Favorite Vanilla Cake
January 23, 2017 | By Jeremy Scheck | 45 Comments
What makes this cake so perfect?
- The reverse creaming method (mixing softened butter into the flour mixture, not just with sugar) used gives the cake a fine crumb
- The cake uses half vegetable oil (for moistness) and half butter (for flavor and crumb structure)
- The greek yogurt (or sour cream) tenderizes and moistens the cake
- The cake flour (I use Swans Down or King Arthur) gives it a lighter texture
Adapted and simplified from http://www.cupcakeproject.com/
Favorite Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 2-2/3 cups (350g) cake flour (not self rising)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder (this is equal to 1 tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (450g) granulated sugar
- 1 stick (113g) butter at room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup (150g) full fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) flavorless vegetable oil, such as canola, avocado, or grapeseed
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1–1/3 cups (320ml) whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Butter and flour the round cake pans you have chosen to use. To be sure my cakes release easily from the tin, I line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. For best results, grease the pans, add the parchment paper to the bottom, grease again, then flour.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with hand beaters, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Beat the softened butter into the dry mixture until it is in tiny crumbs resembling sand well dispersed in the flour mixture.
- In a large measuring cup or small bowl, briefly whisk together the the oil, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry. Beat until incorporated.
- Pour in the milk and mix until smooth. The batter should be quite thin.
- Divide the cake batter among the prepared pans.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cakes are lightly browned and spring back when lightly pressed. Keep in mind that all ovens are different and that the amount of cake pans you choose affect baking time.
- Cool in the tin for 15 mins, and then take the cakes out and cool completely on the rack before icing. You may need to run a knife around the edges to help release the cake.
- Use my 5 tips for icing a cake.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
As an avid baker with frustratingly high standards, I don’t think I have ever been happy enough with a recipe to leave a review. Jeremy’s cakes – all of them – are without a doubt the BEST cake recipes I have ever tried. I will never cream butter and sugar together again.
This cake is, as the name entailed, my new favorite and go to vanilla cake. I cut the sugar in half to pair with a sweeter icing— loved it 🙂 thank you tiktok algorithm
This is now my favorite vanillla cake recipe! I was weary of the reverse creaming method, but it produced such a moist and fluffy cake! I also found the process easier than the regular creaming method. Such a great recipe!
I have made so many vanilla cake recipes and this has so far been my favourite! So light and fluffy but still perfectly moist. This is my new go to!!
hi! would it be okay for me to cut the sugar by half?
It would not come out the same!
what size pans do you use?
8″ or 9″
Is it a 2 or 3 layer cake for 9” pans?
You can do either, just watch it — it’ll cook faster in 3 pans if they’re thinner and it’ll need more time in 2 pans since they’ll be thicker layers
Hi! Could I do the reverse creaming method with a danish dough whisk or a electric hand mixer? Also do you use a simple syrup when getting ready to frost?
A hand mixer is best, and it doesn’t need a simple syrup
Hi! Would I be able to do the reverse creaming method with a danish dough whisk or a electric hand mixer. Also do you use a simple syrup before getting ready to frost?
hi, can you use either 8 inch or 9 inch pans here?
thank you!
either works!
hey! if I were to use around 6 inch pans (maybe just a 2 layer cake?) do you reccomend for me to half the recipe?
I am not exactly sure how the ratios would work- I would make the whole thing and make cupcakes or something out of the extra batter
Could I use four 6” pans? Or does it have to be 8” pans?
you can use them! the bake time might vary so just keep an eye out
I made this cake to celebrate getting into college and it is now my favorite cake recipe!
I tried out this cake along with Jeremy’s lemon curd recipe for my birthday and it was perfect! Definitely mine and my families go to cake recipe from now on.
such a great recipe! really impressed my family with this
my family’s favorite cake ever!! i’m usually a chocolate cake person but this was amazing!
i scoured the internet for a simple fluffy cake recipe, this was the best I could find!!! first time doing reverse creaming and it turned out so well. thank you Jeremy!! <3
Hi, would it be the same if I replaced the butter with vegan butter like Earth Balance?
Made this yesterday for my sister’s birthday with the lemon curd filling, whip cream frosting and fresh berries on top. It was fantastic! Will definitely make many times again! Love your recipes Jeremy Scheck!
Is it possible to make this a white cake with just eggs whites? Or do you have a white cake recipe!?
I love this cake! It is moist with great flavor, and it keeps this texture even for a few days, instead of getting dry and crumbly like many other cake recipes that I’ve tried.
this cake is by far my familys favorite. Ive made many different vanilla cakes, and this is the best. Its so easy to make, and it always comes out perfect. I usually pair it with a good buttercream, and it is the perfect sweetness.
I made this cake and it is very light and tasty. But when I deed the avocado oil it made the cake greenish, so I would use a different oil next time.
I tried out about five different cake recipes, one that I even got from a professional chef and have landed in this one all my go-to. It makes a silky yummy batter that cooks into a fluffy cake that keeps its structure. I have done it with both Cake and All-purpose flour and found that cake flour is better, but All purpose works too. This pairs great with a lemon curd or berry jam to bring tangy or sweet flavor. This batch made enough for two six inch pans and 12 cupcakes. I had my doubts, but this is it; the best cake recipe.
I have tried many vanilla cake recipes and none of them have been up to my standards, they are too dense or collapse or way to sweet so I was skeptical to try this one. It is by far the best vanilla cake I have ever made and so light and fluffy!! 10/10 would recommend
This cake SLAPPED – the first time I made it I accidentally used twice the amount of butter because I thought one block of Kerrygold was one stick 💔 nonetheless it was really good, kind of like a pound cake, and my roommates and I are still alive and kicking so no complaints there. The second time I used the right amount of butter and it was amazing! Jeremy is a bhaddie for this recipe
I consider myself and fairly skilled baker however I could never get cake right till I found this recipe. This is it, you have found it, the best cake. I like to divide the batter into 3 six inch pans and then cut each into thirds so I get three whole cakes out of this, great recipe for wanting to experiment with icing and fillings. chef’s kiss.
Can we replace the sugar with coconut sugar?
I used this recipe to make a bunch of cupcakes (30+), and me and a couple friends destroyed them in a weekend. We ate half of them without frosting, they’re just the right amount of sweet and sugary and buttery, and the texture is amazing. 10/10, favorite yellow/vanilla cake recipe.
I used this recipe to make a bunch of cupcakes (30+), and me and a couple friends destroyed them in a weekend. We ate half of them without frosting, they’re just the right amount of sweet and sugary and buttery, and the texture is amazing. 10/10, favorite yellow/vanilla cake recipe!
I made this cake the other day and it was perfect! The only problem I ran into was during baking. I baked it on 350 for 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, it was very soupy so I left it in there for 10 more minutes, checked and saw it was still not done. Left it for another 10 and it was done. Is there anything I can do to adjust this or should I just let it bake for 40 minutes? Thank you!
I always come back to this cake! It is absolutely delicious. You can eat it alone without any frosting. And it bakes SO evenly. You barely need to level it. This truly is my favorite vanilla cake. Thank you Jeremy!
New staple recipe!!! I cannot get over how easy and delicious this was. I have tried so many homemade cakes and nothing has come close!!! I used the lemon curd recipe to fill the cake with which was also a hit. Jeremy you do not miss!!
Tips on if I wanted to add sprinkles to the batter for a funfetti feel? I know I can buy baking sprinkles to stop the bleed but want to check if this will ruin the cake!
This cake turned out extremely moist and delicious. Wouldnt want it any other way!!
Hello, thanks for sharing your recipe. I have 2 questions that perhaps you ore someone in the comments could confirm if they’ve tried it. 1. Can I use buttermilk instead of Greek yogurt/sour cream? 2. To “make” cake flour, do I remove ¼ of the all purpose flour and replace it with cornstarch?
hi! i love this cake i’ve tried it before, but I want to make it with spelt flour instead of cake flour. Would it still work?
Hi Jeremy, such a fan of what you’ve done these past few years.
I noticed in baking this that the sugar conversion seems off. Usually, sugar is converted at 200g for 1 cup (2 cups = 400 grams). Here you have 2 cups as 450 grams. Can you resolve this? Super curious!