Moist Vanilla Bean Cake

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Vanilla Bean Cake – Naked Cake

This moist vanilla bean cake is my butter-based cake batter flavored with wonderful vanilla bean paste. Delicious on its own and can also be accompanied with many different fillings and frostings. Today, I make it a naked cake so the rich vanilla flavor can shine through.

About this vanilla bean cake

The batter is a classic butter-based vanilla cake batter made with eggs, white sugar and all-purpose flour using the creaming method. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe to make from start to finish.

To keep it classic and bring the vanilla flavor out, I decided to use as little frosting as possible, keeping it naked. This is my vanilla buttercream frosting, which is very popular because it’s easy and simple to make.

Having said that, you can try many different frosting options I have here on the blog such as:
Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream
French or German Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.
I have over 30 plus frosting recipes on this blog. And I highly recommend checking them out.

Useful Tips and Tools

• If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
• Personally, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
• And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
• Also, I think one set of baking pans is a must for anyone a home baker. I often use three 6-inch round cakes, which I often split into 4 layers for a tall display. Some times, I use three 8-inch round pans or three 7-inch cakes.
• Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This enables air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
• Lastly, every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too fast or too slow compared to the time given, it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration. An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly.

Ingredients and Substitutes (Save/Pin)

• All-purpose flour – Yes, regular all-purpose flour works great. No need to look for anything else. And if you have only self-raising flour on hand use it but reduce the baking powder by half.
• Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted so I can control the amount of salt. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, use it and omit salt in the recipe.
• Sugar – I’m using white sugar so I can have a white cake. It’s always best to use fine-grain white sugar, so it dissolves easily in the butter.
• Buttermilk – If you don’t buttermilk on hand, don’t worry. It takes just 5 minutes to make homemade buttermilk for baking.
• Vanilla bean paste – A good quality vanilla is very important especially in a vanilla cake. I’m using vanilla bean paste, but you can use vanilla bean scrapings as well as a good quality vanilla extract.

Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe (Save/Pin)

• Preheat the oven at 160 C / 320 F.
• Grease and line three 7-inch baking pans or two 9-inch baking pans.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time.
• Followed by the vanilla bean paste.

Vanilla Bean Cake Step by Step Pictures1

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Vanilla Bean Cake Step by Step Pictures2

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• Lastly, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches.
• Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure you have a smooth batter.
• Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
• When done, cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before decorating.

Vanilla Bean Cake Step by Step Pictures5

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Assemble the cake

• Prepare simple syrup – cool completely before using.
• Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers.
• Brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
• Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
• Top with a big dollop of buttercream – spread evenly.
• Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by buttercream and the last cake.

Vanilla Bean Cake Step by Step Pictures7

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• Place the cake in the fridge if necessary, so the layers hold together.
• Spread more buttercream around and top of the cake.
• Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake and an offset spatula to smooth the top.
• Remove as much of the frosting, so the cake is barely coated but the naked cake can still be seen through.
• Decorate with strawberries or similar garnish.

Frequently asked questions

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Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Resting time: 3 hrs

Total Time: 4 hrs 20 mins

Calories: 535kcal

$10

Adjust Servings Here: 20 servings

Description

This moist vanilla bean cake is my butter-based cake batter flavored with wonderful vanilla bean paste. Delicious on its own and can also be accompanied with many different fillings and frostings. Today, I make it a naked cake so the rich vanilla flavor can shine through.

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 20 servings

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 510 grams (4.08 cups) All-purpose flour
• 450 grams (2.25 cups) White sugar
• 400 grams (14.11 oz) Butter unsalted
• 4 (4 ) Eggs large
• 2 tsp (2 tsp) Baking powder
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) Salt
• 320 ml (1.35 cups) Buttermilk
• 2 tsp (2 tsp) Vanilla bean paste

FOR THE VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 220 grams (7.76 oz) Butter unsalted
• 500 grams (4.17 cups) Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
• 60 ml (0.25 cups) Whipping cream or more for consistency

Instructions

METHOD

• Preheat the oven at 160 C / 320 F.
• Grease and line three 7-inch baking pans or two 9-inch baking pans.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time.
• Followed by the vanilla bean paste.
• Lastly, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches.
• Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure you have a smooth batter.
• Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
• When done, cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before decorating.

DECORATE THE CAKE

• Prepare simple syrup – cool completely before using.
• Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers.
• Brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
• Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.
• Top with a big dollop of buttercream – spread evenly.
• Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by buttercream and the last cake.
• Place the cake in the fridge if necessary, so the layers hold together.
• Spread more buttercream around and top of the cake.
• Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake and an offset spatula to smooth the top.
• Remove as much of the frosting, so the cake is barely coated but the naked cake can still be seen through.
• Decorate with strawberries or similar garnish.

Recipe Notes

 

Featured Recipe below – Vanilla Birthday Cake – using the same recipe

Equipment

Stand Mixer

M. Cups & Spoons

7-inch Cake Pan

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 535 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 17g85%

Cholesterol 105mg35%

Sodium 366mg15%

Potassium 111mg3%

Carbohydrates 68g23%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 48g53%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 893IU18%

Calcium 54mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

About Videos – most recipes has two videos – a quick version & longer detailed version. Sometimes a similar recipe video may be used

Keywords – cake, cake recipes, vanilla

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