In this Instructable, I will show you how to make a vanilla cake. This easy amazing homemade vanilla cake recipe is perfect for cake lovers and people who love to bake. Have a birthday coming up? This works perfectly for a birthday cake. It is so easy to make with just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients. If I can do it, you can do it. Let's get baking!

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Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial or do both!

Step 1: Ingredients and Tools

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter softened (170g)
1 3/4 cup of white granulated sugar (350g)
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. of vanilla extract (15mL)
1/2 tsp. of salt (2g)
2 1/2 tsp. of baking powder (12g)
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose or cake flour (300g)
1 1/4 cups of milk I like to use whole milk (296mL)

Tools/Equipment

2 (9-inch or 8-inch cake pans) or 3 (6-inch pans)
Shortening/Butter
Parchment paper
Spatula
Hand mixer
Piping bag or plastic bag
Cookie rack
Bowls
Rotating Cake pedestal, optional

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Step 2: Prep Pan and Ingredients

About 30 minutes before making the cake, take out and measure your milk and the eggs, and the butter. The cake bakes more even when those ingredients are at room temperature. The butter needs to be soft as well.

When you are ready to start making the cake, grease your cake pans with shortening or butter, then add about a tablespoon of flour to it and tap it all around. Then dump the excess into the next pan.

Place the pan on a piece and parchment paper and trace around the bottom with a pencil. Then cut on the inside of the line, the circle or parchment paper out. Set the parchment paper on the inside on the bottom of the cake pans.

This really makes sure that the cake will not stick to the pan when baking. It should come out super easy.

Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C.

Step 3: Cream the Ingredients Together

In a large bowl add the softened butter and sugar and mix on high for 2 to 3 minutes. It should be nice and pale-looking when done.

Then add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix until just combined.

Step 4: Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 5: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients

Now add about half of the room temperature milk to the bowl of batter and mix it in. Next, add about a cup of the flour and mix that in. Then add the rest of the milk and mix. Follow that up with another cup of the flour mixture and mix that in.

At this point put the mixer away and do the rest by hand. Pour the remaining half cup or so of the flour mixture into the bowl and use a spatula to fold and stir the ingredients in. This helps ensure that you don't overmix the cake batter.

NOTE: When cake batter is overmixed the resulting cake is denser and weaker because the protein structure has been weakened by so much mixing. It also may wind up being chewy, gummy, etc. Instead of being light and fluffy.

Step 6: Fill Up Those Cake Pans

Now pour half of the batter in one pan and the other half in the other pan. You can use a measuring cup if you like to make it more precise, or just eyeball it, which is what I usually do.

Bake the cake again at 350 F/176 C for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Place the baked cakes on a wire rack and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes in the pans. Then remove them from the pans and place them back on the rack to cool to room temperature. Don't be too alarmed if the cake cracks a little bit when coming out of the pan. It will get covered with frosting!

Once at room temp, put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes. However, you can frost it right away once it gets to room temp and skip the chilling step.

TIP: It is a lot easier to frost a chilled cake.

Step 7: Frost and Serve

Time to frost and serve that yummy homemade vanilla cake.

Take storebought or homemade frosting and put it in a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off. Or skip that and just use a spatula.

Place a dollop of frosting in the middle of your rotating cake pedestal or just use a plate.

TIP: If you are going to be baking lots of cakes, a rotating cake pedestal is super handy.

Next, take one layer of cake and remove the parchment paper from the bottom, then place it down on the cake pedestal.

Add a generous amount of frosting to the top and spread it out. Then repeat with the next layer of cake. Don't forget to remove that parchment paper, haha!

Make sure to add frosting to the sides as well. A cake spatula comes in handy here, but a normal one will work fine.

Frost that cake all over, or decorate it however you want.

Use a damp paper towel and wipe around the bottom of the cake to clean it up and make it more presentable.

Add some sprinkles on the top, or cake crumbs on the sides, oreo crumbs, frosting designs, flowers, fondant creations, candles, etc.!

Now slice that cake and enjoy!

**Print the recipe here if you like.