Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love
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.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made this cake recently for my husband’s birthday, sans sprinkles! 😊 He loved it! It was sooo good! I love that it had layers of flavor. Some vanilla cakes taste just like their frosting, yet not this one. I also love that the recipe only calls for pure ingredients like real butter and that it’s made from scratch. Not your everyday box mix, that’s for sure.
I’d like to make one 12 inch cake and use the remaining batter for cupcakes. How many cupcakes would you guess I could make? Not sure how to divide exactly? Thanks so much!
Hi Monica, It’s hard to say for sure but I’m guessing you’d get 6 to 8 cupcakes.
Thanks Jen. I ended up doubling the recipe and make a cake and cupcakes to sit around the cake. The cakes were decorated as the flash theme for my seven year old boy. This is now my go to cake/frosting recipe. The cake was moist and firm. It was easy to frost as there weren’t really any crumbs. The frosting was easy to work with too. I piped it using a baggie. Delicious! The almond seems to be the secret to the great flavor, but it doesn’t taste like almond. Even with the cream cheese in the frosting it doesn’t taste like a cream cheese frosting. Just tastes like a “special” vanilla frosting.
Just made them. Halved the ingredients right down the middle to make 12 cupcakes. Didn’t change a thing. Though I had salted butter so I did not add additional salt to the recipe. Ok, so that’s a slight change but nothing drastic. I used the silicon cupcake holders (multicolor from BBB). I used a ice cream scooper to load the batter in each cup. Cooked at 350 for 25 mins. Put a toothpick in the center of a few and verified the time was good. Um, it was. Wish I could post a pic… They look veey good. Disclaimer, Though I have yet to taste them, I’m pretty sure they deserve 5 stars since I’ve made this recipe before in the traditional 9 inch pans. The cake is that good.
Would I use the same recipe for cupcakes? And I’d like to use the jumbo cupcake pan, would this work? Thank you. Love the cake!
Hi Glenna, Yes, you could use this recipe for jumbo cupcakes. The oven temperature and ingredient amounts would remain the same- I’d start checking them for doneness at about 25 minutes give or take. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks for answering my question before I even posted it.
I made this cake today. It took me a few hours and it came out beautiful, however, it tasted terrible. I’m sorry, I have to agree with some of the previous reviews. It was so dense, like a brick, and the frosting was way, way too sweet. I followed the recipe to the T; I even made sure to bring some of the ingredients to room temperature, as stated in the recipe. I threw out 75% of the cake, and was really embarrassed because everyone refused to eat it. What a disappointment!!! I will never make it again!
I just love this cake! Before your cookbook’s debut, I’ve filled a binder full of your recipes. Looking through it now looking for dinner. So glad I’ve found you!
I love your recipes, Jenn 🙂 I am making this cake for my niece’s birthday and I am wondering if I can use 2% milk instead of whole milk in the cake batter? Thanks 🙂
Yes that’s fine, Katie! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. 😊
Fantastic! I made it for my husband’s birthday, adding a chocolate mousse filling and brushing the cake with espresso simple syrup. I can’t eat gluten or lactose, but my husband and kids loved it! I love your recipes!!
Hi Jenn, I want to make this vanilla cake for my daughter 3rd birthday. Can I add some color to the buttercream for the outside (yellow) and for the layer add fruit like (strawberry)for color too? Do you know how can I get yellow butter cream frosting?I would like something natural! Thanks again for all your help!!😍
Hi Fanny, you could add a few drops yellow food coloring to the icing to make the outside yellow and add fruit, like strawberries, between the layers. Hope you enjoy and happy birthday to your daughter! 🙂
Thanks so much! Other questions-
What is going to be the oven Temperature for Cupcakes?
How many minutes to bake?
Are ingredients going to be the same?
The batter to prepared muffins pans, has filled almost to the top?
I am going to make for Easter.
THANKS SO MUCH!! I really appreciate everything 😍
Hi Fanny, the oven temperature and ingredient amounts would remain the same for cupcakes, but they will take less time to bake – I’d start checking them at 20 minutes. This makes 24 cupcakes so make sure to evenly distribute the batter among the muffin wells. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Jenn, Thanks for always answering and thanks for your awesome recipes. Can I adapt this recipe for 6 ” round cake pans for 3 layers or 2? Thanks again
Hi Fanny, Glad you like the recipes! I do think you could use 6″ round cake pans and get 3 layers out of it. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
When I made the frosting it was quite grainy, I’m feeling i should have sifted the sugar?
Hi Brooke, Did you use confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar?