The Ultimate Moist Vanilla Cake

I’ve spent my adult life testing the perfect fluffy, moist vanilla cake recipe with a lofty, bouncy rise and a velvety soft and tender crumb. I offer you what I consider the Best-Ever Vanilla Cake recipe, perfect for birthdays or any celebration.

The Best Moist Vanilla Cake Recipe

I’ve spent my adult life chasing the perfect fluffy, moist vanilla cake recipe with a lofty, bouncy rise and a velvety soft and tender crumb.

So many vanilla cake recipes are lacking, whether it’s a dense texture and coarse crumb, or a fluffy height but totally dry. After dozens, and I mean dozens, of repeated tests, I finally offer you what I consider my Best-Ever Vanilla Cake recipe. Perfect cake layers packed with warm vanilla flavor.

Frost with the fluffiest vanilla buttercream frosting and be the hero of birthday cakes forever.

vanilla moist cake being cut by a knife

Everything here from the ingredient list to baking time is anchored in baking science, with reason and testing behind every step.

The result (I hope you’ll agree) is a foolproof, simple recipe that I dream will become your new go-to for every vanilla cake occasion.

The best vanilla cake recipe ever.

How to Make Vanilla Cake: Gather the Ingredients

  • Cake Flour (or Cake & Pastry flour, as often found in Canada). Cake flour is lower in the toughening, gluten-forming proteins than all-purpose flour, which results in cakes with a finer texture and softer crumb. The secondary bleaching process used (different from all-purpose) allows the flour to absorb more liquid and therefore rise higher, making for a taller, fluffier cake.
  • TWO kinds of fat: room-temperature butter (How to Quickly Bring Ingredients to Room Temperature) is first blended into the dry ingredients to provide flavour and prevent gluten formation. I call it the shortbread method (more on that below). Then vegetable oil (any neutral-tasting oil will do) is also added with the liquid ingredients. Oil is liquid at room temperature and butter is solid. A cooled cake is therefore softer when oil is included.
  • Beaten egg whites to create the lofty, fluffy rise in conjunction with a moist, velvety crumb. Please don’t hit the browser back arrow. I know it’s annoying to beat whites. But trust me, the results are 100% worth it and I tried every other option under the sun.
  • Whole milk and sour cream: a combination of dairy added the perfect balance of fluffiness and richness. The sour cream adds a beautiful depth of flavour and creates a soft, moist crumb.
  • Both baking soda and baking powder: baking powder and egg whites are the key leaveners in this recipe. The baking soda is added primarily to tone down the tang of the sour cream for a perfectly subtle dairy cream flavour. The acid in the sour cream is neutralized by the alkaline baking soda (and this reaction creates rise) but there isn’t enough acid in the recipe to make that the only leavening.
The shortbread method for making cake.

4 Expert Tips for the Ultimate Moist Vanilla Cake

  1. The GAME-CHANGING Shortbread Method. Instead of beating the butter with sugar to cream and aerate as a typical first step in making the cake batter, we start by incorporating the butter right into all of the dry ingredients. Blending the flour with butter coats much of it in fat, inhibiting gluten formation and creating the most velvety, melt-in-your-mouth crumb I’ve ever experienced. In this recipe, once we beat the butter into the flour mixture will sandy crumbs but we will not truly cream it in the sense that air is incorporated, which is why I consider it a “shortbread method” and not “reverse creaming” (as in my Fluffy, Moist Vanilla Cupcakes recipe).
  2. Maximize the Volume. To give this moist vanilla cake a supremely bouncy and fluffy rise, we rely on folding whipped egg whites into the batter just before baking.
  3. WEIGH Your Ingredients. North America’s stubborn insistence on measuring dry ingredients by cups is baffling. One cup of flour by volume will weigh something different from cup to cup and from person to person. When using cake flour, which is silky in texture and therefore compacts even more than all-purpose, weighing becomes even more crucial to achieve the perfect results you want in exchange for your effort. Just order a cheap-o kitchen scale if you don’t have one. This $15 one is what I’ve used for 10 years.
  4. Minimize Beating Once Liquid is Added. Batter-toughening gluten can only start to form once liquid is added, and it continues to get stronger the more you stir. Our shortbread method is an AMAZING failsafe so you don’t need to stress, but be mindful and only beat on medium speed (no higher) and only until the batter is uniform (not necessarily smooth; it’s totally normal to look a bit curdled).
adding the meringue to the batter for the Moist Vanilla Cake

How to Make the Best Vanilla Cake

  1. First, warm the eggs, butter and dairy to room temperature. I do it quickly all together in one big baking pan using this method.
  2. Whip the egg whites while you preheat the oven, prepare your baking pans and get out your remaining ingredients.
  3. Scrape egg whites into a bowl, quickly rinse the mixer bowl and dry it, then pop it on the scale and weigh the dry ingredients right in. You’ve saved yourself numerous measuring cups.
  4. Let the mixer combine and aerate the flour mixture for a minute.
  5. Toss in the softened butter and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture will go from lumpy and floury, to uniform dry sand texture.
  6. Stir together the liquid ingredients. Add to butter mixture and beat on medium speed in two additions.
  7. Fold in beaten egg whites.
  8. Divide batter between pans and bake.
Best Moist Vanilla Cake

How to tell when the cake is done baking

  • First, gently press on the centre of the top. If your finger leaves a squishy, deep fingerprint close the oven and wait 2 more minutes.
  • If your finger meets a bit of bouncy resistance, pull out your cooking thermometer. The temperature in the middle should register 190ºF (definitely no lower, and ideally not much higher). At this temperature the starch is set and makes for perfectly moist cake. If lower, put it back for another 1-2 minutes. As you continue upwards toward 212ºF (boiling point), the moisture rapidly turns to steam and is lost.
  • The cake will not necessarily be evenly golden across the top depending on your oven. I have two ovens. My gas oven does not result in as much browning at the point the cake is done. It will, however, have started to pull away from edges of pan.
  • The toothpick tester is not reliable. There may be moist crumbs when the cake is done (it’s a moist cake!), and I’ve had testers come out clean when still underbaked (because the wet batter is pulled off by the browned crust as you remove it from the cake).
  • VERY IMPORTANT: recipe suggested baking time is an estimate as ovens vary in temperature accuracy, baking pans vary in heat conduction, opening the oven can add minutes, and if your ingredients are too cold, this also adds to baking time. Also if one pan has more batter than the other, it will take longer. Using a thermometer every time is a simple way to take out the stress and guesswork.
stacked Moist Vanilla Cakes

The above photo represents a sampling of just one week’s testing. Multiply that by several weeks and that’s how many test batches I’ve done. The winner is the fourth from the top. Moist AND fluffy!

Vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

If you love this, you’re gonna love my Moist Chocolate Cake (it’s my #1 most popular recipe for a reason). You must also try my ultimate Moist Vanilla Cupcakes recipe, which uses a true reverse creaming method. 

Here’s my favourite Easy 5-Minute Fluffy Vanilla Frosting recipe or my go-to Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

The Best Moist Vanilla Cake Recipe

The Ultimate Fluffy and Moist Vanilla Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 8
Dessert
American
Keyword Moist Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
  • 455 g granulated sugar (16 oz or 2 1/3 cups divided use)
  • 397 g cake flour (14 oz or 3 1/3 cups well-fluffed or sifted flour, lightly spooned into a cup and levelled off)
  • 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 226 g unsalted butter, softened (16 tbsp/8 oz or 1 cup)
  • 1 ½ cups whole milk room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable oil (Canola, sunflower, safflower or grapeseed – any oil as long as it's neutral tasting)
  • 6 tbsp sour cream (85 g) room temperature
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • tsp almond extract OPTIONAL

Instructions
 

For Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF with oven rack positioned in the middle if you have a large oven, or with racks at top and bottom third positions if oven is too small to comfortably fit two 9" pans without touching sides of oven or each other.  Grease and flour two 9×2" round cake pans and line bottoms with circles of parchment paper.  Set aside.
  • Place egg whites in stand mixer with whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually pour in 1/4 cup (50 g) of the sugar then increase speed to high and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Scrape the beaten whites into a bowl and set aside. Give mixer a rinse and dry (no need to properly wash it, but toss the towel in the laundry because raw eggs).
    Aquafaba vs Egg white
  • Measure sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the mixer bowl (quick and easy if you put the bowl right on the scale). Switch to paddle attachment and beat the dry ingredients on medium-low speed for 1 minute (this replaces sifting to aerate and thoroughly combine).
  • Toss in the chunks of soft butter and beat, starting on low until the mixture goes from lumps of butter to even small crumbs. The flour will fly if the mixer speed is too high while butter chunks are large, but you can increase it as they get smaller.
    Reverse Creaming butter and flour.
  • Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks with the milk, oil, sour cream, vanilla and almond (if using) extract.
  • Reduce mixer speed to low and drizzle in 1/2 the milk mixture. Scrape down the sides of bowl and paddle after just a few seconds, then beat on medium (no higher) until smooth, about 15 seconds. Reduce speed to low and drizzle in remaining milk mixture then gradually increase speed to medium until evenly combined. The batter may look a bit curdled, not smooth, and that's normal.
  • Remove bowl from stand mixer and use a large rubber spatula to fold 1/2 of the beaten egg whites into the batter until mostly incorporated but still streaky. (This lightens the batter making it easier to gently incorporate the rest.) Gently fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain.
    Aquafaba vs egg white
  • Divide batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans and smooth the tops. (I put the pans back on the scale to ensure they both have the same amount of batter for consistency in baking time).
  • Bake cakes for approximately 35-45 minutes, swapping position of cake pans halfway through. The cake is done when internal temperature in the centre of the cake registers 190ºF with a cooking thermometer.
    **NOTE: See further doneness-testing details in blog post. Baking time is given as a wide-range estimate as ovens vary in temperature accuracy, baking pans vary in heat conduction, opening the oven can add minutes, and if your ingredients are not room temperature, this also adds to baking time. Also if one pan has more batter than the other, it will take longer. Mine took 34-36 minutes, but some readers have reported back that the full 45 minutes were needed. Use a thermometer for accuracy.
  • Let cool 10 minutes in pans placed on cooling racks before running a knife around the cake edges and flipping them onto parchment-lined cooling racks (use parchment so the moist cake doesn't get stuck to the rack). Cool completely before filling and frosting.

Video

Notes

The almond extract is not necessary but adds a really nice flavour that reminds me more of a boxed white cake!
Here’s my favourite Easy 5-Minute Fluffy Vanilla Frosting recipe or my go-to Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

Nutrition

Calories: 709kcalCarbohydrates: 96gProtein: 15gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 560mgPotassium: 221mgFiber: 1gSugar: 60gVitamin A: 959IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 160mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Moist Vanilla Cake, Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Last Updated on April 19, 2023 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

5 10 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

63 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Amy
Amy
2 years ago

5 stars
My family LUVs this cake! The flavor & crumb….YUM. Will def make again!

Anna @honeyibaked
3 years ago

5 stars
this recipe is INCREDIBLE. do it justice and read it a few times before actually starting to bake. this cake tastes like it’s straight from your favorite bakery, i’m still amazed that it popped out of my oven. everything from the taste and texture to density and moisture is well tested, methodical, and beyond amazing.

Rachael H
Rachael H
3 years ago

5 stars
This cake was amazing and so easy to make! I would have taken a picture but my son got into the cake before I could! Using it anytime I need to make a vanilla cake in the future.

Claire
Claire
3 years ago

5 stars
This recipe will be my new go to for perfect vanilla cake. My layers baked up golden and flat (no doming). The cake is soft and moist, but still holds up well to being layered with fillings and buttercream.

I would recommend testing with the thermometer even if the finger press still feels a little soft (I started taking the temp at 33 minutes) I think because this cake is just so wonderfully light from the use of whipped egg whites it could be easy to mistake the soft feel for still being undercooked, when it’s not! Trust your thermometer as after it cooled for even just a minute the cake felt firmer to the touch.

I liked the touch of almond extract, the flavour doesn’t come through it just helps round out the vanilla flavour.

If you’re still in doubt, just make this recipe, you won’t be sorry.

Katie
Katie
3 years ago

5 stars
I made this cake today and followed the directions to the tee. It turned out magnificent. I started checking the cake layers at 32 minutes and they hit 190F at exactly 37 minutes. The tops were nicely golden and the edges had just started pulling away from the cake pans. Fluffy and light crumb but incredibly moist and delicious. Amazing cake! I will definitely bake it again.

Yvonne Thompson
Yvonne Thompson
3 years ago

5 stars
Best Vanilla Cake recipe! Well I have to tell you that I’ve been experimenting with Vanilla cake recipes for decades to find a perfect one and my search is over. It’s so fluffy and just the perfect amount of moist. The flavour is to die for. Also it held the blueberry filling and cream cheese frosting like a champ. I transported it to my Mom’s Condo and it held strong. It also sliced beautifully and presented very impressive. 

1 2 3 6

Join the Foodess Tribe

Be the first to get new recipes and science-based cooking and baking tips straight to your inbox for free

63
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x