My Favorite From-Scratch Vanilla Cake Recipe

Learn how to make the perfect from-scratch vanilla cake that's light and fluffy, moist, packed with vanilla flavor, and super easy to whip up! It's my forever go-to. Full recipe (including metric system measurements) is on my blog here: sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-c...
Ingredients:
2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 Cup (358g) granulated white sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (112g) sour cream, room temperature
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 Cup (296ml) whole milk, room temperature
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
2. Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
5. Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they're entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don't skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need.
Make ahead tip: These cakes can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and left out at room temperature up to two days ahead of decorating. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and frosting.
Other recipes Mentioned in this video:
Homemade Cake Flour Recipe: sugarandsparrow.com/homemade-...
Vanilla Buttercream Recipe: sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-b...
Tools and Ingredients Used:
KitchenAid Stand Mixer: amzn.to/2LiPWkp
KitchenAid Glass Mixing Bowl: amzn.to/2MTjkQz
OXO Kitchen Scale: amzn.to/2ZNLKx2
Norpro 3-Cup Flour Sifter: amzn.to/2LlMFRm
Wilton 6-inch Cake Pans: amzn.to/2LmBwA6
Softasilk Cake Flour: amzn.to/2ZMz89M
Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla Extract: amzn.to/2zOVlJB

[@jenyhomestuff]

Finally!! a recipe for a moist cake! actually love it. They all says are moist, when is not. Also I love that does have oil, doesn't like the color n the outcome of a cake with oil. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@SlashIceman]

I was panicking that I couldn't find this video this year.. you are my savior this time of the year.. !! Hope wifey would love it this year AGAIN!!

[@amypournoury9790]

Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so excited to try this! This will be my next cake adventure! 💞💞

[@SugarandSparrow]

Can't wait for you to try this, Amy! It's my absolute fave!

[@noorelsharif8510]

I can watch your videos for days. Thank you for all this useful information!

[@SugarandSparrow]

Aw thank you, Noor! So happy to help!

[@ayselandayden6967]

We loved this recipe the cake is so tasty and fluffy thank you for sharing it.

[@SugarandSparrow]

Yay! So happy you loved this recipe as much as I do!

[@vanessadisarz]

It's delicious!😋😍

[@SugarandSparrow]

Yay! So happy you love this recipe!

[@kevinmccloskey2924]

Your video presentation is excellent!

[@SugarandSparrow]

Thank you so much! That's really kind :)

[@Mrz.PrettyEyezz91]

Looks delicious!vanilla funfetti is my most favorite flavor of cake everything is better with sprinkles.😋😄💜

[@SugarandSparrow]

Thank you! I totally agree on the funfetti. The best part about this recipe is you can just add 2/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles to the batter and you've got yourself vanilla funfetti deliciousness!

[@TastyEscapes]

Hi Whitey! That cake looks absolutely yummy :3

[@SugarandSparrow]

Thanks so much!

[@solymarmartinez3160]

Love it

[@charlottecottrell7517]

Sugar & Sparrow Vanilla Cake Recipe: Wet Ingredients: • 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter (Room Temp) • 3 Whole Eggs (Room Temp) • 1/2 cup full fat sour cream (Room Temp) • 1 & 1/4 cups of whole milk (Room Temp) • 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract Dry Ingredients: • 2 & 3/4 cups sifted cake flour • 2 & 1/4 tsp of baking powder • 1/2 tsp baking soda • 1 & 1/2 tsp kosher salt • 1 & 3/4 cups white granulated sugar Instructions: 1. While wet Ingredients are coming to room temperature (about an hour), measure out and whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Grease or line cake pans. Preheat conventional oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Whip room temp butter with the paddle attachment for about a minute on medium power. Scrape down the bowl and attachment before adding 1 & 3/4 cups of white granulated sugar. Cream them together on medium for exactly 2 minutes (until light and fluffy). Do not overmix. 3. Turn the mixer to low and add eggs one at a time, ensuring each one is pretty well incorporated before adding the next. 4. Turn off mixer and add sour cream and vanilla extract. Then turn mixer on high for 1 full minute, then turn off and scrape bowl and attachment. 5. (Optional): You can put your whisked dry ingredients onto a piece of parchment paper large enough to hold it so that you can add all of them at once more easily. 6. With the mixer on low, add all the whisked dry ingredients to the bowl and wait until they just start to come together. 7. When they've just started coming together, add the whole milk all at once in a steady stream. Let the mixer run on low for about 15 more seconds after the milk is added but no longer. Do not overmix. 8. Shake off the paddle attachment and give a few stirs with a spatula to make sure there are no major lumps or ribbons of flour. 9. Pour and divide evenly into prepared cake pans (3 6inch round) and bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Cakes will be golden brown and spring back to the touch when done. I haven't made this yet but I'm super excited to try! I made a little written recipe for ease of use to myself and to buy ingredients so I thought I'd share. I'll update when I've actually tried it!

[@shabnamsankdel7480]

Do you have the ingrediënts in grams

[@lisarich2339]

Hey Whitney, I love your videos! I’ve binge watched almost all of them. I was just wondering how long you leave your cakes to cool in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely? Thanks for your help!

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi Lisa! So happy you're loving my videos. I leave my cakes in the pan for about 5 minutes before turning them out to cool on a baking sheet (or wire rack).

[@lisalisa3110]

I just made this for my sons bday. It was delish but was not able to use it because it crumbled when I took it out of the pan. Forgot to grease the pan! I will be making cake pops instead lol

[@SugarandSparrow]

Oh no! I'm so sorry you forgot to grease the pan. I'm proud of you for coming up with a solution and making cake pops though! Hopefully you can make this cake again someday :) glad you love the recipe!

[@SlashIceman]

By the way, is your book on Amazon. I would buy it just to say thank you!!

[@StayCalmAndLoveJyle]

Hi Whitney, I have a stand mixer but i don't have the paddle attachment, will this recipe and the buttercream one still work with the whisk attachments? Amazing videos btw!

[@SugarandSparrow]

Thanks so much for the kind words about my videos, Emma! The reason I love the paddle attachment for making buttercream is that it doesn't incorporate too much extra air. The whisk attachment will work, but you may end up with more air bubbles in the buttercream than you would with the paddle attachment. Hope that helps!

[@angiestojanovski1463]

WowWOwWOW Love it! Can I make this cake and your One bowl perfect chocolate cake to make a extra tall cake mix. layer chocolate cake and vanilla cake with a custard cream in the layer and buttercream on the out side. Could that work 🤔

[@SugarandSparrow]

That sounds so delicious, Angie! You could absolutely make some layers of this recipe + some layers of the chocolate cake recipe and fill/stack them. Here's a good tutorial on how to fill and stack cakes: sugarandsparrow.com/fill-and-stack-cake-layers/ and if you're planning on making it super tall, here's a good video on how to make it structurally sound: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYjMZ3yIjK6npKs

[@emeraude15]

Do you ever add syrup before frosting your cakes? Pros and cons?

[@user-si8gd4ih8g]

Thank you for this recipe. Since the sour cream will make it soft and fluffy, would it be able to take the weight of ganache/frosting and fondant.

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! Yes - this recipe will definitely withstand the weight of ganache/frosting and fondant. It's soft and fluffy but still dense enough :)

[@AnneEller-qo3yu]

Please tell meet the numbers on your KitchenAid mixer for the speeds that you consider to be "high" and "med-high." Thanks!

[@jenniferdowns823]

Can you substitute buttermilk for the sour cream?

[@niharikasharma127]

Can i use this recipe for cupcakes? If so, what will be the temperature(with fan or without) and how many cupcakes will it give?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! This recipe does work for cupcakes and will yield about 36-40 cupcakes. If you want to make a smaller batch this is the same recipe, only scaled down to make 24 cupcakes: sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-cupcake-recipe/ the conventional oven temp will be the same (350F) and I'm not sure about fan assisted sine I've never used a fan assisted oven before. You may need to research how to adapt a recipe with a fan assisted oven if that's what you're using.

[@kerenohayon6694]

Hi! Which brand of pans do you use? Are they anodized?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! I use these Wilton cake pans: amzn.to/31lsgmy they are aluminum but I don't believe that they are anodized.

[@TheEnnachickychic]

Hi why is my cake so dense after refrigerated? I followed your recipes exactly. Thank you x

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! Are you refrigerating the cake layers individually? Or does that cake seem dense after decorating/refrigerating a fully decorated cake? Let me know what your process is and I can see what may be happening.

[@TS-dg9fz]

Hi, Do you bake the vanilla Cake at 350 degrees, Fanforced or Conventional.

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! I bake at 350ºF in a conventional oven

[@mrs.z7201]

Could I substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Yes you can! Just make sure it's full-fat Greek yogurt.

[@TS-dg9fz]

Hi, Do you have a video tutorial on how to make buttercream?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! I don't yet, but that's next on my list! In the meantime, here is the recipe for my favorite vanilla buttercream: sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe

[@TS-dg9fz]

Thankyou for sharing.

[@hollylussier6819]

I only have 2 6 inch cake pans, but they are 3 inches deep; has anyone tried to bake off deeper layers and then torte them into a 4 layer cake? I understand that they would have a longer bake time, and I do have cake strips to help with doming.

[@topppps]

How do you get the pink gradient color at 0:20

[@jaclinlin]

What is the height of the baking mould ? Is it 5 cm tall?

[@LL-jx7sx]

Sour cream can replace Greek yogurt?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Plain yogurt can be used in place of the sour cream in this recipe

[@cherrikin]

Hi. What can i substitute sour cream? Or can i skip it?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! The best sub for the sour cream is full fat greek yogurt. The purpose of adding it is to make it extra moist, so just keep in mind that if you omit it completely the cake won't be as moist. Hope that helps!

[@cherrikin]

@@SugarandSparrow thank you so much for the reply! I'll try this later 😘

[@corrinquigley-slater4467]

Can I ask, how deep are your cake pans, please?

[@SugarandSparrow]

They are 2 inches deep

[@willisobryant181]

Do you have a recipe for 9 inch pans?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi Willis! For 9 inch pans I would use this Funfetti Cake recipe and omit the sprinkles (it's the same vanilla cake recipe base, but makes more batter): sugarandsparrow.com/funfetti-cake-recipe/

[@Gsgsz]

Hi love, why you are not adding oil to this recepie? Curious to know.. thanks.

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! I don’t add oil to this one because the sour cream gives it plenty of moisture + the butter base makes it nice and fluffy already.

[@Gsgsz]

@@SugarandSparrow thanks you.. I am glad to know new information.. and this time my cake has carmalisation on top.. what could be the reason ? Thanks in advance

[@SugarandSparrow]

@@Gsgsz Hi there! Is it my recipe? If so, it's totally normal for it to brown very slightly on top as it bakes.

[@gracemarotti9109]

ive been making the funfetti version and i dont know why the butter and sugar didnt cream and become fluffly like yours :(

[@pratimachettri7432]

Hi!! Can we skip eggs for this recipe ?

[@SugarandSparrow]

Hi there! I haven't tried an eggless version of this recipe but I do have a vegan vanilla cake that you could use as an alternative: sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-vanilla-cake-recipe/

[@pratimachettri7432]

@@SugarandSparrow thanks so much 💚

[@kellyhurley8094]

Do you have instructions for a chocolate cake?

[@SugarandSparrow]

I'm planning on making a video for my chocolate cake recipe soon but in the meantime, here's the recipe: sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-cake-recipe/ it's a one-bowl cake recipe and super easy to follow!

[@pieceocake0926]

This cake is absolute perfection! I used farmhouse eggs and it made it dreamy. Thank you for sharing!

[@SugarandSparrow]

@@pieceocake0926 So happy to hear that you loved the recipe!

[@wendyzappone7442]

Has anyone tried this in high altitude? All my cakes fall, I have tried receipes for high altitude and they still fall. HELP!!!!!