Buttermilk Vanilla Cake Recipe From Scratch
Bake a cake just like Grandma used to with this Vintage Buttermilk Vanilla Cake Recipe From Scratch. A delicate layer cake topped with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting!
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Table of Contents
BUTTERMILK CAKE
I spend a lot of time thinking about how cooking and baking has evolved over the years. (I know that is a weird thing to ponder)
Would my Grandma approve of this generation of convenience cooking? She had 5 kids, of course she would take advantage of quick and easy recipes. So long as it still tasted good.
I’m positive my Grandma would still make her cakes from scratch. Does boxed cake mix taste good? Sure it does. But, do you know what tastes better?… This Buttermilk Vanilla Cake Recipe From Scratch.
I consciously kept this cake plain. First, I wanted the vanilla flavor to shine. Second, this cake can be enjoyed as is. Or dress it up however you want. Top with fresh fruit, edible flowers or sprinkles. This cake is the perfect starting point for your unique creation.
I wanted to highlight Rodelle Reserve Vanilla in a classic recipe for the modern day. Rodelle Reserve uses the best in historical techniques and modern technology to make the best vanilla available with the purest of ingredients and a vintage feel.
Sometimes it is worth a little extra time and effort to get the best. Rodelle Reserve was aged for 6 months in French Oak barrels to enrich the vanilla flavors and soften the harsher alcohol flavor that all extracts inherently have.
That is how my Grandma used to bake, with quality ingredients and lots of love. (of course)
This cake is timeless but will not take you all day to make!
Get your bottle of Rodelle Reserve now! Only 1600 bottle are available!
The imported Italian bottles were screen printed, and each bottle contains a gourmet Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean. No one bottle will ever be the same!
So this one’s for Grandma. I think she would approve.
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BUTTERMILK VANILLA CAKE
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 Cups Unbleached Cake Flour
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1¼ Cup Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons Rodelle Reserve Vanilla
Frosting
- 1½ Cups Unsalted Butter - softened
- 6 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Rodelle Reserve Vanilla
- 2 teaspoons Buttermilk
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet while alternately adding buttermilk.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Divide batter between 2 (8") round cake pans that have been generously greased with butter or shortening.
- Bake 25 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
- Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes. Transfer cakes to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Scrape the sides in between each addition. Mix for 30 seconds between each sugar addition.
- Add vanilla and buttermilk.
- Mix on medium/high speed for 4-5 minutes. Frosting will be light and creamy.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before frosting your cake. Whip once more before frosting cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome!
Nicole Harris is the recipe creator behind WonkyWonderful, sharing fast, budget-friendly meals for busy families. Since 2012 she’s been developing 30-minute dinners, kid-approved favorites, and holiday dishes with flair - all with real ingredients and no fuss. She grew up stretching simple pantry staples into something delicious, and that shows up in every recipe: easy, affordable, and full of flavor. Read more...
I am not a good baker. I can make sturdy breads, pound cakes, nut flour dense cakes, but not fine cake flour cakes.
I made this one for St. Valentine’s Day, and it turned out. Put fresh raspberries atop my heart shaped version (yes, that did change the baking time a bit..lol). Awesome taste, great recipe, one even I could execute decently.
Thank you!
Oh, that sounds gorgeous! I’m so happy to hear that this cake worked out for you. Sounds like you are a good baker to me 🙂
Loved the cake BUT, too salty with sea salt. Cut the salt in half and it’s perfect. The icing was very good!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip for those that may want a little less salt. I like my salt 🙂
Stumbled upon this recipe…I’ve not had luck with vanilla cakes from my standard bakers/sites, and buttermilk is one of my baking weaknesses. So glad I found it! Great taste and texture and easy enough that my 4 year old can help.
Fun variant: one time making it, at the end, I added an ounce of freeze dried strawberries that I had run through the food predecessor. Best strawberry cake I’ve had in a long time! Made it into tiny cupcakes and my husband’s co-workers raved.
Awesome! And I totally LOVE your version!!!
Can I cover this cake in fondant with 2 tiers ?
And do you have to use that kind of vanilla extract ?
I have never used fondant so I can’t say for sure. I’m more of a slap cakes together and frost it messy type of gal 🙂
THE RECIPE CALLS FOR UNBLEACHED CAKE FLOUR, IS IT OK TO USE BLEACHED CAKE FLOUR?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! About how tall would you guess your layers were? I can’t decide if mine didn’t rise enough or if I’m overthinking it!
Thanks!
Kaitlyn
The layers were a good 1 and a half to 2 inches 🙂
I baked this cake lastnight and mine did not rise either. My baking powder was active. I’m wondering if were using buttermilk in this recipe if we should add a tsp of baking soda to help the rising process. My cake layers were only one inch tall. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to try this recipe again!
Let me know if you try adding a little baking soda. Perhaps that will help those that are having issues with the rise. Thanks for your feedback!
Well, I haven’t event purchased a bottle of wine that expensive. It’s $46 on Amazon. I think I will make this cake with vanilla paste and double it up. I have always thought buttermilk is the key to very moist cakes. I will make it this weekend and let you know.
Vanilla paste should do just fine. I love that stuff!
I just made this cake and it is great! I had to go back for a second piece just to be sure of my impressions. For the good of science, you know! I love the saltiness of the cake. I usually put salt in my icing to add some zing. I didn’t here – I followed your recipe exactly, and it works really well in the cake! I made mine in a 9×13 glass rectangle pan (pyrex) and it turned out well. No issues with being flat or too dense. It isn’t a large recipe so it didn’t make a high cake, but it rose an expected amount. Also, when I saw how much butter was in the icing, I was like “what???” and I just made 2/3 of the recipe of icing. Which I now think was a mistake. Should have made the whole thing. One note – I didn’t put my icing in the fridge because I thought it would be too stiff to spread. I was glad I kept it out – my house is 68 deg F and the icing stayed stiff while waiting for the cake to cool. I used regular Rodelle vanilla and it worked well. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Haha! Thanks for taking the time to share your recipe changes. I’m glad you enjoyed 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! ???????? It has officially replaced my Martha Stewart recipe that I have used for birthday cakes for my kids for years. My family loves it, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s much less expensive to make than my aforementioned recipe. I’m not a professional baker, but have been asked to bake my lemon version of this recipe as a two layer, 12×18″! I’m venturing into new territory, but you’ve provided a great recipe to get me there. Thanks so much for sharing!
So happy to hear that you love it!
Kasonya I need a good cake recipe that works for all size (especially12 by 18) . Would you share how you made it lemon and if you flipped the cake so it could be served on a cake board?? Thank you
I’ve made this cake several times. The first few times were great, then last time, it fell flat (literally and figuratively). I did some troubleshooting (my baking powder is still active) and read through comments and saw that others have had this problem. I did some research, and think the recipe may have too much baking powder, causing the batter to over-inflate, then pop. I didn’t have the time (or butter) to test this theory, but maybe someone else might get benefit from this.
Also, previous attempts were in winter/spring, this last try was during one of the hottest, most humid weeks of the year
Hmmm, strange that the first few times worked great and the last time did not. I do know that weather (humidity especially) can affect baked goods. Unfortunately I do not live in an area that ever has much humidity so I cannot test this recipe in that environment. Thanks for the feedback though. Now I wonder if that could’ve played a part in some of the other folks lack of success with this recipe.
I leave in a town where it is humid 365 days a year and I have never had any problems with this cake. It has to be something else responsible for the fail.
You can’t see the whole recipe because the Home Depot ad covers it.
Apologies, Susan. I’ll look into that ad.
Would table salt work instead of sea salt?
Apologies for the delayed response. I suggest sea salt or kosher salt. I am not a fan of iodized table salt because of the bitter flavor. But, if that is what you prefer and are used to I’m sure it would be fine.
will this cake hold up to a chocolate ganache being poured over the top?
I’m not sure it will, however, I have never tried it. This cake is more on the delicate side.
Hey nicole , i tried half of this recipe in an eight inch pan , though it did not rise that much , hardly an inch but the taste was really good , can i bake the whole cake in a single eight inch pan?
It’s worth a try. I’ve never baked this in one pan. You’ll just have to keep a close eye on it as the baking time will be longer 🙂
Should any of the ingedients be room temperature, im accustomed to this method when I make my pound cake and im making this cake for something that everyone can enjoy during the thanksgiving break.
Honestly, I never leave all ingredients at room temp, just the butter so that it can be creamed with the sugar. I never think to take out the eggs and buttermilk before hand. Enjoy!
Hey Nicole..
I really want to try this recipe, but here we don’t have buttermilk..is there any substitute for that?
Here is a tutorial for making your own >> https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-quick-easy-buttermilk-substitute-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-185757
Can this cake work as a tier cake
This cake is a bit on the delicate side, so I would be hesitant to use it as a tier cake. However, I have not tried it myself.
much heavier cake than expected but very good and moist. We loved it. It did not rise much but we were ok with that. The frosting needed more milk as it was a bit stiff, but it was very tasty.
I am not a huge baker but I have been making all of my boys’ birthday cakes since they turned one. I have tried a few vanilla cake recipes but haven’t found the one I love yet. I want to experiment with other cake recipes which is how I found yours. I know your pictures above showed your icing as smeared on however I have one that I do love that I can also pipe. Do you think it would affect this cake if I tried to pipe the icing rather than the way you put it on?
No, I’m sure piping the icing on will work fine. Enjoy 😀