Ingredients
▢ 3 ¾ cups (390 grams) cake flour , or 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
▢ 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
▢ 1 Tablespoon baking powder
▢ ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
▢ 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , at room temperature
▢ 1 ½ cups (340 grams) buttermilk , at room temperature
▢ 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 3 large eggs , at room temperature
▢ 2 large egg whites , at room temperature
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray only the parchment with nonstick cooking spray. Do not spray the sides of the pans.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Turn the mixer to medium and beat in the butter for 1 minute, or until the butter is combined and the mixture is coarse in texture.
Reduce the speed to low, and mix in the buttermilk and vanilla for 1 minute, or until combined. Turn the mixer to medium and beat 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
Turn the mixer to low, and add 1 egg at a time until each is combined. Pour in the egg whites and mix on medium-high for 30 seconds, or until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter evenly into the pans and smooth out the tops.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes in the pans before transferring the cakes to a rack to cool completely
Recipe Tips
This is the best vanilla cake recipe! It is straight forward with pantry staple ingredients. Here are some helpful tips to help make this homemade vanilla cake perfect every time!
Only spray the parchment paper on the bottom of the pans with spray, not the sides. Otherwise, they’ll become too dark too quickly.
Wait until the cake has completely cooled before frosting it. Then, once it’s frosted, put it in the fridge to set.
Level the cakes before frosting. If you have a cake leveler it may make your life a bit easier, but if not, I’ve got you. Use a serrated knife to carefully slice off that rounded top of the cake to ensure a flat-level surface. This makes it much easier to stack the cakes once you’ve added frosting.
Frost the cake using an offset spatula which will help with an even smooth layer of frosting without taking any crumbs off with it.