • If you refrigerate the cake before decorating, make sure to bring it back to room temperature before layering or carving. The cake tends to be crumbly when its straight out of the fridge but is perfectly soft and moist at room temperature.
    A round cake covered in white buttercream with pink and maroon rosettes and green leaves. A slice of the moist vanilla cake is cut out.
    Super Moist Vanilla Cake - Good Homemade Vanilla Cake Recipe

    💭FAQs

    Why is my vanilla cake not fluffy?

    The key to a fluffy cake is to make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and the butter and sugar are creamed well before other ingredients are added.

    You should cream both the butter and sugar for a good 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through to make sure there is no butter left unbeaten at the bottom and sides.

    How do to keep a vanilla cake moist?

    To keep a vanilla cake moist, make sure not to overbake it. Test the cake at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If there is no wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done and can be removed from the oven.

    Also, when cooling the cake on a wire rack, keep it covered with a kitchen towel, and as soon as the cake cools to a warm temperature, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate. That way, the cake will keep moist.

    ❤️More Recipes You Will Love

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    • A loaf of chocolate sour cream pound cake on a pink plate.
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    • A set of 5 cupcakes in white cupcake casings decorated with buttercream, sugar sprinkles and a pretty 5 petal fondant flower.
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    • A round rosette cake in white, pink, burgundy and green.
      Rosette Cake (Buttercream Cake Recipe)

    Do you like this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐rating in the recipe card below and consider a review further down this page. I would love to hear from you. Thank you!

    📖Recipe

    A round cake covered in white buttercream with pink and maroon rosettes and green leaves. Cake is on a white cake stand.

    Moist Vanilla Cake (Easy Homemade Layer Cake)

    This is the best and moist vanilla cake I have tried so far. With a soft and moist yet solid texture that cuts so perfectly, this cake is perfect for stacking and carving.
    4.83 from 23 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
    Yield: 2 7 inches round cakes
    Author: Priya Maha
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Metric - US Customary

    For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.

    Ingredients

    • 440 g self-raising flour
    • 360 g butter
    • 280 g granulated sugar
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 4 eggs
    • 240 ml milk
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Frosting (Buttercream)

    • 600 g powdered sugar
    • 300 g butter
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 tablespoon milk optional
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 160 °Celsius. Prepare two 7 inches round baking trays (greased and floured).
    • Sieve flour, baking powder and salt and keep it aside.
    • In a clean bowl, cream the butter, and castor sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue beating until it is well incorporated and the mixture is all light and creamy.
    • Fold in the flour alternately with milk, starting and end with flour.
    • Finally, add the vanilla extract and mix well.
    • Pour cake batter into prepared tins and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until the center of the cake springs back when pressed lightly. You can also use a toothpick to test if the cake is done. The toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
    • Remove cakes from oven and let them rest in the tins for a few minutes before turning them over onto wire racks to cool completely.
    • To make the buttercream, add butter into a medium bowl. Cream it until soft.
    • Sift in the powdered sugar. Beat again until the mixture turns light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
    • If the icing appears too stiff, add some milk or cream. Start with small quantities of half or one teaspoon to avoid too much liquid in the buttercream.
    • To assemble the cake, level each cake layer into 2 and level the tops.
    • Apply buttercream frosting between each cake layer and stack the layers up. 
    • Once the layers are stacked, give the whole cake a thin crumb coat. Place the crumb-coat frosted cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes for the buttercream crumb coat to set.
    • Remove from the fridge and apply the final layer of the vanilla frosting with your palette knife. Start with the top of the cake and move to the sides. For this design, it is not necessary to smooth frost the cake, so it is generally a very simple and quick buttercream cake decorating idea. Nevertheless, eyeball to make sure the icing is evenly applied and there are no parts of the cake that look bulging with icing.
    • To complete the moist vanilla cake decoration, randomly pipe some simple rosettes in Wilton Burgundy and Rose Petal pink using star piping tip 21. For the leaves, tint some buttercream with Wilton Juniper Green and pipe with leaf tip 352. To complete the decoration, pipe a pearl border using round tip 12.

    Notes

      • Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature. Using them straight out of the fridge can result in your cake batter curdling. If that happens (normally after you have added in the eggs), add flour in small increments until the batter is no more curdled before adding in the milk. But bear in mind to not over mix the batter after adding in the flour or your cake with not be as soft as it should.
      • Sift flour and baking powder before using. Sifting helps to aerate the flour which in turn helps the cake to rise well during baking.
      • Make sure the ingredients are measured accurately. It is highly advisable that you do not modify the quantity in your first try as that will not help if the cake does not turn out as it should. For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients.
      • Test the cake at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up. This will help ensure your cake is moist. The cake should be removed from the oven when a toothpick (or cake tester) inserted in the center or middle of the cake comes out without any wet batter sticking to it. In fact, ideally, there should be moist crumbs sticking to it. If the toothpick or cake tester comes out entirely clean, the cake might be overbaked already.
      • It is also important that the cake tins are well greased and floured. The cake tins can also be lined with parchment paper. But make sure they are well greased so that the cakes are not stuck to the cake tins after baking.
      • When dividing the cake batter between multiple cake tins, it is best to weigh the cake tins after filling the batter in to make sure the batter is consistently filled in each tin. This will ensure the cakes are all cooked uniformly.
      • If you refrigerate the cake before decorating, make sure to bring it back to room temperature before layering or carving. The cake tends to be crumbly when its straight out of the fridge but is perfectly soft and moist at room temperature.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 5094kcal | Carbohydrates: 607g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 284g | Saturated Fat: 175g | Cholesterol: 1050mg | Sodium: 3086mg | Potassium: 599mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 442g | Vitamin A: 8916IU | Calcium: 449mg | Iron: 4mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @decorated_treats or tag #decoratedtreats!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. R

      March 01, 2021 at 12:12 pm

      5 stars
      Tried this recipe..cake turned out delicious. Thank you ☺️

      Reply
    4.83 from 23 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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    A round cake covered in white buttercream with pink and maroon rosettes and green leaves. A slice of the cake is cut out onto a white plate.

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