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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Dear Jenn,
Does the depth of the 8 ” pan matter?
I made this cake for my birthday and it was really really good, it will be my go to recipe but my cake pans were 9 inches and honestly did make a difference in height. I will make this cake again for my upcoming daughter’s birthday and I am buying the proper 8″ cake pans, but I want to get the right depth since they have 3″ or 2″ depth.
Thank you for such delicious and easy recipe.
Sara
Hi Sara, Glad you like the cake and, yes, the 8 inch cake pan will definitely give you a cake with more height. You’d be fine purchasing the in with a 2″ depth.
can I make his cake with out almond extract?
Hi Meagan, It’s fine to skip the almond extract-just use an extra 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. Enjoy!
My cake didn’t rise. I don’t have an electric mixer so couldn’t use a paddle to mix in the flour and egg mix, I just beat in with a wooden spoon, is this the reason?
Yes Rachael, I suspect it was because of the lack of a mixer. This recipe really needs one– at least need a hand-held electric mixer — sorry!
Can i bake this cake in a 9×9 pan?? Thanks for your help
Hi Maribel, are you planning on using one or two 9×9 pans?
Most liked it. It would be a fantastic cake but dummy me messed up the cake recipe. I would love to try it again though.
I love this cake. I’ve tested 25-30 recipes of vanilla cake (white and yellow) in the last few months and this one stands out as the best. The flavor is great and the texture is perfect. I’ve never seen a recipe where the eggs are mixed with the liquid ingredients and mixed in when alternating with the dry. Typically, eggs are added after the butter and sugar are creamed and then the liquid and dry are added alternating. What is the reason for this? The only the I can think of is it would prevent over mixing of the eggs and thus prevent turning the eggs into a meringue in the batter.
Hi Chris, so glad to hear that out of all the cakes you’ve tried that you enjoyed this one so much. I adapted this recipe from one created by Nick Malgieri (who I think is a baking God), so I can’t tell you for sure the method behind his madness, but I know it helps to make the cake lighter (and delicious)!
Hi! so thrilled to find a recipe with such great reviews. If you would be so kind please, to let me know if i should double the quantities if i am using one, 8.5 x 12″ pan, and if so how long do i cook it for. My thanks in advance. Eve
Hi Eve, I haven’t tried this recipe in an 8.5 x 12 pan. I’m not certain it would rise evenly. If you plan to try it anyway, I don’t think you’d need to double the recipe. Baking time should be about the same, but make sure to check it (by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake and ensuring it comes out clean).
I have been on the hunt for a reliable vanilla cake recipe for a while now, and this is absolutely the best recipe I’ve encountered! I am not a professional, but I do sell decorated cakes on occasion for friends’ birthdays or weddings, so I have made many different recipes and this is my new favorite vanilla. Thank you!!
I made this cake today for a friend’s birthday dinner. Her fiance already had some funfetti frosting, but needed a cake. The cake was a big hit. The addition of almond extract with the vanilla is very nice. I baked it in an 8″ square glass pan, since that’s what I had available. I live in Hong Kong now, and before that, South Korea, so I rely on the internet often for recipes. After googling and reading several recipes, my final two choices were this one and your Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes recipe. Your recipes are presented very clearly, and I like that you respond to comments and questions. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
This was the most delicious cake I have ever made!