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Moist Vanilla Cake

The foundational vanilla cake — soft, buttery, and perfectly tender. Use it as a base for any flavor.

Prep: 20 min · Cook: 30 min · Total: 50 min12 servingsEasy4.8 (63 reviews)350 calories per serving

Last tested: 2026-09-10

📸
Servings12

📋 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and flour two 20cm/8-inch round pans.

  2. 2

    Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.

  3. 3

    Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

  4. 4

    Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

  5. 5

    Alternate adding flour mixture and milk in three additions, mixing on low after each.

  6. 6

    Divide batter between pans. Smooth the tops.

  7. 7

    Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

  8. 8

    Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

🔄 Swap Table

Original: Whole milk
Swap: Buttermilk (180ml + ½ tsp baking soda)
Extra tender crumb, slight tang
Original: All-purpose flour
Swap: Cake flour (300g)
Even more tender — this is bakery-level
Original: Butter
Swap: Coconut oil (150g)
Dairy-free, slightly denser

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