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Layered Vanilla Cake
Maggie Banko

Soft & Sweet Vanilla Cake

Who said the classics had to be boring? My vanilla cake recipe is packed with flavor and has the softest texture you will ever experience with a "basic" vanilla cake. From the cake layers to the buttercream, this is the perfect treat for any occasion!
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 14 slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 4 ½ cups cake flour 560g
  • 4 ½ tsp baking powder 18g
  • 1 ½ tsp salt 12g
  • 2 ¾ cups granulated sugar 640g
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted room temperature butter 340g
  • 6 room temperature eggs
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract 30mL
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste this ingredient is optional!
  • 2 cups room temperature whole milk 480mL
For the Buttercream
  • 2 cups unsalted room temperature butter 452g
  • splash of vanilla to taste
  • tiny pinch of salt
  • 1 lb 8oz powdered sugar
  • 3 - 4 tbsp heavy cream

Method
 

For the Cake
  1. Preheat your oven to 350℉ and prep your cake pans (this recipe will fill three 8" round cake pans).
  2. To prep your pans, coat the bottom and sides of each pan with butter. Next, add a parchment paper circle to the bottom of each pan and then lightly coat the sides with flour. Tap out any excess flour and set your pans aside.
  3. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer) cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula to ensure that it's mixed together well.
  4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add all 6 eggs, mixing in between each egg.
  5. Add the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean paste (the vanilla bean paste is completely optional!) Mix to combine and scrape the bowl down again to ensure it's all well incorporated.
  6. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together (cake flour, salt, and baking powder)
  7. Add the dry ingredients and the room temperature milk to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix on medium speed until everything is just combined. Be sure not to over-mix your batter! That will result in over-activating the baking powder which will cause your cake to not rise properly which will change the texture.
  8. Evenly distribute the cake batter between all three cake pans and bake at 350℉ for 40-45 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a couple of crumbs on it (a couple of crumbs means that it will be perfectly moist once it's cooled!) PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CAKE! Yours may take less time in the oven than mine, so I recommend keeping an eye on your cake layers around the 30-minute mark to ensure that you do not over-bake the layers.
For the Buttercream
  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use an electric hand mixer), cream the butter on medium speed for ~10 minutes until it's pale in color and silky smooth in texture.
  2. Add a tiny pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla. Mix to combine.
  3. Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream, begin mixing on low speed for about 1 minute, and then increase the speed to medium.
  4. Continue mixing on medium speed for ~8 minutes until your buttercream is smooth.
Stacking & Decorating
  1. It is very important to let your cake layers fully cool before adding any buttercream! I like to let my cake layers cool in their pans for 20-30 minutes before removing them and placing them on a cooling rack.
  2. Once your layers have cooled, add as much or as little buttercream as you would like in between each layer and then coat the outside of your cake with the remaining buttercream.
  3. Serve at room temperature and enjoy! (If you have leftovers, store them in an air-tight container for up to 2 days at room temperature)

Notes

  1. My biggest tip when it comes to baking anything is to weigh your ingredients as opposed to only using measuring cups. Weighing the dry and wet ingredients for both the cake and buttercream will give you the best results every time, leaving very little room for mistakes. You can find wonderful kitchen scales on Amazon for less than $10 and you will use it much more often than you think!
  2. Using room temperature ingredients in this recipe is incredibly important if you want the texture of your cake layers to turn out light and fluffy. If your eggs are not at room temperature when you begin mixing your batter, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes before cracking them into a separate bowl for this recipe. You can also warm the whole milk in the microwave for ~20 seconds to get it to room temp. if it is not already!