A moist butter-based vanilla cake paired with a silky, smooth bakery-style vanilla buttercream makes a perfect homemade vanilla birthday cake. Baked from scratch this cake is surprisingly simple and easy to make from baking to frosting. A few sprinkles make this a celebration cake for any occasion whether you are five or fifty.
I have over fifty cake recipes on this blog and yet, I'm always surprised when people message me asking if I have a birthday cake recipe. In truth, any of these cakes, especially the layered cakes can be used for birthday, weddings, or other occasions.
I realize of course, that most of these requests come from novice bakers which is why I decided to dedicate two cakes just for birthdays. Recently, I shared my chocolate birthday cake which was filled with chocolate buttercream and frosted with chocolate ganache. Today, I share with you this recipe with vanilla buttercream.
Table of Content
About this cake
The batter is a classic vanilla cake batter made with butter, 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, 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, you know my love for frosting by the variety I have for you on this blog. There are so many other choices for the frosting you can use for this cake 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.
Timeline and process
Now, I don't want to tell you when you make your cake but since I'm presuming this post is for novice bakers who often ask when should I start making my cake? here are my suggestions.
- Bake cake - cool overnight wrapped well in plastic. (1 hour)
- Make the frosting and simple syrup. (30 minutes)
- Crumb coat cake - place in the fridge to chill for an hour. (20 mins + 1 hour)
- Complete frosting the cake (30 mins)
- Decorate with sprinkles (10 mins)
Ingredients and substitutes
- Cake flour - Cake flour gives the softest cakes with a tender crumb. If you can't find cake flour, you can make your own cake flour substitute
- 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 - A good quality vanilla is very important especially in a vanilla cake. I'm using vanilla bean paste but you can use vanilla extract too.
Step by step instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven at 160 C / 320 F.
- Grease and line 3×7 inch baking pans or 2×9 inch baking pans.
- In a bowl, 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.
- 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 batter equally between the prepared baking pans.
Tip - I like to use cake strips to ensure my layer cakes bake flat. - Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate.
Bakery style buttercream frosting
- Watch a video of me making this bakery-style buttercream.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream butter and shortening for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add cornstarch to the hot water and add it to the creaming mixture.
Tip - add the water to the cornstarch at the time you want to add it to the butter otherwise it will become lumpy. - Continue to cream until it’s a smooth mixture again. Then, add vanilla extract and combine well.
- Finally, start adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is in – whip the buttercream for a good three minutes until light and fluffy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 the remaining buttercream around and on top of the cake.
Tip - A straight-edge spatula for the top, an off-set spatula, and a bench scraper for the sides work better. - Place the remaining frosting in a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe swirls on top of the cake
- Decorate with sprinkles or as desired
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 plastic wrap so the cake does not dry out.
Frequently asked questions
If properly stored, this cake will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.
No, this recipe works best with eggs but you can use my Eggless Vanilla Cake or Eggless Chocolate Cake to make a birthday cake.
Yes, make sure to cream it well. Having said that brown sugar will also add a caramel color and molasses flavor to the cake.
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.
I do have a tried and test chocolate birthday cake recipe that you may like to use.
This is a fairly simple recipe and yet, I do have a one-bowl vanilla cake recipe decorated as a naked-cake. Perhaps you can try using that recipe as a base.
SAVE THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST FOR LATER. TRIED MY RECIPE? SHARE IT WITH ME, PLEASE.
Share a picture of your work with me by uploading an image here below my image on this board. You can also find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
You may also like
- One Bowl Vanilla Cake
- Mom's Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Moist Eggless Vanilla Cake Recipe
- Moist Vanilla Bean Cake
Recipe
Vanilla Birthday Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Print Pin RateDescription
Video
Ingredients
Vanilla cake
- 4 cups (460 g) Cake flour
- 2 ¼ cups (450 g) Sugar (granulated white)
- 14 oz (400 g) Butter
- 4 Eggs
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ⅓ cup (320 ml) Buttermilk
- 2 tsp Vanilla bean paste
Bakery style vanilla frosting
- 8 oz (227 g) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) Vegetable shortening
- 5 cup (600 g) Powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Hot water
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Vanilla
- ¼ tsp Salt
Plus
- ½ cup Simple syrup
- ½ cup Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven at 325 °F/ 165 °C/ Gas Mark 3
- Grease and line 3×7 inch baking pans or 2×9 inch baking pans
- In a bowl, 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
- 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 batter equally between the prepared baking pans. Tip - I like to use cake strips to ensure my layer cakes bake flat.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean.
- Cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes. Invert and cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream butter and shortening for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add cornstarch to the hot water and add it to the creaming mixture. Tip - add the water to the cornstarch at the time you want to add it in the butter otherwise it will become lumpy.
- Continue to cream until it’s a smooth mixture again. Then, add vanilla extract and combine well.
- Finally, start adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is in – whip the buttercream for a good three minutes until light and fluffy.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.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.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.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. 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 the remaining buttercream around and top of the cake.Tip - A straight-edge spatula fo the top, an off-set spatula and bench scraper for the sides work better.
- Place the remaining frosting in a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe swirls on top of the cake
- Decorate with sprinkles or as desired
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.
- Naked cake - This is a fairly simple recipe that can be used to make a naked cake. And yet, I do have a one-bowl vanilla cake recipe decorated as a naked-cake. Perhaps you can try using that recipe as a base.
- Freezing the cake - Freeze it on a baking tray for a few hours then wrap well in cling/plastic wrap, followed by a 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 cupcakes
Nutrition Information
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
Amanda Rose
Week 2 day 2
Matilda Veena
Hi Veena,
Really love your cake recipes. Thank you for sharing it.
Can I use amul whipping cream or any other substitute instead of vegetable shortening in the vanilla Butter Cream. 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Amul whipping cream can be used as a substitute for whipping cream in the recipe, not for the vegetable shortening.
You can use butter, firm ghee, or firm coconut oil instead of vegetable shortening for the buttercream