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Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe

Last Updated On: February 02, 2024 | Published: August 27, 2018 by Melissa Diamond | 217 Comments
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This Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe is so moist, fluffy, and has wonderful flavor.

We've made many buttermilk cake recipes over the years that we just love. This vanilla cake recipe is one of our favorites!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com

Our popular Almond Cake and Lemon Buttermilk Cake recipes were inspired by this flavorful recipe. It works perfectly for vanilla cupcakes also. You will love this wonderful go-to vanilla cake!

Keep this versatile vanilla cake recipe in mind the next time you need a great baby shower cake, birthday cake, bridal shower cake, baby shower cake, or a delicious dessert for no occasion at all!

Ingredients for Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

Here's a quick look at the ingredients for our Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Layers. Make sure to see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete recipe!

There are so many frostings that would be perfect with this vanilla cake, including the Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting used in our featured photo, as well as Chocolate Buttercream, Cream Cheese Frosting, and more!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Ingredients.

A Few Ingredient Tips

Cake Flour: We often use cake flour as its lower protein content makes for a softer, more tender cake.

Buttermilk: We recommend whole buttermilk rather than reduced fat, for added richness. Buttermilk's boost of acidity softens the strands of gluten in the cake batter, which enhances the texture of the cake.

Unsalted Butter: We use unsalted butter so that we have more control over the amount of salt in the recipe. However, if you are using salted butter, you can eliminate the additional salt that the recipe calls for.

How to Make a Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

Make sure to find the full recipe for Vanilla Buttermilk Cake at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick rundown of our steps!

  • First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour three 8 inch round cake pans. We also like to line the bottoms with parchment paper circles to ensure that nothing sticks.
  • Start off by whisking together these dry ingredients: cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt for 30 seconds so that everything is well combined.
Bowl of Dry Ingredients, with a whisk.
  • In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.
Buttermilk Mixture for Cake
  • Next, mix the softened butter until nice and smooth, then mix the sugar for 3-5 minutes until it lightens and becomes fluffy.
Butter and sugar mixture in mixing bowl with paddle attachment
  • Next, add the room temperature eggs one at a time.
Adding Eggs to Cake Batter in Stand Mixer
  • Almost done! With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. After the last addition, mix just until the batter is combined.
Cake Batter in mixing bowl with spatula.
  • Once ready, divide the vanilla buttermilk cake batter between three prepared 8 inch cake pans. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.
  • Then, cool the cake layers, still in the cake pans, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Layers.
  • Make sure that the layers have cooled completely before filling and frosting with your preferred frosting recipe! We used our Classic Vanilla Buttercream.

Recipe FAQs

Yes, just as with most of our cake recipes (from lemon cake to marble cake, strawberry cake and more), these vanilla buttermilk cake layers freeze beautifully.

Even if we don't need to bake in advance, we often freeze our cake layers as we find it makes them even more moist! We do this for all of our cakes, whether scratch cake recipes, or cake mix recipes.

Cool your freshly baked cake layers (still in the pan) on the cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Then, flip them onto foil-wrapped cake boards, individually wrap the warm cake layers tightly with plastic wrap, foil, and freeze (for up to three months).

When ready to use, thaw on the countertop still wrapped, until condensation forms on the wrapping. Then unwrap and decorate!
(I often begin assembling and filling my cake layers while the layers are partially frozen. They are less fragile this way.) 

No, buttermilk doesn't change the flavor of this cake. It simply tastes like a delicious vanilla cake!

We love adding buttermilk to cakes as it adds richness and makes for a wonderful texture.

The acidity of the buttermilk softens the strands of gluten, which makes for a moist, tender cake. Many of our favorite cakes call for buttermilk! Just a few more of our favorites are Lemon Buttermilk Cake, Orange Cake, and Chocolate Buttermilk Cake!

We frosted our cake with our Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting but so many frostings would be perfect with this cake!  Other great options are: Classic Chocolate Buttercream,  Cream Cheese Frosting, Strawberry Buttercream Frosting, Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, and more!

Many of the cake recipes on our site call for cake flour. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all purpose flour, which leads to less gluten formation. The lower amount of gluten makes for a softer, more tender cake.

A few favorite cakes that call for cake flour are our orange cake, white chocolate cake, yellow cake, and many more!

Delicious Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com

More Vanilla Cake Recipes

In addition to our gluten free version of this recipe (Gluten Free Vanilla Cake), and popular Vanilla Velvet Cake, we have more delicious vanilla & white cake recipes to share with you!  Don't miss our section of Vanilla Cake Recipes. Here are just a few favorites:

 Enjoy the Recipe

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this delicious vanilla cake recipe. Keep it in mind for your next special occasion. It would make a perfect birthday cake recipe, baby shower cake, and more!

In addition to our cake recipes, don't miss our huge collection of videos on cake decorating! If you prefer a more rustic (and super easy) design, check out our post on naked cakes!

Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, sliced, on a glass pedestal.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe

BY Melissa and Bebe
This Vanilla Buttermilk Layer Cake is so moist and flavorful! The buttermilk in the recipe makes the crumb so tender and soft. This is a wonderful go-to vanilla cake!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 9 servingss
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Ingredients

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe

  • 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened. (Holds it shape but dents when pressed)
  • 2 cups (400g) sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.)
  • 3 cups (342g) cake flour (If not using a digital scale, lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off.) See notes for substitution.
  • 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
  • 1 ¼ cups (296g) buttermilk (If you do not have buttermilk, see substitution below)
  • ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil (We use canola oil.)
  • 1 Tablespoon (12g) vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour three 8×2 inch round pans.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside
  • In another bowl, add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Set aside..
  • In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
  • With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid). After the last addition, mix just until combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just few crumbs attached. Let cool 10 minutes and turn out.

Notes

Substitute for Buttermilk: No Buttermilk? Here is a substitution: To a measuring cup, add 1 Tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice. Add milk to the 1 ¼ mark, stir. Wait 5 minutes and it is ready to use.
Substitution for Cake Flour: Using all purpose flour (plain in UK) to make Cake Flour: For each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend
Recipe makes 7 ½ cups batter
4.54 from 382 votes (381 ratings without comment)

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217 Comments

  1. @Melissa, yes you can!

    @Janie- I'm sorry that you had a problem, I'm not sure what happened. We used three 8 x 2 inch pans. Some pans are 1 1/2 inches high--perhaps that was the problem? Or did you make two layers rather than three?

    As a general rule, you don't want to fill your pans more than 2/3 full.

    Also, re: gram weight, baking powder and baking soda weigh differently and so those amounts are correct. I hope this helps!

    Reply

  2. This is the best vanilla cake I have ever made. Caution, pay attention to the number of pans. I am a senior and do most things on auto-pilot. I did not pay attention to the recipe calling for 3 pans.

    Reply

  5. Hello. I tried to make this cake, thought I halved it, and the center sank... I followed the recipe step by step and didn’t change anything... it tasted perfect and I do want to make a bigger cake using this vanilla cake... is there something I should be more careful with?

    Reply

  6. Hi Mihaelia, The most common reason for the center sinking is under baking. Also, opening the oven door before the cake sets can cause it to sink. At or near the end of baking time, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached it is done.

    Reply

  7. Thanks for your quick reply! Unfortunately it sank long before I open the oven door... the bottom was a bit sticky too so I may have undercooked it...however I loved the taste of the cake so I’ll give it a try once again today.

    Reply

  8. Hi Mihaelia, Oh my, sinking before you opened the door. There are other causes, I will list some so that you can determine if any apply: Over or under measurement of the liquid in the recipe, not adding the correct amount of flour. Is the size of the pan correct? .....oven temperature correct, you should purchase an oven thermometer to see if the oven is heating to the correct temperature.

    Reply

  9. Hello again! This is just to let you know that your recipe is perfect indeed! I tried again today and it came out perfect! Thanks for all your delicious recipes as well as your quick response to our problems!!! This is the best site ever!!!

    Reply