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.
Hi Jenn,
If I leave out the almond extract, should I replace with extra vanilla? Hub doesn’t like almond flavor. Idon’t know how noticeable that small amount of almond flavoring would be.(but it sounds delicious to me).
Another general cake question:
I want to bake any cake in a 13x9x2 pan, but leave it in the pan & frost so I can take it to a party.
Will the cake be over-baked if I leave it there to cool, then frost the top?
Thanks for your response(and all of your yummy recipes).
Susan
Hi Susan, it’s fine to use more vanilla in place of the almond extract. And for a 9 x 13″ pan, the bake time may be slightly shorter, but keep a close eye on it. It will not dry out if you leave it in the pan to cool. Hope everyone enjoys!
Organized directions are so helpful; even ingredients are in useful order. Came out delicious of course; moist/slightly angel food like/perfect frosting. Enjoyed by everyone at home.
Thank you!
I quickly scanned through the comments but didn’t find anything about making this recipe into cupcakes… anyone try this?
Hi Kimberly, these will work as cupcakes – the baking temp will stay the same but I’d start checking them for doneness at 25 minutes. Please LMK how they turn out if you try ti!
Why do you say beat egg whites just till combined, and not for a few minutes ? I am making your cake tomorrow and don’t want to make mistake.
Thank you so much!
Hi Marcy, I’m obviously weighing in too late to help (sorry!), but the reason for beating the egg whites and milk until just combined is that they are not intended to be whipped into a meringue (which often is the case with egg whites); they’re simply used to make the cake a bit lighter in texture than using full eggs. Hope that clarifies and that the cake came out nicely. 😊
Hi Jenn, I’m really excited to make this cake for my adult daughter’s birthday. I love your recipes! Would I need to store the cake in the refrigerator or is it ok in a cake keeper on the counter? Thank you!
Hi Mary, You can store it covered on the counter. (Technically, it should be refrigerated, but I’ve never done that and it’s always been fine.) Hope your daughter enjoys!
My kids request this cake recipe every year for their birthday! We love it.
Hi Jenn,
I’ve made this cake a few times and love it, but wondered about making the frosting with raspberries for flavour and colour. Do you happen to have any wisdom to impart if I were to do this..? Thanks in advance, Nicole
Glad you like it! To achieve what you want, you could pulverize some dehydrated raspberries so that they are the texture of dust and incorporate them into the frosting. That will give it some raspberry flavor and pretty color. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen! I am a big fan of your recipes. I trust them so much that I’ve made some of your dishes for the first time for company :-). You are especially skilled at writing recipes clearly. In support of your efforts, I wanted to point out one section of your vanilla cake recipe that I think could be improved After whisking together the flour mixture, you have us combine the butter and sugar and then, in a separate bowl, mix the egg whites and milk. Then you have us beat in the flour mix, then one-third of the milk mixture etc — but at no point did you have us mix in the butter and sugar with anything. Maybe I missed something? If so, let me know. Thanks again for sharing your talents so generously with amateur but aspiring bakers/chefs like me!
Thanks for your very kind words about the recipes — so glad you like them! Regarding the cake recipe, the flour mixture gets combined with the butter/sugar mix in the mixing bowl. (It’s alternated with the milk mixture.) If you have any questions about it, or it’s still not clear, please let me know! 😊
Thank you i loved it
Hello Jenn, I want to make this cake for my daughter’s Birthday but she wants chocolate frosting. Is there a chocolate frosting recipe you could recommend?
Thank you
Virginie
Hi Virginie, this frosting will work nicely. Happy birthday to your daughter!