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 by many different fillings and frostings. Today, I make it a naked cake so the rich vanilla flavor can shine through.
Table of Content
I have a soft spot for naked cakes. In fact, I love to leave the caramelization on my naked cakes. I often make my one-bowl vanilla or one-bowl chocolate and almost never frost it. Or, I use barely any frosting. When you have a good cake recipe that is wonderfully light, airy, and moist you really do not need anything more. Do you?
Why make this cake?
- The batter is a classic vanilla cake batter made with butter, white sugar, and cake flour using the creaming method. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe to make from scratch from start to finish.
- To keep it classic, I've paired this is my bakery style buttercream frosting which is very popular because it's easy and simple to make. Having said that, there are so many other choices for the frosting you can use for this cake, such as:
- Timeline and process for this cake.
- Prep and bake the cake - (1 hour)
- Prepare frosting and simple syrup (30 minutes)
- Crumb coat cake (15 mins)
- Frost the cake (30 mins)
- Final smoothing (10 mins)
Ingredients and substitutes
- 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.
Step by step instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven at 325 °F/ 165 °C/ Gas Mark 3.
- Grease and line 3× 7-inch round cake pans or 2 x 8-inch round cake pans.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla bean paste.
- Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure you have a smooth batter.
- Divide batter equally between the prepared baking pans.
Pro tip - I like to use cake strips to ensure my layer cakes bake flat. - Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a cooling rack completely before you decorate.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar until well combined.
- Then, add the cream and vanilla extract. Continue to whip until the light and airy - at least 2 to 3 minutes.
Pro tip - It is important to whip so you have a whipped-cream like consistency. Otherwise, the buttercream will be too soft to spread.
Assemble
- Prepare simple syrup – cool completely before using.
Pro tip - Simple syrup is just sugar and water boiled for 3 minutes. It keeps the cake layers moist. - Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers using a serrated knife. Brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Watch this video on how to level, fill, and frost a cake.
Pro tip - If you plan to move the cake again, it is best to use a cake circle under the cake, so you can pick the cake with its base and without any accidents.
- Top with a big dollop of buttercream – spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula.
- Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by buttercream and the last cake.
Pro tip - It is best to lift individual cake layers on pieces of clean cardboard or cake lifter so you do not break them from table to cake.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pro tip - Chilling the cake at this point will ensure the layers don't move when you frost the outside. Though, if you leave the cake uncovered in the fridge for too long it can dry out. So, 10 minutes is all you need. - Spread more buttercream around and on the top of the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides of the cake and an offset spatula to smooth the top.
Pro tip - 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.
More vanilla cakes
- One Vanilla Cake Recipe Many Different Flavors
- One Bowl Vanilla Cake
- Mom's Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Vanilla Birthday Cake
- Microwave Vanilla Mug Cake
- See all vanilla cakes or see all layer cakes
Frequently asked questions
How long will this cake keep?
If stored properly, this cake will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. It can also be kept in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.
Can I make this a moist eggless birthday cake?
No, this recipe works best with eggs. But, you can use my Eggless Vanilla Cake or Eggless Chocolate Cake to make a birthday cake.
Can I use brown sugar instead of white in this recipe?
Yes, you can. But brown sugar is more coarse, so make sure to cream it well. Having said that, brown sugar will also add a caramel color and molasses flavor to the vanilla cake.
Can I use coconut flour or almond flour instead of all-purpose flour?
I have not tried this recipe with either almond or coconut flour. But, I do have a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe that is very popular.
Can I whip the eggs separately?
Yes, you can whip the eggs separately to make the cake light and fluffy just as I have done in my recipe for light and fluffy vanilla cake.
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Printable Recipe
Moist Vanilla Bean Cake
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save Grow Coooking Temperature: 325 °F/ 165 °C/ Gas Mark 3
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 535kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 9 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 by many different fillings and frostings. Today, I make it a naked cake so the rich vanilla flavor can shine through.
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 cups (500 g) All-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ cups (450 g) White sugar
- 14 oz (400 g) Butter (3 ½ sticks) unsalted
- 4 Eggs large
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ½ cup (360 ml) Buttermilk
- 2 tsp Vanilla bean paste
Vanilla buttercream
- 8 oz (227 g) Butter (2 sticks) unsalted, room temperature
- 3½ cups (420 g) Powdered sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Whipping cream (4 tbsp)or more for consistency
Plus
- ½ cup (120 ml) Simple syrup
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven at 325 °F/ 165 °C/ Gas Mark 3.
- Grease and line 3×7 inch round cake pans or 2 x 8-inch round cake pans.
- Next, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla bean paste.
- Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Scrape the sides and bottom to ensure you have a smooth batter.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared baking pans. Pro tip - I like to use cake strips to ensure my layer cakes bake flat.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a cooling rack completely before you decorate.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar until well combined.
- Then, add the cream and vanilla extract. Continue to whip until light and airy - at least 2 to 3 minutes.Pro tip - It is important to whip so you have a whipped-cream like consistency. Otherwise, the buttercream will be too soft to spread.
Assemble
- Prepare simple syrup – cool completely before using.Pro tip - Simple syrup is just sugar and water boiled for 3 minutes. It keeps the cake layers moist.
- Once cooled, cut the domes off the cake layers using a serrated knife. Brush each layer with the cooled, simple syrup.
- Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand.Pro tip - If you plan to move the cake again, it is best to use a cake circle under the cake, so you can pick the cake with its base and without any accidents.
- Top with a big dollop of buttercream – spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula.
- Then, top the second cake layer on top followed by buttercream and the last cake.Pro tip - It is best to lift individual cake layers on pieces of clean cardboard or cake lifter so you do not break them from table to cake.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes. Pro tip - Chilling the cake at this point will ensure the layers don't move when you frost the outside. Though, if you leave the cake uncovered in the fridge for too long it can dry out. So, 10 minutes is all you need.
- 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.Pro tip - 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
- Fondant cake - This cake can be covered with fondant. It is a butter-based cake and works beautifully in tiered wedding cakes.
- Lighter cake - You can whip the eggs separately to make the cake light and fluffy just as I have done in my recipe for light and fluffy vanilla cake.
- Celebration cake -Â this is a simple recipe but can be frosted to make a celebration cake as I did with my Vanilla Birthday Cake
- Freezing the cake - Freeze it on a baking tray for a few hours then wrap well in cling/plastic wrap, followed by the parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Thaw wrapped in the fridge for 24 hours so the condensation will stay on the papers, not the cake.
Storage
- Once decorated the cake does not need to be refrigerated.
- It can stay at room temperature for two days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Once cut always cover the cut side of the cake with cling/plastic wrap so the cake does not dry out.
Other pan suggestions
- If you don't want to make a layer cake like this,
- You can make this into a sheet cake - a 'Vanilla Sheet Cake'.
- You can also pour the batter into a well-greased and dusted bundt pan for a 'Vanilla Bundt Cake'.
- This recipe can also be baked into 24 beautiful vanilla cupcakes
Adapted from -
Nutrition Information
Calories: 535- kcalCarbohydrates: 68- gProtein: 5- gFat: 28- gSaturated Fat: 17- gCholesterol: 105- mgSodium: 366- mgPotassium: 111- mgFiber: 1- gSugar: 48- gVitamin A: 893- IUCalcium: 54- mgIron: 1- mg
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
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Donna
Hi Veena
I am going to try this recipe tomorrow can you tell me has all ingredients need to be at room temperature, I have looked through the page and can't seem to see, maybe I'm going blind 🙈 or I'm just not reading it all.
Thank you
Donna
Veena Azmanov
Yes, Donna. All cake ingredients must be at room temperature unless specified otherwise.
Jody
I made this using two 8 inch by 3 inch round pans. Took an hour in the oven. I accidentally mixed the sugar with the other dry ingredients rather than beating with butter. It came out really dense and a bit dry. If it wasn't for the caramel buttercream frosting I used, it would not have been good at all.
Veena Azmanov
Jody, creaming the butter and sugar is a very important step. It dissolved the sugar in the butter and also aerates it. I'm sorry it turned out dry. Happy the caramel buttercream saved the day
Sanzida
Hi veena .I hope you are doing well.
I tried your one kf recepi named vania moist bean cake.it was very soft ,yammy.but after decorating it was bit sticky.why this happened?i used sugar syrap.another question i am baking cake for 6 years but my cakes r not bakery type like ,their cake is very soft spongy.can you pls tell me what could be the reason?
Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Sanzida. Sounds like you live in a hot and humid place so the sugar in whatever you used is melting with humidity.
I think the bakery cakes you are referring to are the light and airy genoise?