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 with gf flour and it was amazing. One of best cakes I’ve had (bought or homemade).
Highly recommend and will make again.
Maybe someone already asked this but I am wanting to make a cake for my husband and I have an entire box of cake flour that I need to use up would this work with cake flour instead of the all purpose flour and would it be the same measurement? Thank you! Love your recipes and website.
Hi Mary, so glad you like the recipes! I haven’t tried this recipe with cake flour, so I can’t say for sure it if it would work. I’d stick with all-purpose for the most reliable results.
Hi Jenn, my son has requested a KitKat cake for his birthday, which I think just means sticking KitKats around the outside of a cake after it’s frosted. Would you recommend this cake or your yellow cake recipe for that? With chocolate frosting, of course. Thank you!
Hi Talia, I’d go with this cake. Happy birthday to your son! 🙂
Was delicious – thank you!
I have made this and love it!
A family member requested an orange cake🤔. Would you recommend substituting orange extract for the almond in the frosting? Looking for any delicious recommendations. Thank you!
Yes that would work; you could also add a teaspoon of orange zest.
Hello! I’d like to make this cake for my son’s birthday this weekend. Do you think I could substitute whole milk for whole buttermilk?
Hi Krista, I’d stick with regular milk here. Happy birthday to your son! 🙂
Made this for my 83-year-old mother today. Delicious.
Jenn, we love this recipe! Do you think it would work if I substitute the sugar for honey? Thank you.
Hi Cesia, I think you could substitute some of the sugar for honey, but I wouldn’t replace it all; I’d probably use about 1/3 of a cup. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it.
Hi Jenn,
Do you think this buttercream would hold well with a fondant overlay? If not, do you have another buttercream recipe you’d recommend?
Hi Adrienne, I think it would work — I’d just make sure to keep it cool after you assemble it. Hope you enjoy!
Too much sugar everywhere??!!! I found other sponge cake texture like recipes much easier
Hi Jenn. Love your cookbook and recipes, you are my go to tried and true. Question, if I would like to make a 3-layer 9 inch cake for my sister’s birthday. I was thinking I could try to increase your quantities by 1/3. Have you ever tried to make a three layer cake? 3 cups of flour instead of two, nine egg whites instead of six, etc. thanks.
Emma
Hi Emma, thanks for the nice words about the recipes and support of the cookbook! I do think you could increase the quantities by 1/3 and make a three-layer 9-inch cake. The bake time may be slightly shorter as your cake pans are a bit larger. Just keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t overbake. Hope your sister enjoys!
Can you taste the cream cheese on this frosting or does it just take away some of the sweetness of it? I am needing to make some chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with colored vanilla buttercream so need to know if this would pair with them and be pipeable too. Could you let me know?
Hi Nancy, You really can’t taste the cream cheese all that much; it just adds a slight tang which is very nice with all the sugar, but I don’t recommend it for piping. Hope that helps!
Hi there,
Would you happen to know what would the cooking time would be for a 9 inch round cake tin??? Wanting to make 2x 9 inch round cakes to make a bunny rabbit cake for my daugthers birthday. Thanks so much!
Hi Nichole, The bake time should really be the same if not a minute or two shorter – just keep a close eye on them. Hope you enjoy!