Vanilla Party Cake Recipes

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.

VANILLA PARTY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease 3 x 20cm sandwich tins, lining the bases with baking parchment and greasing the parchment too.
• Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the egg whites, a little at a time, beating until fully combined before adding more. Mix together the flour, cornflour and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Divide the batter between the tins and level the tops.
• Bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peeling off the parchment. Cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, put the egg whites and sugar in a big bowl (the bowl of your tabletop mixer, if you have one) with the vanilla seeds and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Lightly whisk until the sugar has fully dissolved - you can test this by dipping two fingers into the bowl and rubbing them together; if you can't feel any grains of sugar, the mixture is ready. Remove the bowl from the heat and keep whisking until a thick meringue has formed. Continue whisking until the meringue has cooled to room temperature, then slowly add in the butter, 1 tbsp at a time. By the time all the butter has been incorporated, the mixture should have transformed into a silky-smooth buttercream. If it hasn't, continue to whisk until it does. If it still refuses to thicken, it may be the mixture is still too warm, so chill for 10 mins, then continue whisking. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
• To assemble the cake, place a sponge on a cake board or serving plate and top with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and finish by spreading the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake (see below). To get a smooth finish, use the edge of a palette knife, and drag carefully around the sides of the cake, smoothing out the buttercream. To decorate the cake, press the sides of it with the edible polka dot sprinkles creating a full border at the bottom with less and less the further up the cake you go. Best served within 2 days of baking, but the cake will keep for up to 4 days.

KEY LIME VANILLA BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• For the vanilla cake: Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment rounds. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter and granulated sugar together in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the egg whites. Beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla.
• Reduce the speed to medium and add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on high to smooth the batter, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold the sprinkles in by hand.
• Divide the batter between the 2 pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the cakes on a rack for about 15 minutes, then remove from the pans, peel off the parchment and cool completely.
• For the key lime buttercream: Cream the butter and cream cheese in a clean mixer bowl in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and beat on the lowest speed until combined. Add the vanilla, lime zest and 2 tablespoons of the juice, then slowly increase the speed to high and beat until very light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, adding the last tablespoon of lime juice if the buttercream seems too stiff to spread easily.
• Set one cake layer on a serving platter or cake turntable if you have one. Spread the top with about 1 1/2 cups buttercream almost to the edges. Top with the other cake layer, flat-side up. Spread the top of the cake with a heaping cup of buttercream and smooth with a large offset spatula. Spread the remaining buttercream on the sides of the cake. Hold the offset spatula at a 45-degree angle to the cake and rotate the cake (or turntable) to smooth the edges, leaving a thin layer of buttercream with the layers slightly showing through.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake with sprinkles and decorate the edge with the lime slices. Chill the cake to set the layers for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour before serving.

VANILLA CRAZY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a 8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
• Stir together egg and vanilla in a small bowl with wire whisk. Make two indentations in flour mixture; pour oil in one and egg mixture in the other. Pour milk over flour mixture;mix well. Stir in pecans.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips over warm cake. Let stand for 2 minutes; slightly swirl chocolate chips.

PARTY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.
• Sift together; the cake flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/3 cup sugar. Add the shortening and 3/4 cup of the milk, beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl while beating. Add 4 of the egg whites and beat the batter for 2 more minutes , scraping bowl while beating.
• Fill each cake layer pan 1/3 full of batter, sprinkle half the cherries over batter, then add remaining batter, sprinkle remaining cherries on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 35 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool. Frost with whipped cream or fluffy boiled icing and sprinkle with flaked coconut and garnish with maraschino cherry halves.
• To Make Fluffy Boiled Icing: Combine in a saucepan: 1 cup of the sugar, water, light corn syrup, and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. Stir until well blended. Boil slowly without stirring until mixture will spin a long thread when a little is dropped from a spoon about 238 degrees F to 242 degrees F (116 degrees C to 118 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl beat 2 of the egg whites until stiff. Pour hot syrup over beaten egg whites while continually beating. Continue beating until mixture is very fluffy and will hold its shape. Then add vanilla and beat until blended. Spread on cake. If icing does not seem stiff enough beat in 2 or 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar one tablespoon at a time until stiff enough to hold shape.