Simple Vanilla Cake Recipes

BASIC VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined. Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. (The mixture may look separated at this point.) Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.

CLASSIC VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla until combined.
• Alternate folding the flour mixture and the milk into the batter with a spatula, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until just smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
• Bake the cakes on the same oven rack until golden on top and the centers spring back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through if they seem to be browning unevenly. Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely.
• For the frosting: While the cakes cool, beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Once it's all been added, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until white and fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk, and beat to incorporate. Beat in the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time (the frosting will be spreadable but not runny).
• To assemble: Place 1 cake layer right-side up on a cake plate or stand, and spread with 1 cup of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

EASY VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch cake tin with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl. Add eggs, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix by hand or use an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add more flour if batter is too runny. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and let cool, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill slightly, 15 to 30 minutes more. Slice the cooled cake through the middle to make 2 layers.

BEST VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix sour cream, vanilla paste and vanilla extract until combined. Let stand 10 minutes. Line bottoms of 3 greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper., Sift cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together twice into a large bowl. Add butter and canola oil; beat until mixture is crumbly. Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream mixture just until combined. , Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely. Frost cake as desired.

HOMEMADE VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9-inch pan.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a medium bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; stir in vanilla extract and almond extract.
• Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until it springs back to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes.

SIMPLE LAYER CAKE WITH VANILLA FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment as well. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat well, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, beating until combined. Add milk and vanilla and beat until just combined.
• Divide batter between pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, 33 to 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.
• Beat together butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium. Add confectioner's sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt, milk, and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. If not using immediately, cover surface of frosting with plastic wrap. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week. Before using, bring to room temperature, then beat on low speed until smooth.
• Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate and spread 1 cup frosting on top. Place remaining cake layer on top. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, swirling to coat in a decorative fashion. (If frosting becomes too soft, refrigerate to firm up.) Cake can be covered with a cake dome and refrigerated overnight. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

BASIC VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 195C/fan 175C/gas 3.5
• Cream the butter and sugar together until it becomes a pale yellow/white colour.
• Sift in the flour and baking powder. Then add the eggs and vanilla essence. Fold together until it is all combined.
• Place the mixture in to greased tins or cupcake cases.
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and springs back when gently pressed. Once baked leave to cool for 30 minutes.

PRINSESSTåRTA (PRINCESS CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare 3 baking sheets, greased and lined with baking parchment.
• Beat together the eggs and sugar on high speed in a stand mixer or using a hand-held electric whisk. Beat until the mixture reaches ribbon stage-you will be able to see the traces of the mixture when you move the whisk.
• Use a 8-inch diameter plate to draw three circles on baking parchment. Cut these out and place one parchment circle on each of the three baking sheets. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, salt and vanilla in a separate bowl. Sift into the egg mixture, bit by bit, carefully folding using a figure-of-eight movement until incorporated. Pour the cooled melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold carefully again, trying not to knock out air.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the parchment circles on the baking sheets spreading right to the edges of each circle with the back of a spoon. If they go over a bit, don't worry, you can cut these bits off afterwards.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the baking parchment. If the parchment sticks, slightly dampen the paper side with cold water and the paper will come off easily. Trim any untidy edges using a sharp knife.
• In a saucepan, heat the milk with the scraped out seeds from the vanilla bean.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar and add the cornstarch.
• When the milk has just reached boiling point, take off the heat and pour one third into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
• Once whisked through, pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk. Return to the stove and bring to the boil, carefully. Whisk continuously as the mixture thickens, for just under a minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the salt and butter.
• Pour into a cold bowl and place a sheet of baking parchment on top to prevent the cream from forming a crust as it cools. The mixture will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days.
• If using homemade marzipan instead of store-bought, blend the ingredients together in a food processor until you have a smooth marzipan.
• Roll the mixture into a log and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.
• Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar until stiff. Spoon two thirds into a separate bowl. Mix the remaining one third of the whipped cream with the prepared pastry cream.
• Make sure your prepared layer cake bases are completely even in size. If not, trim to fit. Place the bottom layer on your chosen serving plate; you won't be able to move the cake once assembled.
• Spread the raspberry jam/jelly evenly onto the base layer of the cake, then add half of the pastry cream mixture. Top with the second cake layer. Repeat with the remaining jam/jelly and second helping of the pastry cream mixture. Add the top cake layer.
• Using a cake spatula, spread three quarters of the remaining stiffly whipped cream in a thick layer on the top and the sides of the cake. Make sure the cake is covered evenly all over to prevent jam/jelly from seeping out. Some people prefer to shape the cream into a dome; I quite like more of a level top on my princess cake, but it is up to you.
• Next, roll out the green marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar or over the top of baking parchment (to prevent sticking). Roll out into a large, even circle, big enough to cover the top and sides of the cake (around 14 inches in diameter).
• Carefully drape the marzipan on top of the cake and peel back the baking parchment, if using. Pull gently around the edges to bring the marzipan down to cover the cake, taking care not to overstretch. Once the marzipan is smoothed over and touching the base all the way around, trim away the excess. Press the edges gently in at the base.
• To make the rose decorations, mold the pink royal icing or marzipan into ¾-inch tall teardrop shapes for the inside buds. Then roll out small round petal-shaped pieces of icing around ¾ x ¾-inch and wrap each one around the bud in layers. Cut the base off and fix the roses on top of the cake. Lastly, roll out the green royal icing or marzipan and cut out leaf shapes to fix by the sides of the rose. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

EASY VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a round, deep 20cm tin, then line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
• Using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and ¼ tsp salt together until pale and fluffy, then pour in the eggs, one at a time, giving the mix a really good beating before adding the next.
• Add 1 tbsp of the plain flour if the mix starts to look slimy rather than fluffy. Beat in the yogurt. Mix the flours; then, using a large metal spoon, fold them into the batter, followed by the milk.
• Spoon the mix into the tin and bake for 1 hr 20 mins or until well risen and golden - a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup by gently heating 50ml water with the sugar and vanilla in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. Once the cake is out of the oven, leave to cool for 30 mins in the tin, then use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake, going right to the bottom. Pour the syrup over, letting it completely soak in after each addition.
• Leave to cool completely, then either wrap the cake well or fill and ice it. If you wrap it with baking parchment and cling film, the unfilled cake will keep well for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
• For ideas on how to decorate the cake and to try out some variations on this basic cake mixture, have a look at the 'Goes well with' recipes for Simple elegance wedding cake, Birthday bug cake and Summer celebration cake.