Description
A soft and fluffy vanilla cake with a rich American-style vanilla buttercream frosting, perfect for celebrations or everyday treats. This cake uses a blend of butter and vegetable oil for moistness and incorporates buttermilk for a tender crumb.
Ingredients
Scale
Vanilla Cake
- 2¼ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavoured vegetable oil (canola recommended)
- 1⅔ cups (332 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1¼ tbsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1½ cups (337 g) buttermilk, room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar (icing/confectioners’ sugar)
- 1½ tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1½ tbsp milk (heavy cream or whipping cream also okay)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 165 °C (330°F) with fan on. Grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk until combined and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In another bowl, cream butter, vegetable oil, and sugar using an electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition about 10-15 seconds.
- Add Flavoring and Buttermilk: Add vanilla, white vinegar, and half a cup of buttermilk to the mixture. Mix until fully combined.
- Fold Dry Ingredients and Buttermilk: Fold in half of the dry ingredients gently until just combined, then fold in remaining 1 cup buttermilk, and finally fold in remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep cake soft.
- Bake: Pour batter evenly into cake tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool Cakes: Let cakes cool in tins for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare Frosting: In a stand mixer bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix on low speed for 1 minute then on medium-high for 10 minutes, scraping bowl halfway.
- Frost Cake: Use the prepared vanilla buttercream to frost cooled cake layers as desired.
Notes
- Use cake flour (325 g total) as a substitute for all purpose flour and cornstarch for a lighter texture.
- If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment for initial mixing; finish folding in dry ingredients by hand.
- Gently fold ingredients to prevent gluten development and maintain cake softness; mix only until just combined.
- The vanilla buttercream is an American style frosting, sweeter than Swiss or French buttercream; reduce sugar for a less sweet option.
- If your oven lacks a fan function, increase baking temperature to 175°C (347°F) to compensate.
- Store-bought buttermilk gives best results; if using homemade substitute, reduce amount to about 1¼ cups (275 g).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 cake)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
