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. There are a couple different brands available, so try a few out.
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 just until combined (about 30 seconds).
Next you’ll add in the remaining liquid ingredients and mix. 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.
Now, onto the recipe:
Favorite Vanilla Bean Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour (not all-purpose flour)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter (slightly cooler than room temp)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp 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.
- Pour the last of the liquid mixture and mix again until combined. Don’t overmix the batter.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Just have a question. I know you have this recipe and the one with shortening. Which would you say produce a better cupcake?
Hey Marisa, I like both actually. I find that the vanilla bean cake is a little more dense than the white cake is. Doesn’t mean it’s dry, just the texture is a little more dense. So, essentially it’s just what type of texture you prefer. I hope that helps!
Does this recipe work well in a 9 x 13 pan? If so would I need to change baking time and temp? Thank you
Annette, I normally make this recipe in layers, but it should work just fine in a 9×13 inch pan. You shouldn’t have to adjust the temp or the baking time. Just start watching it at around 30 minutes to be sure though.
Hey, I baked this cake in 3 x 6″ pans (4″ deep). The cake had a waist and when I cut a slice it looked under cooked in some parts although the toothpick test came out clean! I have tried various other recipes and the same keeps happening. Does it sound like the cake pans are too deep? Would you recommend baking the cakes at a lower temp for longer to fix this? Thanks
Hey Joanna, yes I think you’re on to something. If you’re dividing one recipe batch into three, 6″ round cake pans that are 4″ deep, then that makes the layers too thin for the pan. I normally bake with 2″ deep pans, so 4″ would be too deep and perhaps over-bake the edges a bit when the middle might not be baked as much, or just cause all around issues with texture. I wouldn’t bake it at a lower temperature though. If you lower the temp and bake it longer, that could dry out the cake.
I think the best thing to do is to perhaps try pans that are 2″ deep or you could also run an experiment though and fill your pans up more with batter (at least halfway). You could just use two of your pans and then once the layers are baked, slice the cake layers (torte them) so you’ll have four layers (2 from each cake pan). You may have to make a recipe and a half to fill up the two pans, or a double batch if you’re using three pans. I don’t know if this would work because I don’t have experience using such deep pans, but I think it would definitely work better than just a thin amount of batter in each pan. Let me know how it goes!
I have made this cane twice and I have found that each time (one worse than the other), the cake has had a layer of what appears to be the almond emulsion that has separated from the cake. What do you recommend to fix this?
Hi Rachael, hmmm…that shouldn’t be happening. There is only a tiny amount (1/2 teaspoon) of almond emulsion added to the cake, so that small amount should not be separating out from the batter. If there is a gluey line or streak in the cake, that is usually caused from over developed gluten and that’s from over-mixing cake batter. I’m not saying that’s what you’re doing, but when there are streaks or separation, sometimes mixing a cake too much or too long, will cause that. I’ll add in a link to a post and video that will show this cake being made in real time, so you can see how long I mix it. https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/how-to-mix-cake-batter/
Skip to the second recipe of the video. I hope this helps!
Hi,
Just wondering if I substitute the butter for apple sauce, would that still work?
My boys are unable to eat butter
Hi Whitney, I’ve not tested that out, but you could definitely try it. It might work, but that cake might be a bit more dense though…that seems to be what happened when apple sauce is used. It would probably taste fine though.
Hi Kara
I would like to bake this cake in two disposable 8.5 by 4.5in trays to be given away. Do I need to turn out the cakes to cool? If not, will the cakes condense in the cake trays?
No they should be okay to leave in the trays. It’s the same as if you’re baking in a loaf pan or a bundt pan or a 13×9 inch pan. Just let them bake, then pull them out of the oven and just set them on a rack to cool completely (in the pans/trays)…you don’t have to remove them from the trays though.
Sorry, another question. Also instead of apple sauce substitute for butter could I use Greek yoghurt? Maybe it won’t make it too dense?
You could try it. I think it’ll still be a bit more dense than using the butter, but it’s worth a try. I wish I could predict the results better, but I haven’t tried those subs for this recipe, so I just don’t know for sure how it’ll turn out.
Would this recipe still be very good without the almond emulsion? I’m unable to find it but have been looking for a better vanilla cake recipe. Thanks!
Oh yes…you can definitely make it without it. I think it tastes better with it, but not everyone likes the taste of the almond emulsion and some can’t even get it (like you were saying), so it definitely still tastes great without it. Let me know how you like it!
Hello Kara,
I Was thinking about making this cake this weekend for a birthday but I was just wondering if the eggs in the recipe have to be room temperature or if straight out of the fridge is fine? Thanks
Hi Natalie, I’ve used them both ways and it was fine. I’d just set the eggs out when you start mixing the batter…that way they aren’t super chilled, but otherwise it should be okay. The main thing is to make sure that the butter is almost room temp…not warm, but just slightly cooler than room temp. I hope this helps and I hope you like the cake!
I am unable to find almond emulsion. I do have almond extract. Do you think it would be best to substitute the almond extract or just leave it out? Thanks!!!
Hi Leah, either way would work. Honestly I’d probably just leave it out if you can’t find the almond emulsion. Almond extract is okay, but for some reason, it just doesn’t taste as good as almond emulsion, in my opinion.
Do you have an icing recipe that I could use on this cake? Can you use almond extract that is all I have?
Hi Mindy, I use this buttercream for this cake: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/vanillabeanbuttercreamrecipe/
If you can use almond extract in it if you want, but just use a small amount like a 1/4 a teaspoon or it could get too strong.
My granddaughter and I made this cake for my sons wedding. It was perfect! So moist and delicious. I am not a baker so the detailed descriptions were greatly appreciated. The vanilla flavoring was just right. Thanks for a great recipe.
Oh yay Diane! I’m so happy you all loved it! And congratulations! My son just got married as well about a month ago. 🙂 Best wishes to the happy couple!
Hi, is the cake stable enough to support fondant?
Yes, this cake will work with fondant. I’ve used it with it before and have heard from others who have as well.
Gréât, I will give it a try, thank you!!
Hi Kara! I’ve made the favorite buttercream cake and cupcakes with the favorite buttercream icing. Just amazing. Gets better each time! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I think I’ve gained 5 lbs during quarantine testing my baking experiments!
Hi Mira, Awesome! This makes me so happy! Thanks for that wonderful review…it means so much. And I know exactly what you mean about the quarantine weight gain…it’s so hard to say no to cake though! I started cutting my cake into slices and then freezing the individual slices, so I could eat them more spaced out. 🤣
Should I do more than one batch of this cake for three 8in round cake pans?
Yes, if you need to fill three, 8″ round pans, you’ll need to mix up a batch and a half…that should be enough.
Love this recipe! It’s my go to vanilla cake now! My only thing is when making them into cupcakes- I ended up burning the bottoms on them which is annoying and I didn’t keep them in the full time. So I think in the future I’ll have to drop the temperature to 325 and check them after 15mins rather than 20mins
Hey Jess, so glad you like the cake! Yes if the bottoms of the cupcakes are over-browning, you can drop the temp a bit. The cupcakes may be a little flatter on top with the low temp, but it will help with the over-browning. Also make sure your oven rack is in the middle and not too close to the bottom. You could even try moving it up a notch if you want.
I found this recipe almost 2 years ago now and I have come back to it and shared it many times since. My 86 year old grandmother and I had never heard of cutting butter into dry ingredients for a cake but we both now agree that the finished texture and composition is absolutely splendid. We also love the frosting recipe, but I’ve started using my grandmother’s egg white and sugar frosting recipe she used to use for my mother’s birthday cakes when she was little. It has resulted in what I consider to be my go to cake!! Thank you for your wonderful recipe! Keep baking and sharing your secrets <3
Hey Simone…thanks so much for that wonderful review! I’m so glad you love the cake and your grandmother’s egg white frosting sounds amazing!
I have always been told to sift cake flour. Should I sift the cake flour for this recipe? Before or after?
You can sift if you’d like. It’s not vital and I normally don’t worry about it unless it seems clumpy. If you do want to sift though, you’ll sift after you’ve measured it.
This is the best vanilla cake I’ve ever made! It got rave reviews from the family!
Hey Carmen! Yay! That makes me so happy 🙂