Servings : two 8" cakes or 24 cupcakes
Everyone needs to have a GOOD vanilla cake recipe that always turns out fantastic. This is my favourite one!!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (225gm)
- 1 3/4 cup sugar (350gm)
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360gm)
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract or essence
- 1 1/4 cup non-fat buttermilk (250ml)
Instructions
You can bake this in a 9×13 pan or use two 9″ pans then layer your cakes with frosting or ganache. You can even make cupcakes out of this, it would yield about 24 cupcakes.
You can make buttermilk at home. Take 1 cup room temperature milk and add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let this stand for 5-10 minutes and then use accordingly.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease and put some parchment in your pans. Then grease the parchments as well and dust with a bit of flour.
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl every few minutes using the whisk attachment or a rubber spatula. This is crucial. Otherwise you’re going to be left with chunks of butter in your finished batter. So make sure you cream it well and don’t rush! 🙂
Add eggs one at a time. Making sure each egg is perfectly incorporated before you add another. If you skip too quickly past this stage, you will have a cake that smells of eggs because the bits of egg that aren’t fully beaten in will bake separately in the cake and it will be like having scrambled eggs cooking in your cake, eww! So incorporate the eggs whenever you reach this stage for any cake recipe!! Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl after every few eggs. Add vanilla.
Add flour and buttermilk in three alternative pours, starting and ending with flour. Mix on slow speed and scrape the bowl during the process. I know, it’s a pain in the butt. It’s worth it. At this stage do NOT over mix, just combine until the batter is incorporated. Over mixing can ruin your cake.
Once everything is well incorporated, use a plastic spatula to fold the batter a few more times to make perfectly sure you’ve got everything will mixed.
Divide the batter between your cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for twenty-five to forty minutes. Check for doneness by pressing gently on the cake. If you leave an indent, not done. If it bounces back gently without leaving a mark, done. You can use a toothpick to check also. Don’t over bake the cake! 🙂
Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes then turn it out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
Enjoy!!
Assalamualaikum, I made this
Assalamualaikum, I made this cake as per instructions but it did not turn out good. It looks uncooked in the middle. I placed it in the middle rack of the oven. The color on the out side of the cake is just right but looks uncooked inside. I baked it @ 170 for 40 min. I also inserted the toothpick. It came out clean. Where did I go wrong
W/Salaam, was the baking
W/Salaam, was the baking powder fresh? Did you preheat the oven before baking?
this is amazing! so simple to
this is amazing! so simple to make….although the sugar was too much so i used 1 1/4 and it was great
salam, love ur recipes… i
salam, love ur recipes… i have wanted to always make cakes.. but trying for the first time now… the problem is i just have one 8 x 8 x 2 inch square pan… what measurements should i take for a basic vanilla cake? please help
W/Salaam, you can make two
W/Salaam, you can make two layers of the cake, they will be thin layers but you can sandwich them using ganache or frosting.
salam.. Can i use magarine
salam.. Can i use magarine insted of butter?
W/Saaam, yes that is ok.
W/Saaam, yes that is ok.
Hi fauzia in this recipe can
Hi fauzia in this recipe can I use margarine instead of butter am making cakes for business purpose and also need some tips on how to make a fluffy and soft cake.im new to the business and my cakes Dnt turn out very well
Hi, yes you can use margarine
Hi, yes you can use margarine. Never overmix the batter once the flour goes into it and do not overbake.
Also with these amount of
Also with these amount of ingredients how much does the cake weigh??please help!!
Have never weighed the cake
Have never weighed the cake after baking.
Hey fauzia … can i use
Hey fauzia … can i use plain salted butter instead of unsalted one. should i omit the salt then. plz help
Yes you can. Omit the salt
Yes you can. Omit the salt from the recipe. 🙂
Salam, can I use cake flour
Salam, can I use cake flour instead of plain flour. Thanx
W/Salaam, yes you can.
W/Salaam, yes you can.
Salaam. The parchment paper u
Salaam. The parchment paper u use in tins, is it necessary to have it on the inside edges of the tin? Or just the bottom of the cake? I’ve always had it up above the edges and over the tin. Pls advice, thinking of making this cake today. JazakAllah.
W/Salaam, just the base is
W/Salaam, just the base is enough. Run a knife around the cake before turning it out and it will not stick on the sides.
Jazakillah for your help. I
Jazakillah for your help. I also wanted to ask, if I use just milk instead of buttermilk, what would change in the flavour and texture of cake? Also, does it have to be non-fat? Or would full-fat be ok too?
Yes you could use just milk
Yes you could use just milk or make the buttermilk at home. It doesn’t have to be non-fat. 🙂
I’m a 15 yr old frm Delhi….
I’m a 15 yr old frm Delhi…..New member 2 this site …I tried d vanilla cake recipe and I want 2 know that do we switch on both side heaters(up and down) and also while mixing d sugar,eggs and butter the mixture got tattered and i threw it and once again made a new mixture …i dont think it is a usual thing …plz help..
Hi, Sorry I do not use an
Hi, Sorry I do not use an oven that has separate heating elements. I would suggest you start off with the bottom one then midway turn on the top to even out the baking. But you would need to practice and adjust/adapt to your oven. As for the ‘tattered’ effect you mentioned, that is perfectly normal. If you kept on with the recipe the batter would have turned out perfect in the end. Never throw it out again, just keep going.
Assalamualaikum sister. I
Assalamualaikum sister. I just love ur site, its fantastic.i have very poor cooking knowldge. Can u please explain why some cake recipe tells to bit the egg white and yolk seperately ?? In ur recipe u tell to give whole 1 egg at a time. What wil be the difference ??
W/Salaam, it is just
W/Salaam, it is just different types of cakes. The one with separated egg white and yolk are called chiffon cakes, an example is my orange cake recipe. The ones using whole eggs are regular cakes.
Today I have tried orange
Today I have tried orange cake and it was wonderful but I failed to make whipped cream frosting. I use slow speed and chilled the bowl n mixture attachments but as u tell butter comes out. One confusion I have that is I kept the whipped cream packet in deep freezer and it becomes frozen as ice then I keep it out from freezer to be melt, then I took 1 cup which becomes like small small broken part and i use this to make frosting. Is this the problem ?? If yes please tell me something to be maid from rest of my whipped milk as I dont want to waste it.
Yes that was the problem,
Yes that was the problem, whipping cream should never ever ever be frozen, ever.
Thanks a lot sister. Can I
Thanks a lot sister. Can I use rest of my whipped milk to make some thing like semai, firni , halwa ??
Yes absolutely, you can make
Yes absolutely, you can make kulfi with it. It is not spoilt, it is just curdled…so it should be fine for using in dishes that don’t need the cream to be whipped. 🙂
Hi..after the lemon drops in
Hi..after the lemon drops in milk .. It wil leave water and curdle
Apart… So which one should I use in this cake
Both water and curdle
Ir take out the water just curdle
Hi, both, just mix well and
Hi, both, just mix well and use. 🙂
Salam fauzia , can I bake a
Salam fauzia , can I bake a this cake by using a pirex ball?
W/Salaam, did you mean pyrex
W/Salaam, did you mean pyrex bowl? If so then yes. As long as the bowl is ovenproof.
Yeah exactly! Typing mistake
Yeah exactly! Typing mistake lol thnx dr
assalamualaikum…
assalamualaikum…
i am a big fan of urs…i have a doubt..my oven is small and can hold only a single 9″pan in one tray. so should i bake twicw seperately or can i place 2pans in two trays one above th other,in which case ,since its not exactly in th center,should i switch them halfway thru baking? will th cake spoil if i do that?
one more doubt, if i wnt to halve this recipie how many eggs should i use?
pls reply soon…want to make it as a surprise for my dad
W/Salaam, best to bake one
W/Salaam, best to bake one after the other so they get an even temperature during baking. For half the recipe use 2 and half eggs or 3 small ones.
is it important for sugar to
is it important for sugar to dissolve completely in the butter while creaming?
Yes it is quite important to
Yes it is quite important to have a very nice creamy combination of butter and sugar. You can always grind the sugar first before using it if you have very grainy kind of sugar.
aoa, i want yo try cupcakes
aoa, i want yo try cupcakes wid this recipe. Kindly guide bake time will b same??
And my gas oven has nmbr 1 to 8. At which nmbr i can bake cakes or cupcakes?
Thnks
No, with cupcakes bake time
No, with cupcakes bake time will ALWAYS be less than with a whole cake. It would take about 15 minutes for them to be done (use a toothpick to check at that point). Temp remains the same, 180 C. Please check online to see what gas mark that will convert to. All the best! 🙂