Classic Vanilla Layer Cake

Classic Vanilla Layer Cake – This vanilla cake is super light and fluffy with an amazing buttery vanilla taste.

Over the years, I have tried many vanilla cake recipes. There have been aspects of each that I liked, but not one that I totally loved on it’s own. I decided to come up with a recipe that included all of the things I loved about each of those recipes in one.

What you need to make this Classic Vanilla Layer Cake

Sour Cream & Buttermilk

The combination of buttermilk and sour cream add so much moisture and tenderness to this cake. The sour cream also adds a bit of thickness to the batter.

How to make Buttermilk

Don’t have buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t be scared if it seems really clumpy after thickening! I use this trick all the time and it works really well as a substitute. 

Cake Flour

I love using cake flour in this vanilla cake recipe because it creates such a soft and fluffy texture. I recommend having a bag on hand if you bake cakes a lot.

How to make Cake Flour

If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make a substitute. Measure out 1 cup of flour. Remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Then sift this mixture twice. Sifting twice not only mixes the two ingredients together properly, but also aerates it so the consistency is similar to cake flour. 

How to make Classic Vanilla Layer Cake

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. At least two minutes.

Add in eggs and egg whites and mix until combined. Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Don’t worry if your mixture looks curdled. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little bit at a time, alternating with buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. 

Be sure to not over mix the batter at this point. It should be just combined and smooth looking. 

Divide the batter evenly among four greased 6’ cake pans. You can use a kitchen scale to make sure you pour the same amount into each or measure out about 1 3/4 cups of batter per pan. 

Bake for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees F. Cakes are done when the top is a golden yellow colour and springs back if you lightly press on it. You can also check with a cake tester or toothpick. It should come out clean with a few crumbs. 

Let the cake layers cool on wire rack. 

While your cakes are cooling, you can start making your buttercream. I have a whole post on tips and tricks for my Perfect Vanilla Buttercream. If you are just frosting this cake simply, one recipe is enough. If you want to add any extra piping, I would make another half recipe. 

How to stack and frost a cake

Once your cakes are cooled, the first thing you want to do is make sure they are all levelled. I like using a cake leveller to ensure they are perfectly level, but you can also eyeball it with a serrated knife. Just slice the domed tops off of the cake layers so that they are flat.

Spread or pipe a couple tablespoons of buttercream onto the centre of your cake round or cake plate. This will keep your cake in place as you decorate it.

Place the first layer of cake top side up on your cake round or plate. Spread about 1/2 cup of buttercream on top. Repeat for the second and third layer. Place the fourth layer on top, top side down so that the bottom of the cake layer is the very top surface of the cake. 

Spread another 1/2 cup of buttercream on the top of the cake. If some spills over the side, that’s ok. Next, start frosting the sides of the cake. Tools like an offset spatula and a cake scraper are very helpful for spreading frosting and creating smooth sides.

How to cut a tall cake

An easy way to cut a tall cake like this is horizontally and then into tall skinny slices, rather than the typical triangular slice. Using a large, non-serrated knife, slice one large horizontal slice and lay on a cutting board. Then, cut into 4 tall slices and repeat for the rest of the cake.

Classic Vanilla Layer Cake

Recipe by Kelsey LacombeCourse: DessertDifficulty: Medium

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Bake Time

30

minutes

Cool Time

30

minutes

Assembly Time

30

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

Super light and fluffy Vanilla Layer Cake paired with the Best Vanilla Buttercream!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 egg whites

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 3 cups cake flour, sifted

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1- 1 1/2 recipe of Perfect Vanilla Buttercream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare four 6” cake pans. Grease and flour and line bottom of pans with parchment.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes.
• Add in eggs and egg whites and mix until combined. Add vanilla and sour cream. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Don’t worry if your mixture looks curdled.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Add dry ingredients to wet a little bit at a time, alternating with buttermilk. Start and end with dry ingredients.
• Do not over mix the batter. It should be fully combined and smooth looking.
• Bake for about 30 minutes. Cakes are done when top is a golden yellow colour and springs back if you lightly press. You can also check with a cake tester or toothpick. It should come out clean with a few crumbs.
• Let cool on wire rack.
• Make one recipe of Perfect Vanilla Buttercream if frosting simply. If you want to add any extra piping, make a recipe and a half.
• Once cake layers have cooled, stack and frost. See above details in post for how to stack and frost a cake.

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