All Purpose Flour/ Cake Flour/ Cakes/ Desserts

Vanilla Cake Recipe

One thing every baker needs is a delicious made from scratch white vanilla cake recipe. A light fluffy, slightly moist cake texture that can be used for either round, square, or cupcake occasions. This recipe comes from a mixture of different cakes I’ve tried or seen in the past. It’s one of the best cake recipes because it simple and has a wonderful vanilla flavor. Plus, its the perfect base for decorating with spring colored frostings.

 

Delicious homemade vanilla cake with egg whites.

Classic white cake recipe with cake flour.

Vanilla Cake with Cake Flour

When I want to create a tender crumb texture in my cakes, I always grab cake flour. It has a lower protein content when compared to All Purpose Flour so its softer  and absorbs more moisture. In this recipe I did a 2:1 mixture of cake flour to all purpose so the structure was firm enough to make a layer cake.

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Yogurt

Yes, vanilla yogurt is my oil substitute in this cake batter. Not only does yogurt add moisture, its tangy vanilla flavor is drool worthy. The acidity also reacts with the baking powder to create a nice rise.

Using Egg Whites in a Cake Recipe

Egg whites are used instead of whole eggs in most recipes to create a fluffy rise when combined with sugar. However, they can also have a drying affect if not mixed with any fat or oil. Hence, the use of vanilla yogurt. So, why did I choose egg whites over whole eggs? I love the consistency of angel food cake and wanted to incorporate some of that into my sponge.

Homemade Vanilla Cake Recipe from scratch.

White cake made from scratch for layer cake.

Homemade vanilla cake with yogurt and topped with lavender buttercream.

Lavender Buttercream frosted onto homemade vanilla cake layers.

Tips for making Homemade Vanilla Cake

  • Weigh your flour with a small kitchen scale.
  • Use softened unsalted butter. Leave your cold butter on the counter for several hours.
  • I used 2% milk for this recipe, but feel free to switch out for whole milk.
  • Be generous with your heaping tablespoon of vanilla extract.
  • Let egg whites warm to room temperature before whipping.
  • Use a spatula to gently fold your egg whites into the batter. I add a third of the egg whites at a time and gently run my spatula across the center and around the edges a few times before adding more.
  • If you decide to make a layer cake, measure your batter evenly by weighing with a kitchen scale.
  • Bake all three layers on the same rack. Check each layer individually with a toothpick for doneness. Sometime one will bake faster depending on where it is placed in the oven.
  • Let cakes completely cool before removing from cake pans.
  • Decorate your cake with Lavender Buttercream !!!

White cake frosted with lavender buttercream.

Fluffy white cake with purple frosting.

Layered vanilla cake with purple frosting.

Purple Cake Frosting on a three layered white cake.

Slice of Vanilla Cake with purple frosting.

Print

Vanilla Cake Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Cake Flour
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter softened
  • 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Milk 2% or Whole
  • 1/2 Cup Vanilla Yogurt
  • 6 Egg Whites room temperature

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven to 350 F (176 C) and prepare three 6 inch cake pans with baking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl hand whisk together sifted flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. Using a hand mixer and a large bowl cream together softened butter and sugar. (You can also use a stand mixer with paddle attachment. You will just have to transfer the batter from to a separate bowl to use the stand mixer for whipping egg whites.)
  4. Add vanilla, milk, and yogurt. Mix until incorporated.
  5. Spoon in flour mixture and mix until a smooth batter is formed.
  6. Next, add egg whites to bowl of stand mixer and whip in medium high for 6-8 minutes until stiff peaks form. ( You can whip you egg whites in the stand mixer, while you make the cake batter using a hand mixer in separate bowl to save time.)
  7. Gently fold stiff egg whites into cake batter a third at a time until fully incorporated. (Do not stir.)
  8. Measure and divide cake batter evenly into the three prepared pans.
  9. Bake on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with small crumbs.
  10. Let cakes cool completely on rack before removing from pans.

Recipe Notes

They may have a very small dome, so feel free to level before assembling layer cake. If using a 9 X 13 sheet cake pan, simply decorate with frosting of choice and serve.

 

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