I am a vanilla cake kind of girl all the way. Vanilla cake is my first choice and this recipe is my absolute favorite vanilla bean cake.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
It’s a scratch cake and I’m sure you know how hard it is to find a flavorful and moist scratch vanilla cake, but I promise, this is it.
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INGREDIENTS FOR THE VANILLA BEAN CAKE:
I’ve worked and tested out recipes for so long and this baby is no ordinary bland vanilla cake. It’s got a full vanilla bean flavor, it’s rich and buttery and just a hint of almond flavor.
Now, just hear me out on the almond flavor. I use almond emulsion and it does NOT taste like ordinary almond extract.
Even if you think you won’t like anything with almond extract in it…I have one question for you. Have you tried it? It’s the same lecture I give my step-kids. Don’t say you don’t like it if you haven’t tried it yet. Sometimes things taste totally different than you expect.
Here’s my point on the almond extract: The recipe only calls for a half a teaspoon. That isn’t much and it’s not strong or overpowering at all. All it does is to help bring out the flavor of the vanilla bean.
When you taste this cake, you don’t taste almond. You just know it’s got this full vanilla bean flavor and something a little special that makes you never want to stop eating it.
Ok, I’m done with the lecture. If you’ve tried almond extract and you just can’t stand the thought of it, I promise I won’t be mad at you and you can still make this cake with just vanilla bean paste or extract and it will STILL be awesome.
So, onto the vanilla part of this cake. I use this vanilla bean paste: Vanilla Bean Paste. It really gives the cake a much better flavor than plain vanilla extract. Trust me, you’ve gotta try it.
MIXING METHOD FOR THE VANILLA BEAN CAKE:
The mixing method for this cake is a little different than the norm. It’s called the reverse creaming method. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together first, you’ll be mixing the dry ingredients with the butter.
Without getting too technical on you, the butter coats the flour and minimizes gluten development, which in turn, creates a very fine crumb and an oh so tender cake.
Oh and by the way, if you want to watch a ‘real time’ video on how to properly mix a scratch cake, you can do that here: How to Mix Cake Batter
Here’s how it works: Take your dry ingredients and mix them in a mixing bowl. Add slightly cooler than room temperature butter in chunks to your dry mixture as your mixer is running on low. Mix until all the flour is coated and it looks crumbly.
Next you’ll pour in about a third of your liquid ingredients and mix until well combined (about 30 seconds to a minute).
I’ve recently experimented and learned that you can actually mix at this point for a minute or so to get it fluffier, but I wouldn’t go over that amount, or you risk overmixing your batter and it coming out dense.
Next you’ll add in the remaining liquid ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for about 30 seconds. Don’t overmix the batter.
Pour into two 8″ round cake pans (or you can use three 6″ round cake pans). For this cake, I preheated my oven to 350 degrees. But here’s the deal, once I put my cakes in the oven, I turned the temp down to 325 degrees. I wanted it a little hotter in the beginning to help with rising, but I didn’t want the outside to over brown.
Once it’s done baking, you want to set it on a wire rack to cool for only ten minutes.
After ten minutes, Set your rack face down on your cake and flip it over. Now your cakes are directly onto your racks. Just lift your pan off the cakes. Let them cool completely like this.
You can ice them once they’re cool or you can also freeze them. Check out my post with tips for freezing cakes and cupcakes.
For this cake, I used my Favorite Vanilla Bean Buttercream. It’s a match made in vanilla heaven.
Cut yourself a huge slice. Oh, and maybe if you feel like it, you can share it with your family 😉
This cake is absolutely perfect for a birthday cake AND for a wedding cake. It has a wonderful vanilla, buttery flavor AND it stays moist.
TIPS AND FAQS FOR THE VANILLA BEAN CAKE:
No you absolutely do not need a stand mixer. It’s really convenient, but you can still make a great cake with a hand mixer.
Cake flour is different than all purpose flour and they can’t be substituted for each other in equal amounts. Cake flour will give your cake a more tender texture, so it’s best to use that in this recipe if you can get it. If not, and you really need to substitute for it, you can make these changes: For every cup of cake flour called for in the recipe, use one cup of all purpose flour instead and remove two tablespoons of it, then replace that with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
No you don’t have to use it, but it’s really a very small amount and just gives a hint of added flavor. Personally I think it add that extra secret ingredient that people just love.
Yes you sure can. I think using a good vanilla bean emulsion or paste really pumps up the flavor and can set your cake apart from the rest, but a real vanilla extract will work as well.
If you don’t have access to sour cream, you can use yogurt instead. Try to use the full fat version though and not the low fat.
Whole milk just has more fat in it than 2% milk, so if you have access to it, use it, but if you don’t, just use the milk you have available.
Video:
Now, onto the recipe:
Favorite Vanilla Bean Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour (not all-purpose flour)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter (slightly cooler than room temp)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond emulsion
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (You’re going to turn the oven temp down to 325 degrees once you put the cakes in the oven.)
- Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. (If making cupcakes, read notes below)
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk.
- In another bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, oil, vanilla, almond and eggs. Mix well with a whisk.
- Now cut your butter into chunks. Turn your mixer on low and add in the butter slowly to your dry ingredients. Mix on low to medium until all the flour is coated with the butter and the mixture is crumbly.
- Pour in about a third of the liquid mixture. Mix on low to medium until combined. About 30 seconds to one minute. (Some reverse creaming recipes call for mixing 1-2 minutes at this stage, but be careful about mixing longer than a minute as mixing for too long will cause a dense cake.)
- Pour the last of the liquid mixture and mix again until well combined. Don't overmix the batter at this point. Stop mixing once everything is well incorporated.
- Use a rubber spatula and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix again for only about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Pour into prepared pans.
- Slide into the oven and turn the oven temp down to 325 degrees. (Unless you're making these as cupcakes, in which case you'll want to read the notes below.)
- Bake approximately 40-45 minutes.
- Set on wire racks to cool for ten minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the racks and let them cool out of the pans completely.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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UPDATE!!! I got a very good question in the comments below: Can you use this recipe for cupcakes? I’ve tried it and YES, they make great cupcakes! Here are my tips though: If you’re using this recipe for cupcakes, you’ll want to leave the oven temp at 350 degrees. Fill your cupcake wrappers just slightly more than half full. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack.
Ok, now I’m off to go and eat a slice…or two…or three.
Sarah
I need to make a large cake with this for my sons first birthday. How much should I make if I will make 2×12 in pans and 2×10 in pans. Double?? I absolutely love this cake. I made it for my baby shower :).
Kara Jane
Hi Sarah, so glad you like this recipe 🙂 So if you’re making two, 12 inch round cake layers then I’d mix up 1 1/2 recipe batches. You probably need the same (1 1/2 recipe batches) for the two, ten inch pans as well, but you will have enough batter left over to make another 10 inch layer or maybe just make cupcakes out of it. Hope this helps! If you have a huge oven or maybe two ovens, you might be able to just make 2 1/2 recipe batches (although you’d need a huge mixer for that) and then bake all four layers at the same time. I have only one regular-sized oven and end up just being able to bake about two layers at a time.
Chris
Well. First just wow.
I used to make cakes as a side hustle using box min. Haven’t done it in years. My daughter has convinced me it’s time to start again but scratch.. I’ve been looking for this for a while now and finally found the cake. I sculpt cake so using AP flour is perfect. A little denser holds up fantastic. I have to say this by far the best and easiest I have come across. I would love a Chocolate version of available. Either way thank you so much. First bake was perfect. And wow easy peasy. Again thank you
Kara
Hi Chris. Thanks so much for the great review. I’m so glad you liked the cake! I do have a chocolate cake here. It’s not exactly like this one, but it’s pretty dang good if I do say so myself. 😉 Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out. Chocolate Butter Cake: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/chocolate-butter-cake/
Thanks again for the wonderful comment!
Jami
I have a quick question. I am going to make this cake (and your chocolate cake recipe)for my daughters birthday party this weekend but, I need to make it as a 9×13 instead of rounds; how does this affect the baking time and or temperature?
Thank you for your time!
Kara
Hi Jami, the baking time and temperature doesn’t really change. You can start checking the cake a little earlier (maybe 5-10 minutes) before if you like, but really it should be pretty close to the same time as baking 2, 8″ round pans though. Hope this helps.
Jennifer
Perfect and delicious. Been trying scratch vanilla here and there for years. Thought it couldn’t be done. I’m now converted. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself, Kara. 🖤
Kara
Yes!!! I’m so glad, Jennifer! Thanks for that wonderful review. 🙂
Faseeha
Hi
I wanted to try this recipe for a 6” tall cake. I would need to make five 6” cakes. How do I adjust the recipe for that ?
Kara
If you double the recipe, that should be enough to fill 5, 6 inch round cake pans.
Amela
When the recepi says “cup” of something, how can i know how much this is in gram?
Kara
You can click on the word ‘metric’ right under the ingredients list in the recipe card and it will convert everything for you.
Olivia
Hi, I love this cake and it is my new go to. I am making a squareish (t-shirt) cake for 30 people, that would imply 2.5 times the recipient, is that. excessive and what size tins would you go for? Do you always cook a tin per layer or do you ever do one large one and slice down the middle? Thank you!!
Kara
Hi Olivia, to serve 30 people, I’d probably go for something like an 11×15 inch rectangle pan and then maybe trim it as you need to. You’d probably need to double the recipe for that. So, I’ve done it both ways…I’ve baked one layer at a time or baked one thick layer and then sliced it down the middle. You can get thicker layers if you just bake one at a time, but either way will work, it’s just whatever you prefer. I hope it all works out. It sounds like a fun project!
Oh and here’s a link to a serving chart. You can use it to base the sizes on, but honestly, their slices are kind of small so I always make cakes a little bigger than what they suggest. https://blog.wilton.com/cake-baking-serving-guide/
Olivia
Thank you so much for the reply! Sorry about my grammar before. I just used the recipe to make an 8inch diameter kettle bell cake! It went down a storm, thank you so much again!
Kara
No worries about the grammar! And I’m so glad the cake was a hit! 🙂
Robin
I’ve baked this recipe!! It’s soo good and sooo moist! It’s the Best Vanilla Cake Recipe I’ve ever baked and I’ve tried a lot of them. The search stops here. You can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s AWESOME!!!! Thanks Kara for all you do for us bakers out here!
Kara
Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Kim
Absolutely delicious, nicest vanilla cake I’ve ever made
Kara
This is wonderful! So glad you liked it and thanks for the great review! 🙂
Cindy
I pinned this recipe over a year ago and just now got around to making it. I was skeptical about that almond flavoring but I bought the almond emulsion and gave it a whirl! The cake was so moist and delicious! I only used half the amount of almond emulsion that it called for because of my fear of it. Lol. It was enough of it for our tastes but it really did add to the flavor of the cake. Very good recipe, thank you so much!
Kara
Cindy, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it and I’m really glad you tried the almond emulsion. It only takes a small amount, but it really does add a slight hint of flavor. Thanks for the wonderful review!
Cathy
Hi I came across this recipe recommended in a baking group. I am happy to say that I have found my go to vanilla cake. I literally have to savor every bite but the cake just runs out. I never leave reviews and I could give you 5 extra stars. Great job.
Kara
Woo hoo! Cathy, I’m so glad you love it! Thanks for that wonderful review 🙂
Shelley Mason
I think you should mention in your blog that if people with tree nut allergies might eat this cake, do NOT use almond extract if it is actually made from almonds?! They will get sick with even a small amount.
Kara
Hi Shelley, thanks for that advice.
Theresa
Hi!
I am going to make the 9×13 cake. Is the recipe for the frosting you used available!
Thank you so much,
Theresa
Kara
Yes, you can find that buttercream recipe at this link: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/vanillabeanbuttercreamrecipe/
Annamarie Rumer
I Love, Love, Love this cake! I’ve been making it for several years and it is by far the best vanilla cake. It’s moist, fluffy and delicious. I make custom cakes and this cake holds up well for fondant and decorating. I use vanilla bean paste from The Fresh Market. The paste really makes a difference with the vanilla flavor. Thank you for this recipe!🥰
Kara
Yay! I’m so glad you love this one. 🙂 And I agree…a good vanilla bean paste really makes a difference! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂