Mini 6 Inch Vanilla Cake Recipe
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 1052kcal
A moist scratch mini 6 inch vanilla cake recipe you can make as a small layer cake for yourself, a small birthday party, or dessert for two.
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Ingredients
For the vanilla cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly and not packed down into the measuring cup)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure your baking powder is in date and not opened more than 6 months ago)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
For the vanilla buttercream:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
- 4 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk (may add in another tablespoon if needed)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (or spray) two, 6 inch round cake pans that are 2 inches deep. (Make sure you are using the correct sized pans as this is important. See the notes section below.)
- Set the butter out, cut it into chunks and allow it to come to room temperature. Do not microwave it, it needs to come to room temperature on its own.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) and whisk together.
- In another bowl, add the liquid ingredients (oil, eggs, sour cream, milk and vanilla) and whisk together until smooth.
- Add the chunks of butter to the dry mixture slowly and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed as you add the butter. Mix until the mixture resembles a coarse, sand-like texture. (To see the texture, watch the video within this post.)
- Add half the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and mix on medium until well combined, only about 30-45 seconds.
- Add the second half of the liquid mixture and mix on medium until well combined, only about 20-30 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix again just until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Be very careful not to over-mix. Do not mix over 20 seconds here. If scratch cake batter is mixed for too long it will cause a dense cake or one that falls in the middle.
- Add the batter to the prepared pans and smooth level. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 40-45 minutes (ovens vary). The batter will rise all the way to the top. Make sure you're using the proper sized pans. The cake layers are baked when they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, or clean, but not raw batter.
- Cool on a wire rack, in the pans, for about 10-15 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the racks and allow them to cool completely before covering with buttercream.The tops of these cake layers will flatten out as they cool, but the tops can be leveled with a knife if needed in order to decorate.
For the buttercream:
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the confectioner's, salt, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix on low until combined, then on medium to medium-high until well mixed.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Check the consistency. If it's too thick add another tablespoon of milk and mix well.
- Spread buttercream onto completely cooled cake and decorate as desired.
Notes
This recipe is tried and true. I have made it many times and it works as long as you follow the instructions. Due to additional comments and questions I have received, here are a few things to note before making this recipe, so that you will have success:
- This is a mini cake made in two, 6 inch round cake pans that are two inches deep. If your pans are smaller than 6 inch round pans or are more shallow than 2 inches deep, the batter will overflow. This recipe is specifically for two, 6 inch round pans that are 2 inches deep as stated in the instructions. The batter will rise all the way to the top of the pans, so if the pans are smaller or more shallow, there will be too much batter. Make sure that you're not using 4 inch pans for this recipe. If you want a vanilla cake recipe for 8 or 9 inch round pans, you can find that recipe at this link: Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe
- Do not mix scratch cake batter for very long. That will cause a dense cake and one that may fall in the center. Once you add the liquid ingredients, only mix until everything is well combined. That's usually around 20-30 seconds or even less.
- Make sure not to pack the flour down into the measuring cup as that will inadvertently add too much flour and the cake will turn out dry and dense. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
- Make sure that your baking powder is still in date. If it's older than 6 months, it may not work properly and the cake won't rise.
- If you're baking at a high altitude, you will need to make temperature and ingredient adjustments. This isn't something I can do for you though as I do not live at a high altitude and have no way to test recipes at high altitude.
- Do not open and close the oven door multiple times when a cake is baking...and definitely don't slam the oven door shut. The cake will fall and come out dense.
- If you need more tips or help, make sure to watch the video and read the FAQ section within this post.
Nutrition
Calories: 1052kcal | Carbohydrates: 131g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 191mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 105g | Vitamin A: 1812IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 2mg