Vanilla cake… the most versatile recipe in your baking toolbox. Besides being the most requested recipe, it’s also the one that serves as a base for many other cake flavors. You don’t want to miss out on this Delectable Vanilla Cake Recipe.
When I first started baking, it was for friends and family, simply because I enjoyed cake art. I had always been artistic, but mostly in crafts and drawing with charcoal. I had never even considered sculpting, much less baking, sculpting, and decorating cakes. So, when I discovered that I enjoyed this medium, I would experiment with friends and family.
Since they weren’t paid cakes and the purpose was to practice cake decorating, I always baked boxed cakes. At the time, I wasn’t even crazy about cooking, so boxed cakes were the easy and quick way to get to the decorating part.
But then people started asking me to make cakes for them, offering to pay. I felt that if they were paying, I had to provide high quality inside and out. So, I researched and practiced until I had a good list of great from-scratch recipes to offer.
Now, this is not intended to criticize anybody who bakes boxed cakes. This is just the standard I had for my own services.
DELICIOUS VANILLA CAKE RECIPE
At the time I was starting to bake and decorate cakes, I had another friend in Alaska who was doing the same. She and I would exchange tips and notes all the time. When I told her that I was searching for a good vanilla cake recipe, she said she had the perfect one. I tried it and knew that this was the recipe I would stick to.
One of the best things about having a good vanilla cake recipe is that you can transform it into so many other flavors. For example, it serves as the base for my banana and mojito cakes. While this is not the lemon cake recipe I use, you can turn it into that as well.
I recently had to contact my friend, Analissa, for this information. I’ve been using this recipe she recommended for so many years and didn’t know where it came from. I couldn’t post it until I could give it proper credit. The original recipe came from the Confetti Cakes Cookbook. I highly recommend this book because it’s more than a recipe book. The information is for creators of all levels, with tips and shortcuts to facilitating the baking and decorating process.
NOTES ON THE ORIGINAL RECIPE
The original recipe allows for some adjustments. In this post, I’m providing you with my usual way of following the recipe. For example, while the Confetti Cakes recipe has cake flour in it, I use all-purpose flour with cornstarch instead. I always used all-purpose flour on most of my other recipes, so I made the adjustment one day when I didn’t have cake flour. The result was the same, so I eliminated the need for cake flour.
QUICK TIP: If you don’t have cake flour available, substitute 1 cup cake flour with 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 2 Tbsp cornstarch. For a list of healthy flour substitutions, sign up for the Fit and Healthy Conversions cheat sheets below.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 oz) unsalted butter
- 3 1/4, plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup egg whites, fresh or pasteurized in liquid form (8 oz, about 7 or 8 large eggs)
- 1 1/2 cup milk (12 oz)
INSTRUCTIONS
The following instructions are for cupcakes, but this recipe does well for level cakes too because it doesn’t create a dome on when you bake it.
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350° and line cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers. Set aside. In a bowl, sift and combine flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Set aside.
STEP 2
Cream sugar and butter in mixer with a paddle attachment at medium speed.
STEP 3
Add salt.
STEP 4
Add vanilla.
STEP 5
Set mixer speed on low and gradually add egg whites. Scrape sides to ensure well combined.
STEP 6
Add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder mixture alternating it with milk in two batches each. Start with the dry ingredients. Scrape sides to ensure all ingredients are well combined.
STEP 7
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way to prevent it from spilling as the cake rises.
STEP 8
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
STEP 9
Top with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or with White Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing. Enjoy!
NOTES
To make this recipe as the original, with cake flour, eliminate cornstarch. Replace flour ratios with 2 cups cake flour and 1 1/3 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour.
Comment below and let me know how you will adjust this recipe to create new flavors.
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup 2 sticks, or 8 oz unsalted butter
- 3 1/4, plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup egg whites fresh or pasteurized in liquid form (8 oz, about 7 or 8 large eggs)
- 1 1/2 cup milk 12 oz
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Preheat oven to 350° and line cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers. Set aside.
-
In a bowl, sift and combine flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Set aside.
-
Cream sugar and butter in mixer with a paddle attachment at medium speed. Add salt and vanilla. Set mixer speed on low and gradually add egg whites. Scrape sides to ensure well combined.
-
Add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder mixture alternating it with milk in two batches each. Start with the dry ingredients. Scrape sides to ensure all ingredients are well combined.
-
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way to prevent it from spilling as the cake rises. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 25 minutes. Top with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or with White Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Icing.
-
Enjoy!
- The following instructions are for cupcakes, but this recipe does well for level cakes too because it doesn't create a dome on when you bake it.
- To make this recipe as the original, with cake flour, eliminate cornstarch. Replace flour ratios with 2 cups cake flour and 1 1/3 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour.
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