Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream
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This classic white cake is soft, moist, and tender, with fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting—perfect for birthdays and every celebration in between.
I’ve made this simple vanilla cake every year for my daughter’s birthday since she was two years old. The cake portion of recipe is adapted from one of my favorite baking books, Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri, and the vanilla buttercream frosting comes from my great-grandmother’s recipe box.
“Everyone who ate this cake raved about it! This recipe reminds me of the cakes I ate as a kid.”
What you’ll need to make vanilla birthday cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugar. Beat the softened butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Mix liquid ingredients. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the egg whites and milk. Whisk well to combine.
Pro tip: Be sure the eggs are at room temperature, otherwise your batter may curdle. (To warm them up quickly, place them in a bowl of hot water before cracking them.)
Step 4: Alternate wet and dry ingredients. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract, then add one-quarter of the flour mixture and beat on low speed. Next, add one-third of the milk/egg mixture. Continue alternating adding the flour and milk mixtures, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
The finished batter should be completely smooth.
Step 5: Fill the pans. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
Step 6: Bake and cool. Bake the layers for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are set and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for five minutes, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
Step 7: Make the frosting. While the cake cools, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth, then beat in the vanilla and salt. If the frosting is too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or cream.
Step 8: Frost the cake. Once the layers are completely cool, ice the cake. You can spread the frosting smooth, or swirl it casually with a butter knife. I like to scatter some festive nonpareils or confetti sprinkles on the edges for color. Or for a change, try topping the cake with heaps of shredded sweetened coconut—it’s amazing.
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Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
For the Buttercream
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 6 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray two 8-in (20-cm) cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Cut two 8-in (20-cm) rounds of parchment paper and line the bottom of each pan; spray the paper with nonstick spray. (To measure the parchment paper, just trace the bottom of the pan.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very soft and light. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the egg whites and milk by hand in a medium bowl until just combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-quarter of the flour mixture, then one-third of the milk mixture, stopping and scraping down the bowl and beater after each addition. Beat in another quarter of the flour, then another third of the milk mixture. Scrape again. Repeat with another quarter of the flour and the remaining milk mixture; scrape. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture.
- Scrape the bowl with a large rubber spatula. Don't worry if the the batter looks a little grainy. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake the cakes for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are set and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on rack for 5 minutes, then unmold onto rack to finish cooling right side up (keep parchment paper underneath cake layers so they don't stick to rack). When cake layers are completely cool, transfer to cake plate and frost with vanilla buttercream. (I always flip the bottom layer of the cake so that the domed side is facing down and touching the plate. That way, the surface that you're icing is flat and will minimize any separating between the two layers when you put the other layer on top of it.)
For the Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until creamy and well combined.
- Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat in the vanilla and salt. If the frosting is too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or cream.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this cake today, and I loved the texture but I have to say it tasted too eggy. I thought 6 egg whites seemed like a lot, so would it mess with the texture too much to use less? Also, I used fresh farm eggs, is it possible it had something to do with that?
Hi Nicole, 6 egg whites is the equivalent of 3 eggs, which is normal for a cake. I wouldn’t reduce the amount, but perhaps you might like a cake made with whole eggs better — this cupcake recipe can be made as a layer cake. Hope that helps!
I made this with my 3 year old son for my mom’s birthday. This was the first homemade cake that I have ever baked and it was delicious! Originally, I was going to use the chocolate frosting recipe, but I changed my mind last minute. We sprinkled pink glittery sprinkles on top of the vanilla frosting and it looked beautiful. Next time I’ll try the chocolate frosting.
Hi I’m making this next weekend for a birthday party. I don’t mind that the cake isn’t white and want to use whole eggs, is it possible? If so, how many eggs should I use and what size?
Thank you!
Hi Chris, I would use this recipe instead. You can use either frosting. Enjoy!
I made this cake for my 14 year old twins for their birthday yesterday…it was the best cake we have ever had!! A lot easier that I had expected. I will never do a boxed cake again. Thank you Jenn for the easy and delicious recipe that is now a keeper for me!
Hello, I’m seriously considering making this cake for my 6 year old daughter this Saturday.
Quick question: egg whites are mixed in in liquid form to the milk, right? There is no beating them to peaks before, the airiness will be achieved once it goes thru the mixer?
Thanks for any feedback!
That’s correct, Julie. Hope you and your daughter enjoy!
The cake is dense but moist, prefer a fluffier cake. If I added more baking powder or baking soda would that help???The frosting -I didn’t cream the butter first,before adding the cream cheese. Mine turned out so heavy, not fluffy like your pic? I guess it wasn’t warm/soft enough? Also I added vanilla only in both cake and frosting. I thinking was too much vanilla. I think almond extract would help?? Cake weighs so much, but it was still moist. I would rate it higher but I like it fluffier and my frosting was too heavy. Probably my fault. It was the right amount of frosting but slightly over. Better to have enough to cover.
The cake should not be dense — the egg whites keep it quite light — so I’m wondering if you possibly made a mistake in your measurements? And it is necessary to cream the butter for the frosting, otherwise it will be heavy.
I love your vanilla birthday cake recipe. Could you please tell me why mine had a yellowish color even when using only egg whites?
Thank you.
Hi Judy, The cake isn’t completely white. The vanilla extract gives it an off-white color. And on the outside, it will look golden but should look off-white on the inside. Hope that helps!
I don’t have almond extract so do I really need it?
It’s fine to skip the almond extract-just replace it with the equivalent amount of vanilla extract. Enjoy!
Just saying I will be making this today. It looks great. I am going to color the batter in different colors for a springtime rainbow effect, s I am making bake sale cupcakes with grass icing and edible ladybugs. I have been looking for a great white cake. This looks divine. I will let you know how I like it when it is done.
Sounds pretty, Deb! I hope you’ll email me photos!
turned out GREAT!! I do have pics, but don’t know how to send them to you. the cake is delicious!!
So glad, Deb! My email is jennifer@onceuponachef.com. I would love to see!
Can I still make this if I only have access to salted butter?
Yes, but I would cut out the added salt in the recipe. While it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can skip the added 1/4 tsp. salt here.
I just baked this cake and it turned out lovely! The smell and taste of the almond is divine. One question however – how do you prevent the “doming” affect of the cakes as they bake? I usually level with a knife but sometimes it takes a large chunk of the cake which is so wasteful. I followed the recipe to a T and it came out truly perfect, however I would love any tips on preventing the round tops/domes of the cake layers so I can maximize the height of the cake next time. Thank you so much!!
Stella, So glad you liked the cake! I actually like a little dome on a homemade cake, but you could try silicone pans or damp cake strips – I’ve used both with success for more professional-looking cakes.