Two layer fluffy Vanilla Bean Cake enhanced with vanilla syrup and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. A light, moist cake with wonderful vanilla flavor in every bite.
🌿 Ingredients You'll Need
- Cake Flour or Pastry Flour: When I want to create a tender crumb in my cakes, I always grab cake flour or pastry flour. A lower protein content of 8-10% when compared to All Purpose Flour at 11-12% lends to a softer more tender crumb and moist cake.
- Egg Whites and Whole Eggs: Beating egg whites with sugar also creates a light airy cake texture, while the yolks add richness. Egg whites are also used in the meringue for the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting.
- Granulated Sugar: Sugar is used to make the vanilla syrup, sweeten the cake and build structure for the frosting.
- Vanilla Bean Paste of Vanilla Pods: This cake is all about the vanilla flavor! Using vanilla bean paste or scraped vanilla pods ensure lots of vanilla beans will be added to the batter and frosting.
- Whole Milk: Vanilla beans are added to the warm milk to bring out their flavor before mixing into the cake batter. Milk is also added to to the batter to develop a moist vanilla cake.
- Unsalted Butter (European Style Butter): Melted butter enhances the cakes flavor, while 2 cups (450 grams) of softened butter is used to make a rich vanilla buttercream. I HIGHLY recommend using European butter (also known as cultured with 82% butterfat) adds more flavor depth and softer crumb to the vanilla cake.
Baking Tips
What Baking Ingredients I Use and Why
Weigh Your Ingredients:
My recipes are all tested by weighing ingredient in grams to be the most accurate. By using a kitchen scale, your recipe will turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. This is the kitchen scale I use everyday.
Use High Quality Butter:
Make the cake batter with rich European style butter with 82% butterfat for the best flavor. Try brands like President, Plugra, Kerry Gold, or Vermont Creamery if you're in the States.
Weigh Cake Batter for Even Cake Layers:
To bake even layers, I always weigh the batter filled cake pans, using my kitchen scale. Tap the pans on the counter to release any extra air bubbles from the batter. Use baking strips like these, which I wrap around my cake pans for even heat distribution.
DO NOT OVER BAKE the Cake Layers:
Avoid overbaking the cake layers to keep them from becoming dry and crumbly! The cakes are done when the center sets and the edges start turning golden brown. Lightly press your finger on the center of the cake to test—if it feels slightly firm or offers a bit of resistance, it's ready.
Keep an Eye on the Oven:
Ovens heat differently, causing slight variations in baking times. For best results, watch your cakes closely and adjust as needed.
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Tips
Clean Your Mixing Bowl and Whisk:
I always wipe down my mixing bowl, whisk, and paddle attachment with lemon juice to remove any possible oil residue before whipping egg whites.
Use High Quality Butter:
Make the buttercream with rich European style butter with 82% butterfat for the best flavor. Try brands like President, Plugra, Kerry Gold, or Vermont Creamery if you're in the States. American butter will also work if that's what you have available.
To soften butter, I place set cold butter on the counter for several hours to warm to room temperature. Or if I'm in a hurry, I'll microwave unwrapped chunks in a heat proof bowl at 20 second spurts until soft, but not warm, melted, or oily.
Check Meringue Temperature:
Ensure the meringue whips to stiff peaks and the bowl cools before adding the butter, or it will melt into a soupy mess. I use a thermometer to check that the meringue reaches 75°F (23°C) before adding the butter.
Curdled Meringue Buttercream:
Its totally normal for the buttercream to look soupy or curdled after adding in the butter, give it time and keep whipping.
Buttercream Too Cold:
If the mixture does not come together and stays curdled after 5 to 10 minutes, you can warm it slightly by place the mixing bowl back onto the double broiler and let just the edges of the meringue warm up before continuing to mix it.
Or remove ¼ of the meringue and melt it slightly in the microwave, then pour it back into the mixing bowl and beat again until smooth. *You can also heat the side of the bowl gently with a blow torch while mixing, just enough to warm slightly.
Buttercream Too Warm:
Place the bowl of buttercream in the fridge for 10 minutes if it hasn't turned to frosting after all of the butter has been added and you've been whipping on high speed for at least 5 minutes. Chill the buttercream and then whip again until smooth.
Buttercream Frosting is Melting:
Just a reminder that all buttercream uses butter and can melt if its humid or hot. I keep frosted cakes at room temperature, out of the sun, or stored in the fridge.
Other Frosting Options
If you're not feeling up to Swiss Meringue Buttercream, try my one of these frosting instead.
- Lavender Buttercream Frosting
- Strawberry Buttercream from my Strawberry Lemonade Cale
- Ricotta Cream Cheese Frosting from the Coconut Carrot Cake
Leftover Cake
Store the frosted cake at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Refrigerating the frosted cake, will make the buttercream more firm. Allow cake slices to warm to room temperature before serving.
Make Ahead Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream can be made up to two days ahead. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. Or pop the bowl in the fridge for up to two weeks. Chilled buttercream will need to come to room temperature and be whipped again to fluff before spreading on cake layers.
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Fluffy Vanilla Bean Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Syrup
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 120 grams water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Bean Cake
- 375 grams cake flour or pastry flour, 8-9% protein content, *see notes
- 15 grams baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 300 grams granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 57 grams unsalted European style butter*, melted and cooled
- 57 grams sunflower oil
- 360 grams whole milk, warmed with vanilla and cooled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or 2 large vanilla pods scraped
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- 180 grams egg whites, room temperature
- 300 grams granulated sugar
- pinch of flaky salt
- 450 grams unsalted standard butter or European style butter*, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 2 vanilla pods scraped
Instructions
Vanilla Syrup
- Stir together the sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a heat proof container and let cool.
Vanilla Bean Cake
- Preheat Oven to 325℉ / 160℃ / 140℃ Fan (convection). Prepare two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans with baking spray, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Warm the milk and stir in the vanilla bean paste or scraped vanilla seeds and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl hand whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer and a large bowl beat together the eggs and sugar until thick, doubled in size, and very pale in color. You should be able to draw ribbons with the batter.
- Add in the cooled butter and oil, then mix again just to combine.
- Spoon in ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix to distribute, followed by ⅓ of the vanilla milk.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Repeat by alternating the remaining flour mixture, followed by the rest of the milk using ⅓ of each at a time. Mix slowly between each to form a smooth liquid batter, without over mixing.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Weigh them on a kitchen scale to be exact. Gently tap the pans on the counter to release any large air bubbles.
- Bake cake layers on the middle oven rack for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with small crumbs. If you have to use two oven racks, swap the cake layers halfway through baking.
- Place cakes on a wire rack to cool. Immediately brush the tops with a light coating of the vanilla syrup using a pastry brush.
- Let cake layers cool completely before inverting them onto a wire rack. Wrap layers in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or over night to allow the syrup to absorb and additional flavor development. Cold cake layers are also easier to frost. This step is optional but very helpful.
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
- Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Create a double boiler by placing the bowl over a pot of shallow simmering water. Do not let the mixing bowl touch the water.
- Whisk the egg whites and sugar continuously until the temperature on an instant thermometer reads 160℉ (72℃). Carefully dip your finger into the hot sugar and rub the mixture between your fingertips. If you don't feel any grains of sugar, the mixture is ready. (about 6-8 minutes)
- Remove the mixing bowl from the heat and wipe the bottom of the bowl dry with a towel. Place the bowl on the mixing stand fitted with the whisk attachment and begin whipping on high speed.
- Continue to whip until a thick, glossy and marshmallow like meringue with stiff peaks is formed. The bowl should be cool or at least room temperature to the touch. (about 10-15 minutes)
- Switch to the paddle attachment on the mixer. (You can continue with the whisk attachment if you prefer and switch to the paddle attachment at the end to beat out any air bubbles.)
- While mixing on medium speed drop in one tablespoon of butter at a time into the whipping meringue. Wait for each piece of butter to mix-in before adding the next. (I have also added half the butter at once, then the second half without any issues.)
- You may notice the meringue losing its stiffness and becoming softer, that's ok, keep adding butter.
- Once half of the butter has been mixed in, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to grab any stuck meringue or bits of butter. We want all the butter to emulsify with the meringue.
- Continue mixing and add in the remaining butter.
- The meringue may deflate and look runny or split, but keep mixing for another 10-15 minutes after all the butter has been added on medium speed.
- If after 10 minutes of mixing it hasn't magically transformed into a frosting texture, just place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes with the paddle attachment. Then, whip again until silky smooth.
- Once the buttercream looks like a spreadable frosting add in the vanilla bean paste or vanilla beans and give it a couple spins on low to mix.
- If there are a bunch of air bubbles in the frosting, mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until smoother.
Assemble the Cake
- Level the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife if needed. This cake should bake pretty flat and a small dome will stack just fine without leveling.
- Place one layer on a serving plate and cover with an even layer of buttercream frosting. Add the second cake layer onto the frosting, top side down if you want a smooth flat top. I stacked mine without inverting the top layer.
- Cover the top and sides of the cake with buttercream and smooth with an offset spatula.
Video
Notes
- I HIGHLY recommend using European-style butter (also known as cultured with 82% butterfat) adds more flavor depth and softer crumb to the vanilla cake. Look for brands such as Plugra, Vermont Creamery, Kerrygold, or Cabot which state 82% butterfat.
- If you can’t get your hands on some, it’s OK to substitute with standard unsalted butter (the cake texture may not be quite as tender with standard butter).
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- Weigh your flour with a small kitchen scale.
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- Make sure the egg whites are room temperature before whipping.
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- To bake even layers, weigh the batter filled cake pans before baking.
-
- Tap the pans on the counter to release any extra air bubbles from the batter.
- Use baking strips like these, which I use on my cake pans for even heat distribution
- Don't over bake the cake layers, to prevent dry crumbly cake! Cakes are done with center is set and edges are starting to turn golden brown. Test this by lightly pressing your finger on top of the center of the cake. If there is slight firmness or bit of resistance, the cake is done.
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- I always wipe down my mixing bowl, whisk, and paddle attachment with lemon juice to remove any oils before using.
-
- Use softened unsalted butter. Leave your cold butter on the counter for several hours to warm to room temperature or microwave in a heat proof bowl at 20 second spurts until soft, but not warm or oily.
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- Use quality local eggs at room temperature.
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- Make sure the meringue has whipped to stiff peaks and the bowl is cool before adding in the butter, or the butter will melt into a soupy mess.
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- I check the temperature of the meringue with a thermometer to read 75F (23C) before I add in the butter.
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- Its totally normal for the buttercream to look soupy or curdled after adding in the butter, give it time and keep whipping.
-
- Place the bowl of buttercream in the fridge for 10 minutes if it hasn't turned to frosting after all of the butter has been added and you've been whipping on high speed for at least 5 minutes. Chill the buttercream and then whip again until smooth.
Cathy Owens
Can you freeze this cake?
Jenn
If its already frosted, set in the freezer uncovered for a couple hours to harden, then wrap in plastic wrap securely and a final layer of aluminum foil. If its just the cake with no frosting, wrap in plastic then aluminum foil and freeze.
Linda
i don't always have cake flour on hand. Do you think I can use the DIY version of cake flour (1 cup minus 3 tablespoons of all purpose flour and add 3 Tablespoons of corn starch) in this recipe?
Jenn
Hi Linda, You can make Cake Flour, by measuring one cup of All Purpose Flour, removing 2 Tbsp and then replacing them with 2 Tbsp of Cornstarch. I prefer to weigh the flour so the measurement is exact. Also make sure to hand whisk them together in a small bowl. Happy Baking!
Linda
Thanks Jenn! Love your blog! The recipes and pictures are EVERYTHING!
hansini
hey! can one make this just with all purpose flour too?
Jenn
Yes, the texture won't be as light and fluffy though.
Ashok
Thanks Guys, Your Recipe Was Too Fantastic. Me and My Family Loved it. I Will Share your Rrecipe with my friends. Hope they will love it too.
Ronak Mehta
Thank you for sharing this delightfully easy, mouthwateringly delicious recipe. Have baked this cake several times since I first tried it a few weeks back and it’s been a huge success each time!
Jenn
I'm so glad!! Thanks for trying it and giving feedback!
Betsy
Can I bake it in one tin instead of three.? My oven won't fit three pans it is smaller
Jenn
Yes, you can use a 9x13x2 inch rectangular pan.
Rachel
You are extremely talented!!!