I shared my full Vanilla, Passion Fruit and Raspberry cake recipes (featured on Duff Till Dawn) with you not too long ago. But I wanted to give the vanilla cake I had worked so long on formulating it’s own post. It’s kinda special like that. Like your favorite child. Oh, wait. We don’t have those as parents. They are ALL special and equally loved. Accepted. Tolerated… 😉
Finding that every time I wanted to make my vanilla cake I didn’t have the cake flour on hand that it called for, I wanted a GREAT scratch recipe that produced the same results as cake flour recipes – just with all purpose flour. Using all-purpose flour for the full recipe (rather than half and half) never gave me the results desired. So I tweaked, changed this and that, tried a few things and came up with possibly the best EVER vanilla cake. No cake flour needed (our friends over seas will appreciate this!). Without further adieu, some temping pics and the recipe, in friendly print format below.
Kara’s Perfect Vanilla Cake
All the dry ingredients head to the mixer bowl at once; let the paddle attachment do the mixing and distributing work for you.
Butter is the next ingredient to join the show. It should be room temperature. What’s room temp? About 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. You should be able with little pressure to make an indentation in it with your finger, but it shouldn’t mush all over your counter top and hand. Ew. This is perfect. And of course, always use unsalted butter.
Your dry ingredients and butter mixture should crumble when squeezed gently, hold it’s shape.
Set it aside and move on to combining the wet ingredients.
All of your wet ingredients should be the same room temperature. If you forget to take your eggs out of the ice box soon enough, just set them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to take off the chill. The milk’s too cold? Microwave it for about 20 seconds. Good to go!
Once the cakes are baked and gorgeous, let ’em rest for 10 minutes in the pan then turn them out onto a cooling rack. If you use the amazing recipe for pan “goop” you’ll get beautiful releases like this every time. Yeah. Goop. Odd word for something so magical. (Find that recipe just bellow, too!)
Aaaahhhhhh!!!! Once cool you can torte the cake. Look at that BEE-U-TEE-FUL cake! Glorious texture, soft, tender, just the right moisture (never dry, unless you overbake it. But don’t do that. Be nice to the cake) and very, very little crumbling when cut. What more can you ask for???
***To watch my LIVE bake-a-long that I hosted on Facebook, scroll to the bottom of this page and you can watch the videos of me baking this in real time, and answering live questions from those who were baking along with me via Facebook LIVE***
*AND BEFORE YOU BEGIN, PLEASE READ THE FAQs ABOUT THIS RECIPE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. CHANCES ARE, IF YOU’RE WONDERING, IT’S ALREADY ANSWERED DOWN THERE.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40-70 minutes |
| Servings |
8x3 rounds
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- 16 oz all purpose flour 3.25 cups for the full recipe
- 2.5 tsp Baking powder
- 22 oz granulated sugar 3 cups for the full recipe
- .75 tsp salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter (1 cup; 2 sticks for the full recipe), room temp
- 1.5 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or good quality real vanilla extract
- 7 each Egg whites large, room temp, (about 1 cup for the full recipe)
- 12 oz milk whole, room temp, (1.5 cups for the full recipe)
- 1 oz Vegetable oil 1/8 cup for the full recipe
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease sides and bottom of 2 – 8” round pans. My goop recipe is perfect for pan release.
- Add all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) to a stand mixer bowl and mix with a paddle to combine well. This replaces sifting.
- In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients (vanilla bean paste, egg whites, milk, and vegetable oil) and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Turn mixer to low and add chunks of butter slowly to the dry mix. Continue to beat on slow until there are no chunks of butter remaining and the mixture becomes crumbly.
- On low speed, add 1/3 of the liquid ingredients to the dry/butter ingredients and then turn to medium. Mix until a light paste forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add half of the remaining wet ingredients and beat on medium high speed for 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the remaining wet ingredients and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Divide evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and sides have begun to pull away from the side of the pan. (This will depend on the size of your pan, how full you make it, and on proper oven temp.)
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Place on a rack to finish cooling.
To make this perfectly textured and delicious cake chocolate, simply replace 3 oz. (weighed) of AP flour with 3 oz. (weighed) Hershey's Special Dark cocoa (a dutched cocoa powder, not natural or light unsweetend) and add it to the dry ingredient mix.
The cake I originally used this with. This Vanilla, Passion Fruit, and Raspberry cake recipe was the favorite of my three on the show. (Side note… Doesn’t this cake look like it’s sticking it’s tongue out at you? Like it’s taunting you because it’s just on the screen and not in your mouth? Hmmmm…. I’m feeling I should fix that and just make the thing again. Eat it IN FRONT of this pic to teach it a lesson. Sassy cake.)
And before I forget… Goop! It’s a beautiful pan release that you can make yourself from ingredients we have on hand normally in any baking kitchen. Just brush it on evenly when prepping your baking pans and you will be the happiest caker in the land when your cakes practically ask to come out of the pans intact!
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 cup Flour
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 1 cup Shortening Crisco or Trex
Ingredients
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- Mix 'em all together in your mixer till they are light and fluffy.
- Store in an airtight container in your cupboard. There are no perishable ingredients in this and you do not need to refrigerate it. In fact, refrigerating will make it firm and unspreadable. Using a pastry brush, coat you pans and enjoy the results 🙂
If you bake more, or not as much, you can easily adjust the recipe size, just be sure to use equal amounts of ingredients by volume (cups, mls/litres), not by weight.
FAQs about this cake and recipe:
Q: Is this cake able to be covered in fondant, will it hold up?
A: Yes. All of my cakes are fondanted. It’s very sturdy.
Q: Can this cake be carved/sculpted?
A: Yep! It’s FABULOUS for that!
Q: Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
A: I wouldn’t. It bakes up flat and most cakers want a nice dome on cuppies.
Q: Can I use whole eggs/sugar substitute/pasteurized whites?
A: Well, you can do anything you want to alter the recipe, BUT it will no longer turn out like this. That’s just the nature of the chemistry and physics of baking. It’s all science, peeps.
Q: How many batches do I need for “X” sized pan?
A: I don’t know 🙂 You need to know the diameter of you pan, how high the sides are, how high you need it to bake and thus how full you need to make it, and how many cups of batter those things require. Find a good cake calculator (like the one on AvalonCakesSchool.com‘s website).
Q: How long do I bake X sized pan for?
A: Again, I can’t answer that. The baking times listed on any recipe are really just starting points. Too many variables happen in every kitchen that can alter your results. You need to know how hot your oven truly bakes (you need to have it calibrated) as well as the items listed in the Q & A above. My go-to signs are nothing to do with a timer, though… When the cake becomes aromatic outside the oven without opening the door, and when the sides are just beginning to pull away from the pan, I know it’s almost there if not already completely done.
Live Bake-a-long Video part 1
Live Bake-a-long Video part 2
Live Bake-a-long Video part 3
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I can’t wait until your flavor pastes are ready, I’ve been wanting to order from Pastry Portal for a while-super excited to try the Tonka Bean. I’m fascinated with the actual science behind ingredients/how they interact, etc. there’s so much to developing a tasty, consistent recipe-your hard work is not undervalued.
I had a trial to Sharon’s SugarEd Productions and the last day your new class was posted. Your Sugar Stand was so clever and your wafer paper ‘sash’ was amazing! I appreciate the detail you go into when explaining your techniques but the way you also explain your thought process behind your work is truly wonderful! For example, the shading & texture you add to the base of your Sugar Stand, it made me think about my work in a whole new way. You are truly an artist and such a kind soul to openly share your knowledge! I’m gushing a bit, but I felt like I got an art lesson as well rather then the typical tutorial. I look forward to your other videos & posts. Thanks again for the extra time you obviously put into all your work!
Big Cake Geek 😉
Thank for such sweet words!!! Your kind of excitement is EXACTLY why I love doing what I do 🙂
Hi kara,
I was wondering what do you love to do with the remaining egg yolks? Could u suggest your favs and possibilities?
Custards and curds!!! Citrus curds – lemon and lime 😉 Make your own curds and can them to preserve. So much yummier and flavorful than what you get at the store. And the lemon curd is a great added filling to a lemon cake. A light layer of lemon curd underneath a buttercream filling between the layers creates a great extra punch of flavor!
Thank you for that! Most of the time people say “pound cake”. I cannot wait to try this recipe and cannot wait to make a curd… even though that thought petrifies me.
DITTO! I love your blog, your tutorials and the great extent of explanation… 🙂
Hi Kara! I plan on trying this recipe next week – it looks awesome. Would I need to adjust anything for different pan sizes for future reference? Thank you so much!
Only the amount of batter you make and the baking time. And if you’re baking small tiers (6″), turn your temp down 25 degrees F.
Thank you Kara! I tried your recipe today and absolutely love it! The only problem I had was totally my fault – i overfilled my pans (2″ pans), and I overbaked it just a tad, but luckily my family loves crunchy cake! Lol. I will try it again later this evening for an order. Thanks again! You Rock!
Hi Kara! Thank you for sharing I will be trying out for the first time this week. Just a question, if I wanted the cake to have lemon flavor can I substitute the vanilla bean paste for lemon extract ?
Honestly, I would use some vanilla extract (maybe half the quantity) and add lemon extract in addition. Vanilla is just a great backbone to any other flavor. Everything I bake, no matter it’s final flavor, gets vanilla.
Hi Kara! I have been searching for so long for a vanilla cake like this one. I’ve made it a few times now and absolutely love the flavour and texture. I’m having trouble with a few things though and I would so appreciate your insight!
The problem I’m having is that my cake shrinks inwards dramatically (pulls in from the pan sides). I tried baking it for less time, but then it was underdone and fell in the centre. When I make this recipe, I divide it into 3 8″ pans as my pans are only 2″ high and the batch is too big to divide into two. I’m not sure if that is relevant but maybe this is an issue?Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?
Ps. Goop is a life changer for me… So In love with how easily I can prepare my pans now!
Hi Samantha! I am SO SORRY I’m just now seeing this 🙁 I apologize, I try to get to every question quickly. Separating it between three pans shouldn’t be much of an issue, but I’ve never baked that little in a pan before, so I can’t be 100% sure. If your pans aren’t tall enough, use parchment collars. It will allow you to bake more in each pan without worry. You might be over baking with the smaller pans causing the pulling away. Also, turn down your temp by 25 degrees and bake a bit longer. Resist the urge to open the door to check before your timer goes off. Wow! That was a lot of info. LOL! Let me boil it down:
1) use parchment collars around your pans so you only need two 8″ pans.
2) don’t open your oven to check before your timer goes off, and still don’t open it repetitively. You can shake the oven door (while closed) gently to see if the center of your cakes are moving at all. If they are DO NOT OPEN! LOL
3) If you can’t use parchment collars and split between 3 pans, turn your temp down 25 degrees and bake longer.
I think that’s it. 🙂
I was having the same problem, and took Kara’s advice to turn down the oven temperature. I turned my oven down by 10 degrees with success! Worked perfectly!! No more pulling away at the top edge from the pan!
I have been searching for a good vanilla cake recipe for it seems like forever, so I am very excited to try it. I am curious… when did the old method of cream sugar and shortening, then add dry alternating with wet method get replaced with the new method you are using. I see the new method more and more often in recipes. Also, have you tried this batter in cupcakes? Would it work there? Thanks!
The high ratio mixing method I use has been long used in the professional side of the industry, it’s just now making it’s way out with the proliferation of food science nerds like me 🙂 And with the interest in better cooking and baking helped along by TV like Food Network. But as for cuppies, no. This recipe isn’t as friendly to them. But I use three different vanilla cakes for different things in my kitchen. I’m not a fan of driving myself batty over the perfect everything recipe. I also don’t commit to one brand of fondant over another. Each has it’s own strengths and weaknesses, and we just need to know when to favor one over another for a project 🙂
Ooh, interesting.
I’ve never thought to make a sponge with a crumb start.
Looking forward to trying it this weekend.
Bakey love
Kate
Hi Kara
Thanks for the recipe – you are very generous to share it and I am looking forward to trying it! Are there any adjustments that would need to be made to bake this in a larger size pan? I’ve had some issues with another two stage recipe with a dense gummy layer at the bottom of the pan (this has happened even with a recipe I have made zillion times and yes I’ve checked the expiration dates, room temp ingredients, etc.) either when I go to a big pan size (I had to reduce the leavening and liquid slightly) or making multiple batches. I’ve never had this issue with the creaming method. Thanks!
I’ve baked up to 12″ rounds without problems 🙂
Hi kara…
just a question.. can this recipe be halved easily without any complications hehe.. and do i need to adjust anything else ?? Thank you in advance.. greetings from dubai.. UAE
Halving will be no problem at all 🙂
Hi, I currently have this cake in the oven, but unfortunately it is rather runnier in consistency than I’d anticipated and it started to all leak out of my loose-bottemed tins once it got warm. I managed to salvage enough to just about fill two six inch tins but I don’t know how the jumping around and pouring from hot tins into cold ones will have affected it. I’m gutted as I was looking forward to it – will need to try again once I’ve bought new tins!
Loose bottomed tins? Do you mean spring form pans? Cake batter in general shouldn’t go in spring form, there is no seal at the bottom. As for moving from one pan to another, I’m not sure how it will turn out as I’ve never run through that scenario before.
No, not spring-form, just tins that have the base that sits on a lip inside the tin. I’m in the UK so we have different products here. They work fine for most other cake batters I have used, as they are stiff enough to not leak until the base has cooked enough to seal it thoroughly.
As suspected, transferring the batter part way through was an unmitigated disaster, so I have bought all-in-one tins to try again 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Kara! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. The pictures of the texture/crumb look awesome. I’m gonna test it today but am wondering if you know how this recipe does in a half sheet pan? I like to bake my cakes in sheet pans and cut out the size I need while also using “scraps” for smaller desserts (really just so I can eat it :X). Curious though if it needs the sides of the pans to cling to (sort of like how I would never bake a chiffon in a sheet pan, haha!) Plus I have very short 6″ pans and need a taller cake but don’t want to overfill so I’d rather bake in a half sheet if possible. Thanks in advance!
It will bake happily in any pan. If I need to use one of my shorter pans (2 inch as opposed to 3 inch) I just line the sides higher with parchment. Same lovely results 🙂
Kara, How do you get your butter cream layers SO FRICKIN PERFECTLY even? I’m totally doing something wrong, mine never look even like THAT. Perfection!
Lots, and lots, and lots of practice 🙂 And a nice straight metal spatula. It comes with time.
Hi Kara, thanks for this great recipe. After searching for the “Holy Grail” of vanilla cake recipes I finally found it thanks to you. My daughter says it is a keeper. Very moist and very tasty. Do you use the same recipe when you carve a cake or do you adapt it?
I have three different recipes I prefer when using vanilla: one for tiered (this one), one for cuppies, and one for sculpted. I’m fussy. But I don'[t believe there is ever the “perfect” a;; around cake recipe or product for that matter. Everything has it’s strengths and weaknesses. I think it’s best to have many go-to’s that you are absolutely sure of than one single item that does good for all. I want GREAT for all! And that calls for multiple options most of the time.
EDIT!!!! I’ve finally sculpted with this cake and it’s WONDERFUL!!! This will be my sculpting AND tiered cake recipe now 🙂
I’ve used this and Oh My God it’s amazing! Quick question though…you say you use a separate recipe for cuppies. Any reason why?
This recipe bakes up flat and most cuppie makers look for well domed final shapes. I don’t believe there is or needs to be a one-size-fits-all recipe. I’m good with not using this one for cuppies. 🙂
I have the cake in the oven and it smells divine and is rising well! I LOVE how much batter the recipe makes. I have been searching for the perfect vanilla cake recipe for over a year and I have high hopes right now!! I’ll be sure to follow up when it’s done. Thanks for sharing Kara!
And the verdict is in – AMAZING!! The hunt is finally over for a vanilla cake recipe, I am SOOOO happy right now!!!
Hello. Any chance of measurements in metric please from the UK
There are lots of online measurement converters, and as I’ve included weight measures, you’ll get accurate conversions from oz to grams.
Hi Kara, just found this recipe after searching for the perfect vanilla cake. Just want to make sure that we use only 7 eggs white noy the yolks?
Thank you.
You are correct 🙂
Hi Kara, what an amazing looking cake, am going to give this a go next week, just wondered how would i increase this receipe for a 12″ square or round cake please. Many thanks and keep on sharing just love seeing your cake designs and also your receipes…Mwah xxx
This quantity should do just fine for a single 12″ of either shape 🙂
Kara,
Love your cakes. I wanted to ask you regarding your “Perfect Vanilla Cake” recipe if the amount of time that you have to beat the flour (during the butter and flour combination and when you add he wet ingredients) if that would make for a tough cake because of the gluten being built up? I guess what I am trying to say so poorly is that I have heard that the longer you beat the flour, the more gluten is produced and that would make for a tough chewy cake.
Also, when making your recipe into a chocolate cake, would it be okay to combine coffee with any of the liquid ingredients it calls for, or would that make it bitter ?
Thanks for your patience.
Nope! Not at all. The fat in the butter coats the flour particles and prevents the proteins from developing overly strong gluten bonds. That’s actually the point of the high-ratio mixing method: it allows for more mixing to ensure better incorporation of ingredients without toughening the crumb structure. Try it. Seriously. You’ll never mix the same way again 😉 As for coffee, YES!!! Do that! It doesn’t make it bitter at all, it actually really enhances the chocolate flavor. Just don’t add extra liquid to the formula. If you steep the milk over night with coffee grounds and strain, you’ll get the proper liquid and fat content from it as well as a full coffee flavor.
Hi Kara:
Thank you so much to share your recipe. Do you thing that I can convert it into a strawberry cake, just adding a 1/2 cup of strawberry puree. Any sugestions?
Oh, no… The puree has far too much moisture to just add it to it. I would suggest using freeze dried strawberries and pulsing them in your blender to get a powder and add it to your flour mix. Then use fresh berries in your filling perhaps. You’ll still have real strawberry in the cake, just not adding too much moisture. (and no, swapping out milk for some of the liquid would change your fat content and change the outcome. You could experiment using a higher fat content supplement in that scenario, but the other way I mentioned would be a definite go, the other would take some tweaking.)
Thank you for your response regarding the strawberry cake suggestion. You’re rock!!
But one more question, then I can not use any fresh fruit in this recipe, like banana or any berries?
This concern with adding fresh components to any baked recipe that doesn’t originally call for it, is the added moisture content. If you add high water content fruit (especially berries) you change it’s formulation and how the ingredients interact. It’s all chemistry, and even though water shouldn’t seem like an issue, it’s a matter of how it hydrates the other ingredients and allows, or prevents, them from doing their jobs. removing other liquids to accommodate (like the milk) changes the fat percentages in the overall formula as well which will change the final results. My suggestion would be to get you hand son some highly concentrated flavor pastes (not extracts) and use those. Very small, thick, highly concentrated amounts will go REEEEEAAALLLLLYYYY far in these recipes and won’t alter the chemistry. And they are made from the natural fruit, not artificial ingredients, so you get really flavor 🙂
I’m excited just from reading. Can’t wait to try it!!!! Thank you, Kara.
Hi Kara, it sounds great… I have a question, why do you use only the whites? Is it only to obtain a white cake or there is another reason?… Im a disaster with vainilla cakes i havent found the perfect recipe, my cakes always starts to raise well and then falls down completely in the center, any suggestion?! Pleeease…. Or if not fall in the center, the consistency in the middle is chewy like undercooked, whyyyyyy?! …. I expect my search have finished hehe ….. Sorry if i had mistakes my english is not perfect.
Saludos desde México…. Happy independence day!
The whites only is for the whiter color of the vanilla cake as well as the final texture.
Thank you for your response regarding the strawberry cake suggestion. You’re rock!!
But one more question, then I can not use any fresh fruit in this recipe, like banana or any berries?
Hi Kara, it sounds great… I have a question, why do you use only the whites? Is it only to obtain a white cake or there is another reason?… Im a disaster with vainilla cakes i havent found the perfect recipe, my cakes always starts to raise well and then falls down completely in the center, any suggestion?! Pleeease…. Or if not fall in the center, the consistency in the middle is chewy like undercooked, whyyyyyy?! …. I expect my search have finished hehe ….. Sorry if i had mistakes my english is not perfect.
Saludos desde México
Hola! The whites are for the texture and final crumb structure. It’s an added bonus that they leave the cake a bit whiter, but that isn’t the goal for me. Besides, using the natural bourbon vanilla bean paste leaves a golden hue to the cake. I don’t like using artificial “clear” vanilla in my recipes, so I don’t mind the color.
Hello there Kara 🙂
The last vanilla cake I made was a hot mess so I thought id give yours a try 🙂
Its currently cooling on the bench but I just wanted to ask a question please…
What is the expected height of each cake when its finished baking?
I had to make a rainbow cake (7 different colours) so I divided the mix into several potions and coloured them. I used gel so the consistency didnt change however I didnt get as much rise as I had hoped. Could it be because the batter wasnt baked immediately after the main mixing (dividing and then adding the colours took forever!).
All in all, it smells amazing, the colours look amazing and i loved that there was hardly any shrinkage! 🙂
Thanks
You are right! Smarty pants 😉 Trust your intuition. The batter needs to be baked right away. I know what a pain that is for rainbow cakes, but it’s the nature of the beautiful beast!
Hello Kara 🙂
Thankyou for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I am a big fan of yours… 🙂 Have a small doubt.
In the recipe you have mentioned APF – 3.25 cups 16 oz, and granulated sugar – 3 cups 22 oz. Shoudnt APF be more than 16 oz or sugar less than 22 oz? I am doing something wrong in calculation. Please help.
Thank you so much.
Nope 🙂 They have different weights per ounce. But you’re clever to look at the recipe like that!
Thank you for all the time you put in to your tutorials, and periscopes for all of us! It is very appreciated! I love this cake recipe-it is so delicious! I had a go-to vanilla recipe, but this one trumps it by far! I wondered if you could help me troubleshoot something though? I’ve made the recipe twice now, and the inside is so fluffy, vanilla-y (that’s a word, I know it!!), but my outside edges and top are literally crusty!? The second time I baked it, I reduced the temperature to 335, because some people in the newbs group mentioned it…and it sill did it. I trimmed the top and edges and it tasted perfect, I just don’t want to have to trim them at all! There’s no dome either which is nice. I’m just not sure why mine is so hard like toast on the outside. Should I try baking strips on the cake pan? Thank you!
That happens sometimes. Even turning down the temp on your over may not help if you’re oven temp isn’t accurate to begin with. Many home ovens aren’t calibrated well, especially after years of use. Starting with baking strips would be a great idea, but also lining the pan with parchment. Keeping the batter from touching the sides is a good idea. Also, the brand of pan, and their material they make them with, matters. I have some pans that are the same size and depth but made with slightly different materials and they bake very, very different. And you are welcome 🙂
Hi Kara!
I like to refrigerate my fondant cakes. Does this cake do well being refrigerated? Can it be made in advance and frozen? Love your Periscope tutorials! Thanks!
Yes, and yes 🙂 I refrigerate my fondant cakes as well. And yes! You can freeze it. Just wrap in lots of plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and freezer smell/taste. And don’t freeze for more than 30 days.
Was so excited to read about this recipe as I too have spent years trying to find a white cake that I was happy with. Unfortunately, this one isn’t the winner for me. I know we all have different tastes, but this turned out dense and gummy and was way too sweet. I followed the directions exactly, room temp ingredients, weighed all ingredients, etc. The hunt continues.
If it turned out dense and gummy it has to do with mixing and baking differences. Try again… Truly, this cake is amazing (and not just because it’s mine) and I have many professional baker friends who have converted to this recipe for their clients.
Hi ! So excited to try this out but I need to replace the milk to make it dairy free . What would be the best substitute ?? Almond? Soy ? Milk ???
Thank you !
I haven’t done any substituting in this recipe, but it is formulated for whole milk due to fat content and liquid content. I can’t recommend using alternatives for dairy as it won’t turn out the same.
I know it’s late but I always bake with Lactaid milk
Can I use whole eggs? instead of just the whites?
The issue with using whole eggs is the way they affect the crumb structure. It will be tougher, less tender. Could you? Yes. Would get the desired result? No. Use the whites… There are tons of yummy things to use the yolks for 😉
Hi Kara,
Thank you for sharing this recipe as I have been looking for the perfect vanilla recipe. I will definitely try it… a few questions though…
1) what is the weight of the egg whites (in Grams or ounces)?
2) Can this cake be used for tiered cakes (2 – 4 tiers)?
3) Is this cake leaning more on the sweet side as you have 3 cups (22 oz)? Will it affect the texture of the cake if I reduce the sugar by 1 cup?
Thank you so much!
Ok. In order:
1) approximately 8 ounces fresh whites
2) it was designed for tiered cakes, but works beautifully with sculpted as well
3) 22 ounces may seem like a lot, but the overall size/volume of the recipe is larger than most, so it’s not too sweet at all, it strikes a beautiful balance of flavor and sweetness 🙂
And you are most welcome!
I was wondering if you could make these as cupcakes?? What would the difference be in baking time or would there be any differences?? Thanks in advance, I can’t wait to try your recipe!!
Hi! I haven’t made this recipe into cuppies yet. I’ve had a number of people do so and they said it turned out nicely 🙂 I would assume a lower temp (325) and shorter baking time. Keep an eye on them, They tell you when they are done 🙂
Hi Kara!! 🙂
I am SO excited to try this cake recipe! I just found your blog and am LOVING learning & reading about your recipes & techniques. I was wondering if you had any advice on what type of vanilla buttercream to pair with this cake? I’ve been on the hunt for a buttercream stiff enough to fill a tiered cake to be covered with fondant. I recently had an issue where the buttercream between my layers of cake was “showing” through the fondant. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this beautiful cake!
Hi Emma, and welcome 🙂 My SMBC recipe is perfect for your cakes. http://www.karascouturecakes.com/vanilla-passion-fruit-raspberry-cake Just follow my method. I’ve used it in cakes up to 18″ rounds with four layers of cake and 3 layers of butter cream, with five more tiers supported and stacked atop. It’s tried and true. Just be sure you are chilling after each additional layer 🙂
Thank you so very much!! I’m assuming we can simply omit the passion fruit paste and it will be okay as a vanilla SMBC? Also, about how long would you say to refrigerate each layer… just once it is set up? And you would use this recipe to crumb coat the cake before the addition of fondant as well?
Thank you again for your help! 🙂
Yes, the butter cream stands alone beautifully as vanilla. Refrigerate each layer until it’s set up, and I do use it for crumb coating!
Hey Kara! OMG this recipe is the BOMB! Thank you for sharing. I see in the above comments you mentioned you had a cupcake recipe, did you mind sharing?
Can you mention the icing used in this cake & its recipe
Hi! It’s Swiss Meringue Buttercream and you can find my blog post with the recipe and method here: http://www.karascouturecakes.com/vanilla-passion-fruit-raspberry-cake 🙂 Enjoy!
Do you know how many cups of batter this makes? I would like to try the recipe (it sounds fabulous), but cut it down for two 6″ X 3″ pans. (Living alone – I’d never finish the cake otherwise).
If you have this information and can provide it, I would very much appreciate it.
Hi! It makes 9 cups of batter 🙂
Hi Kara! I love this cake recipe and have converted to it for my vanilla-based cakes! It’s reliable and delicious (i’ve subbed in a cold-pressed Mexican vanilla extract). I have two questions. First, I have halved it with no issues, but I have had problems with doubling it. I would like to get a bit of a taller 12″ layer, or be able to do peel off a 4″ or 5″ pan from the batter I put into a 12″. I’ve found a straight up double or even increasing the base recipe by a half, has caused leavening issues. I know that baking science nerds more skilled than myself can make adjustments to the leavening for larger batches. But I’m at a loss as to what to do (and would rather not waste the ingredients if you have already made adjustments for a larger batch).
Second, you mentioned that you don’t use this for cupcakes? Have you shared a link to a wonderful vanilla cupcake recipe? I have used this one, and would like a bit more “ooomp!” in my vanilla cup pies.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Hi Lorie! I haven’t had a problem doubling, but I do make sure to use wet wraps around the larger cakes when baking as well as a center core/pin. I use my flower pin and insert it through a round sheet of parchment on the bottom of the pan before adding batter.
The issues with leavening are that when using a single batch that calls for volumetric measure in an integral ingredient (like leaveners) it fine for a single batch as there won’t be much variance in a single, straight scooped measuring spoon. But when you get to larger batches, it’s more important to have the correct chemical make up. Believe it or not, not all measuring spoons hold the same amount, which doesn’t matter in small quantities but become problematic in larger quantities. I would suggest a gram based scale, one that is specifically for grams, not ounces or pounds. It will be highly sensitive but will help you to weight your standard ingredients as you make a successful recipe and then multiply by weight to double your batchs. It’s a very useful tool to have 🙂
And no. I haven’t shared my cuppie recipe. I’ll have to dig it out. It belongs to another cakers but provides a beautiful domed cuppie, and the texture is lighter and more open the way we want our cuppies.
Hi Kara, I didn’t see my post so I’m going to repost. Apologies if I’m double posting:(.
Is it okay to use egg white from a carton? Also, which fondant brand(s) do you use? How do you get your cake edges so sharp?
Thanks for the recipe:)
Hi Kara, I cannot wait to test this cake, thank you so much for sharing!! I make my SMBC with carton egg whites, I am wondering if I could use the carton egg whites for this cake also??
Can you? Yes. Would I? No. LOL Stick with the fresh whites. The results are far better!
Hi Kara thanks so much for the vanilla recipe I can’t wait to try it . I can’t get the instructions for baking the cake on my phone for some weird reason . What temp do you bake the vanilla cake at and for how long
Thanks a million
Loux
Hi! You can find all of the instructions here as well: http://www.karascouturecakes.com/vanilla-passion-fruit-raspberry-cake/
Hi, thanks for sharing your recipe, where i live i ca nnot get vanilla paste, can i substitute with vanilla extract? If so how much?
Yes! You can use the extract, the same amount as the paste 🙂
Hi Kara
I wish to do this cake but only have a regular small elect tuque hand mixer no big machine. Will it work also. Thks for your reply
You certainly can, it will just take a bit longer. Look for the consistency, not the times I list.
Sorry I can’t seem to post the bottom of the page so hoping it might work in the reply button.
Hi Kara
I have made this a few times now and I was just wondering if reducing the sugar would affect the recipe, also do you look for a specific consistency when mixed or do you always use the same timings on the recipe.
Also is granulated sugar the same as caster sugar in the UK.
Thanks for all your help
Hi Stacey! Granulated sugar in the US is equivalent for baking to the caster sugar in the UK. Caster is slightly finer, but mostly the same. And yes, reducing the sugar will affect the recipe. It’s pure science and the formula works in the ratios as written. Of course you are welcome to test it out and see if you like the results, but it won’t be the same cake any longer 😉 I use the same timings each time. (Also, I have to approve comments. So It wasn’t you, I got all of your messages. I only posted this one though. 🙂 )
Hi kara!! So excited for this gonna try this weekend !
A few questions if not too much!
I have to make it dairy free … can I sub the butter and milk for margarine and almond milk or soy? ?
Also if I was to make it in a 12″ pan would you lower the temperature / increase time?
And lastly how does this recipe do when doubling or tripling? Does it work?
Thank you in advance !
Hi Kara,
I’ve made this cake twice now and both times the tester comes out clean but the cake isn’t done.
The second cake did better cooking for 55 minutes.
Regardless of the doneness, the cake melted in my mouth, it was divine, however I can’t serve a cake with raw spots.
I’d like to try again, does baking it for an hour seem unreasonable? I’ve followed the instructions precisely but could I be missing something? I’m on the Canadian West Coast. Perhaps weather factors in?
Thank you so much!
What you’re seeing aren’t raw spots, per se. They are slightly underdone and it comes from the ingredients being too cool. All ingredients need to be solidly room temperature (70-78 degrees F). There’s some interesting science behind it all, but the short of it is ingredient temp. Longer baking won’t change things. Chemistry can be curious 😉
Hello Kathleen. I have had two unsuccessful attempts at this recipe and I see what appeared to be raw spots as well. I was curious if you had the same issues as me. After my first 4 minutes of mixing, the mixture was awesome, but adding the last portion, the batter looked like it curdled somewhat. I could add the liquid slow enough without it curdling. I baked and it rose nicely but then near the end, it domed and caved in on the sides. Did you have curdling at all? Thanks.
The raw looking spots come from ingredients that are not all the same temp and too cool. All of the ingredients need to be room temp (70-75 degrees F). It may seem like they are warm compared to “out of the fridge” cold, but even cool can be problematic. Also, check your oven’s temperature by calibrating it. You need an oven safe thermometer to do that. Some home ovens can be up to 25 degrees off.
Hi Kara, feel silly asking this but. Is there 7 egg whites ? Can you use pasturized egg whites?
Yes, seven egg whites. And you can use pasteurized carton whites, but they don’t yield the same result as fresh. If you make it both ways, you’d be able to tell. But most people wouldn’t. I just like cracking fresh eggs and having an excuse to not throw out the yolks and make custard instead… 😉
Hello Kara, I just want to know if is ok to use whole eggs if so, how many whole eggs then? Also do you think is ok to add some oreo cookies to this batter?
Thanks
Whole eggs will toughen the cake and change the final texture. I wouldn’t recommend it. Find a nice custard or lemon bar recipe to use those lovely yolks 😉 And if you want to do Oreo, don’t add it to the cake, they’ll loose their flavor. Use my SMBC recipe and add a full package of Oreos to it in the mixer. It was my BEST selling SMBC. Even for weddings.
Hello Kara
I need to make a 12″ square cake and I believe your recipe will give me one layer. Do I need to insert a flower nail when I am baking this size of cake? I will be baking it in a 2″ deep pan.
Thank you!
Hi Peppy! Yes 🙂 I insert them through a piece of parchment cut to fit the bottom of the pan.
Hi Kara,
I tried this recipe and it turned out beautiful. The first attempt was not so good…sides shrunk inwards so I tried again lowering the temp (as suggested by you in one of the comments) and it turned out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your perfect recipe!
Also, I wanted to follow you on periscope so can I have your id/username for the same.
Thanks again!
Hi Seema! Periscope… I won’t be over there anymore because I can broadcast LIVE to everyone on Facebook now!I’m so excited! If you don’t follow me there, you can go Like my page and get automatic updates about when I broadcast live: http://www.facebook.com/karascouturecakes 🙂 Hope to see you there!
Hello. I just love the method for making this cake. All was going well until the last addition of liquids where my batter split/curdled/broke, whatever you call it. It is in the oven as well. I was curious if this will affect the outcome. I see that I am the only person who had this problem. I will probably try again tomorrow, but was curious what I may have done wrong. Thanks for your help!!!
You are doing it right so long as all the ingredients are warm (room temp) and at the same temperature. It’s normal for the batter to appear broken. And no, you’re not the only one. Every one SHOULD see that. They likely just haven’t said anything thinking it was baker error 😉
Hi Kara. I am having a few problems with the recipe. I can’t seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. I have the dry ingredients and butter all mixed. I can squish it together like your picture. I add 1/3 of the wet ingredients (approximately 620ml total liquid, so 1/3 would be around 200ml) and mix until the paste forms. I then add half of the remainder (approx 200ml) and mix for 4 minutes. This part is amazing. This batter is devine and could be eaten on it own. LOL. But adding the last portion of liquid (200ml) just curdles my batter, even if I add it super slow so that each addition has a chance to combine. But I bake and it all collapses once out of the oven from the sides.
🙁
Do you have any advice? Thanks
Hi Rebecca! I just found a few messages from you and I’m so sorry I didn’t catch them earlier! My software put them all in spam 🙁
Ok. No. You are doing it right, so long as your ingredients are all room temp and equal temperature. It’s normal to look broken in the final mix. And I agree. I could just eat the batter. No baking necessary! LOL (I’m responding to each of your comments individually…)
Kara, can I use butter in place of the shortening in the buttercream recipe?
Certainly can! The shortening helps with it’s temperature stability, but all butter will work just fine.
Hi Kara, Thank you too for your kindness in sharing your recipe and your talent. I followed you on Facebook and made the cake which came out perfectly. My sister and her kids loved loved loved it.
I have recently taken your Craftsy class and would recommend to everyone. It helped me tremendously with my second paid wedding cake (4 tiers) delivered to a venue on Easter Sunday. I was curious as to whether the recipe would double for 2 – 12″ X 4″ cakes and you have responded affirmatively, so this is now my go to vanilla cake recipe! Thank you once again.
Fabulous Valerie!!! Have you added your wedding cake to the projects section of my Craftsy Class? I would love for everyone to see your success 🙂 Thank you for the message, I love knowing I’ve helped!
Sorry meant 2 – 12″X2″ cakes.
Have a question on converting this recipe to gram weight-I need to know which is correct to use. I made this recipe and love the flavor but did notice the “cornbread” issue that some spoke of. I am converting the recipe to grams as this is how I roll and have to questions. Flour-the recipe calls for 16 oz or 3.25 cups of flour. I use Gold Medal and 16 oz = 453 grams BUT 3.25 cups = 390 grams.
Sugar-recipe calls for 22 oz or 3 cups. Using Dominoes I get 22 oz = 622 grams and for 3 cups = 576 grams. Which is correct?
Convert the weight measures to weight measures. Ounces to grams. They are most accurate as volumes vary. I only provide volumes here because many of my readers don’t use a scale. I always use the weight measures.
In your pan release recipe can i substitute shortening with something else?guide me
Nope. At least I haven’t done it and the only similar substitute is lard, but yuck. 🙂
Hi kara,I want to bake 10 inch cakes using this recipe..can you tell me for how long should I bake for 10 inch cakes?
This will sound cheeky, but until it’s done. All baking times are suggestions to start with. The true internal temp of your oven, size of your pan, and how much you fill it will determine how long you need to bake for. My queues that tell me my cakes are close, if not ready, to come out: they become aromatic from within the oven without opening the door, and the sides pull away ever so slightly from the pan. Like, a hair, but they have released themselves.
Hi Kara, I tried your recipe out for the first time last week for a last minute order and it was just perfection ???? I do have one question tho. Does this cake hold up well under fondant? I have a 2 tier vanilla cake to do and this is the cheaper recipe as well as tastes way better too and would prefer to use it but concerned it would collapse with the fondant on top
Yep. It’s a very sturdy cake. 🙂
I need to make a sheet cake. Is this recipe enough? Or double it…? Thank you so much!
YOu need to know the size of your pan, determine if you are torting, and know how full you need your pan in terms of cups of batter. This recipe makes a bit more than 9 cups.
Hi Kara, I absolutley love this recipe! Am I able to exchange some of the flour for cocoa powder to make it a chocolate cake or would that alter it too much?
Hi Tahnee! Instructions to make it the yummy chocolate version are at the bottom of the recipe/directions section 🙂
Kara- you are amazing! Love how down to earth and patient you are. I’ve seen other bakers use this recipe and it’s a dream. So I was bummed when mine didn’t turn out.
Assumptions going in: I always bake by weight, not measurements. Room temp everything (left out all morning while decorating cookies). Oven is calibrated to match the thermometer. Fat Daddio 8×2 pans with collar (love them!!)
My issues:
1- when adding the first 1/3 of liquid it should form a paste. It didn’t. Just dry flour/butter mix. Added more liquid. No change. Added more and it clumped and formed somewhat of a ball (like cookie dough) so I knew I needed more liquid to make it pasty. Finally got there, but had used most of the liquid. By the time I added the rest, the batter was indeed beautiful.
2- cakes rose very tall and very domed and very crunchy. After 50 minutes, there was no wiggle, so I tested it and got a very wet tester. Back in for 10 and then another 10. Still very doughy tester.
3- When cooled, cut the dome off and the top of the cake looked like an ant hill- lots of big tunnel holes and very doughy in spots.
I know your expertise can help me problem solve. The crumb in your pictures just makes me swoon!!
Ok. My thoughts (based on my testing and failure attempts by others and their reports of how they handled things):
1 – Incorrect ingredient amounts. The first phase of pouring 1/3 of liquid to get a paste shouldn’t require nearly all of the liquid. Ratios were off somewhere.
2 – Did you collar with parchment or were you using 3 inch tall pans?
3 – did you use the baking strips around the outside?
4 – has your oven been calibrated to know if it’s actually baking at the temperature it says it is?
5 – Tunneling has to do with way over-mixing, but if you ingredient ratios were off and too much mixing happened in the first phase, it was a perfect storm of things to create the result you ended up with.
Next time (and you WILL do it again because you’re the boss, not the cake 😉 )
1 – Be sure your ingredients are all room temp. If they feel cool to your touch, they are too cold.
2 – Get an oven thermometer and check it’s read versus what you set it to. I’ve had people find their ovens are 45 degrees F off from what their dial says and they had no idea.
3 – Be sure to use baking strips soaked thoroughly in cold water. And don’t squeeze them out when you wrap them around the pan.
4 – Use a scale to measure your ingredients. As certain as we are that we’ve measured correctly, science doesn’t lie 😉 Or as a chef instructor once said (or said 1,000 times) “Numbers don’t lie. People do.” LOL!
You can do this! It’s a tested a proven recipe and slight changes in the science applied in each kitchen can create different products. But there’s ways to find the culprit and fix it!
I understand that using the egg whites only is for the white cake color and final crumbs and texture.. but what if we use the whole eggs and we do not care a bout the yellowish color?? and how many whole eggs with that be in this recipe??
Hi Bee! The recipe intentionally calls for whites not just as a matter of color but as a matter of overall texture and crumb structure. Using whole eggs will change the final outcome.
What a lovely video of you and your family. I have been following you on Craftsy and just now discovered your wonderful web page. Question: I noticed you used BLEACHED all purpose flour. Some bakers prefer this but I never understood why. Do you prefer bleached over non bleached? Looking forward to trying your recipe today. Many thanks!
Hi Cheri! No, I don’t have a preference. Of course, bleached flour isn’t great for you because of it’s processing. But I find no difference in the final cake. All I have on my shelves at the moment is unbleached, in fact 🙂
The Vanilla recipe is fabulous. I have never had so much joy baking a cake.
hi Kara…. I have tried this recipe…… and I and my family LOVED it… it is more than perfection. Where I am from we normally do not fill cakes very often and this cake doesn’t need any filling it tastes divine on its own… I used a 10 inch cake pan and after it being in the oven for about 1.15 hours I opened the oven and the middle collapsed a bit but the rest of the cake was still OK… we began eating it after 5 min that it came out of the oven. Now my question is…. if I wanted to use a 10 inch pan with the entire batter at once in the oven ( I normally bake at 180 deg C) and I leave it in the oven without opening it till I find out how long it takes to bake completely will I be able to achieve a 4″ height cake without needing to fill it without any problem? I ask this because I have tried other cakes and found out that they will not bake completely if the pan is too full… once again thank you for the share I am a big fan of your work…
I’m sorry, Nair. There are too many unknown variables that could affect that and I can’t tell you with any amount of certainty what your outcome would be. The best thing to do is to try it out and see what you get.
Hi Kara
I REALLY need your help please! I tried to make Perfect Vanilla Cake 3 times and every single time I had that result as on the bottom is sticky like a row but is not and on top is beautiful as it should be.
I did exactly as you were saying. Even checked tempereture of egg whites, butter, milk (after I wormed them up they had between 70 -75 degrees F), used parchment collars around my pans, opened oven once after 60 min (not ready yet) added extra 15 min and took it out. I did use baking strip. I tried bake with diffferent oven temperature 165C,170C,175C. One think is after I add last part of liquid ingredients my mix a little separate but you said that is normal. To be honest I have no idea where I make mistake. As I said cake on top is beuatiful just the bottom. Also one time cake shrunk as crazy 🙁
I really wish to finaly make this cake as perfect as yours. Consistency of done cake (which I can see on the top of my) is amazing and taste gorgeous. I’ll be appreciate for your advice and help.
Unfortunately I can’t add picture here so can’t show you how it looks like.
Many thanks
Patrycja 🙂
Hi Patrycja! I’m going to give you some tough caking love right now… Food, baking in particular, is science. The error is rarely in the recipe, it is in the application of the method or the quality of ingredients. From you description, your ingredients were not the proper temperature. Calibrating your oven is also a good idea to be sure you know what temp it is truly baking at. But all indications point to ingredient temperature.
I mixed up some “goop” today for the first time and tried it…I was a bit skeptical, but this worked every bit as good as you said. My cakes slid right out. Thanks so much for sharing this tip! I wish I had known this years ago! Live and learn, right?
Exactly! We never stop learning 🙂
Hi Kara –
Just wanted to let you know that this recipe is amazing! I’m in the mentor series and one of my goals right now is finalizing my basic offerings – this vanilla cake is definitely going to be my go-to! Today I plan to try it as a Meyer Lemon – I can’t wait to see how it turns out! Much <3 for you and your generosity of spirit!
Hey Rhonda! I’m glad that you like my cake 🙂 And I’m humbled that it’ll be part of your menu offerings! Keep moving forward, you’re definitely on the right path! (having nothing to do with my cake 😉 )
hi Kara, have you tried this with cake flour? would i have the same result if i use cake flour, thanks!!
I have tried it with cake flour and it falls apart. Just stick with AP. 😉
Excellent, thank you!
question: the consistency of the batter should be thick? my batter always thins out. all ingredients are room temp. I add just the right amount of liquid the first mix…I mix to the correct amount of time. I cannot find where I am going wrong? help!
Hi Grace! Define “thins out”. It will be thick and full after the first addition of liquid but will become more fluid as you add. If you’re talking water thin, then no.
Have you made this recipe strawberry? Would you just exchange the vanilla for strawberry? Or would you also add freeze dried strawberries? Thanks
Yep! Add a package of powdered freeze-dried strawberries and sift with your flour. 🙂
Will you also share your icing recipe?
You can get my SMBC recipe on this blog post: http://www.karascouturecakes.com/vanilla-passion-fruit-raspberry-cake/
Hi, Kara. I’d been wanting to try this recipe for a while, having heard great things about it in a Facebook group for cakers that I follow. I realized after shopping, that I had not bought enough unsalted butter to make your cake recipe and Liz Marek’s Easy Buttercream (which I love), so I used salted butter for your cake. Surprisingly, I think it needed maybe another 1/4t. I also added extra vanilla (I do that with all recipes). Made it for an early Father’s Day family dinner. Added tropical fruit spread to the buttercream, and filled & frosted with that. I gave my mom a little piece of cake that’d broken off, and she said, “Oh my goodness. This tastes just like your grandmom’s cake! I’ve been searching since she died for a cake that tastes this good!” Can’t get much better than that so, needless to say, this will be my new vanilla cake recipe! It’s absolutely wonderful. Moist, kinda dense (Who wants light, fluffy cake? Not this girl!), and hardly any crumbs when torted. Bye-bye, wasc! It’s been real. Thank you so much for sharing this!
HOORAY!!!! I love you enjoy my recipe 🙂 It’s become my baby and all the positive feedback from everyone made the testing and trials worth every last extra bite of cake I had to take (and the mild increase in my waistline 😉 )
Hi,kara thanks for sharing pls I would like to know your recommended substitute for your whole milk in the recipe, I checked online and found half and half evaporated milk to water,also found skimmed milk to three table spoon butter. Pls will like to know your thoughts on a good sub for your recipe. Thanks
If you need create the proper milk fat, place 2 Tbsp of heavy cream into a 1 cup measure and then fill to the one cup line with skim, 1% or 2%. Don’t use evaporated or add any additional butter.
WOW! This was an absolute hit for my daughter’s birthday party. It was perfect – moist, flavour fantastic. Have found a go-to cake..finally! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe..it’s a definite winner! 🙂
Hi Kara. Can I use this recipe to bake cake pops?
Hi! I can’t advise. I don’t make cake pops and I don’t know what makes a successful cake pop.
Just looooove your recipe.
You mention on the video about your newsletter and a tip for someone who was trying to bake and decorate during the week while working full time.
I’m desperate for the tips you have but can’t seem to register my email!
Help please!!
From Australia
Hi Yvette!
I just added the email you have listed here (bigpuppy) and it succeeded. Check you email to confirm your subscription and download your eBook and planner!
I have made this cake twice now and absolutely love the flavor and texture. I have found that the recipe yields a bit more batter than what fits into my 8″ pans so I make a 6″ cake with the remainder. I was wondering if you could make this a white chocolate cake by adding a good quality white chocolate? And if so how much would you recommend? Thanks ?
Hi Leanne! You can always add a parchment collar to your pan to bake a slightly taller 8″. But and extra 6″ to snack on is always good 😉 White chocolate… I haven’t tried it, but here are my thoughts: I wouldn’t. It will upset the fat ratio in the cake and my assumption is that it will get greasy and inconsistent. Of course, I encourage experimentation at every opportunity. But just not on a client cake that will be going out the door. If you do try it, stop by and let me know how it goes!
Hi Kara thanks so much for your recipes. I’m sure you’ve answered this question already but here goes, can I use liquid egg whites?
Thanks
Enza
You can, but it won;t turn out the same. They are so highly processed that the protein structures that are important to cakes rising and setting properly are torn apart. Liquid “pasteurized” whites are good for royal icing and making breakfast. Not as great for baking.
Hola, soy de ARGENTINA y e probado vuestra torta resulto excelente
Eso es fabuloso! Me alegro de que te guste 🙂
Hi Kara ,
I want to bake one 8 inch round cake that is 3 inches tall for my cake class. (They want a 3 inch tall cake). Can I half your recipe and bake in a 8×3 inch pan to get a 3 inch tall cake? I’m new to baking and not very sure about recipe conversion. Please give me your suggestion.
I would use a parchment collar and use 2/3 recipe to be sure. You can always torte it down if it gets a bit too high. But you’ll need a parchment collar.
Hey Kara thank u for your quick reply. I made 2/3 of the recipe and baked it in 8×3 inch pan with parchment collar. I used even baking strips and baked at 330F. The cake turned out fine when it was in the pan. When I transferred it to cooling the top half of the cake shrunk considerably. It is kind of uneven now. What mistake did I make? It tastes great.please let me know.
This looks like an amazing recipe, and I can’t wait to give it a go. I’m confused though – it seems like every recipe I read, it’s shoved down your throat not to over mix the flour, better to mix by hand, don’t use a mixer at all, only mix for 30 seconds once flour is added, etc, etc. So I’m a paranoid freak when it comes to the stage in the recipe that calls for the addition of flour.
I see in your recipe, you mix for 9 minutes??? Your cakes looks amazing, so clearly it works – but I guarantee my anxiety will be spiking the whole time the mixer is running LOL.
Every other recipe is right for brow-beating you to not over mix. Those are creaming method based recipes. This a a high ratio mixing method. You’ll notice that the ingredients are added in a different order. If you watch the live video I just did with my recipe on Facebook, I explain early on why this method works as it does and why mixing this long and with all purpose flour (not cake flour) still yields a beautifully tender cake with no tunneling 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/KarasCoutureCakes/videos/1210777025600799/?pnref=story
And you can trust me and the hundreds of bakers world wide who use my recipe now as their standard vanilla cake recipe. Give it a try. Forget everything else you know about creaming method cake mixing, and follow my instructions to a T. And in just a few hours (from your post) I’ll be torting this cake live on Facebook. And watch the final video at the bottom of this page to see how they turn out.
Hi, tried it, twice, but it sinks in the middle, what am i doing wrong? Help!
i really do not know what I am doing wrong, i really want this recipe works for me! Third time and same result, i can not explain, well do not know what word to use, wish i could show you pictures so you could understand, but the result i got is pretty the same you got today with the strawberry experiment, the inside of my cake is like yours with the strawberry experiment, please let me know if you can give me any advice, followed everything to the T and so far no luck at all.
How should the finished cake be stored and how long will it keep, please.
You can wrap it in plastic and store it in the fridge for 1 week. If you freeze the layers, wrap multiple times in plastic and it will keep for up to 3 months. If you make the cake, frosting and keep it on the counter… It’ll go fast enough. 🙂 No need to worry then.
Can I sub buttermilk for the milk in this recipe? My quest for the perfect vanilla cake continues. Next stop, this recipe. 🙂
Can you? Yes. But you’ll need to add fat (if you’re using fat free buttermilk) in the form of a couple tablespoons of heavy cream. I wouldn’t use it on you’re first go around though. See what the recipe is like in it’s written form. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised 🙂
Okay, I cast aside my decorator-diva ego, and followed the recipe as written, with the addition of the contents of two vanilla beans. Heau. Lee. Cow. Out came two 9×2 layers of golden vanilla perfection! *dancing around kitchen* ?
HOORAY!!!!! It’s hard to release our control tendencies… All cakers have them. But sometimes, it it’s to our pleasant surprise 🙂
Hi Kara, I am so excited to try your cake. I will let you know how it turns out. I tried to register for your news letter but the site would not accept my information. Will you add it for me please. Thanks in advance. Carrie
Hi Carrie! I’ll add you to the list happily! Enjoy the cake 🙂
Hi Kara,
I’ve tried a similar recipe using whole eggs, but it didn’t work for me. Tried it three times, but no joy. I think the butter was too soft/warm as the crumb stage came out wrong & I didn’t get the desired crumb before adding the liquid, it was more of a paste really, but I persevered with the recipe & added the liquid as instructed. The first stage of adding the liquid made a thick slurry, which didn’t turn into the lovely foaming batter like it should have done. Consequently, when baked it rose, then sank, and was a bad heavy texture inside. Trouble is, most ambient room temperatures differ according to the season. I am going to try your method, which calls for butter at 75F. I was leaving my butter in my airing cupboard overnight to get it warm. I’ve now invested
in a gun thermometer to more accurately ensure the temperature of the butter is correct. Thanks so much for this information. Do you think this is where I may have been going wrong with my past attempts? I’m also going to separate the eggs & just use the whites as you’ve done. The last recipe I used called for whole eggs, but was a high ratio mix too. I’ve checked all my conversions with table to ensure that my weights are all correct as I use grams. I’m a Brit.
Hi Zena! The thermal gun thermometers only measure the exterior temperature of a food item, not the internal. When it comes to solid foods like butter or meat, they are not accurate. If you feel little to no cool when you touch the butter, it’s good. It shouldn’t be mushy and sloppy, but it should give to the pressure of your finger. Try my method with my formula. Make sure your milk, butter and eggs are all not cool, but you don’t want them warm. You’ve got this 😉 (And egg yolks make things heavier and dense. The whites only will be a key player in a better structure and not sinking.
I’m also not able to sign up on your Facebook page like a former poster mentioned. Will you sign me up please Kara?
Hi Zena! I’ve subscribed you 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
Made your perfect vanilla cake today and all I can say is OMG!!!!!!! It was so good and came out so pretty and had a perfect level top and the color was gorgeous!!!!!!!! This has now replaced the Vanilla recipe that I was using for my cakes. Can not wait to try this with lemon zest and some Lemon extract or with using orange. The only question i really have is how does the recipe work with sheet cake pans? Next thing I’m going to do is try your gourmet fondant recipes. I love watching your live videos and have learned so much from you. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and for your videos.
Gotta be honest, I’ve never done this in a sheet pan. I suspect it would well and that a couple baking pins would benefit a nice, level bake.
Hi Kara,
I’ve long been wanting to try your recipe as the crumb looks divine, not the usual victoria sponge herein the UK. ?
I’ve got some questions though, I know you can help:
1. I need to make this into lemon and coffee walnut cake, I’ve read in the comments that I can add half vanilla and half lemon extract, do I need to add lemon zest? And with the coffee walnut, can I just add coffee granules? Will it be ok to add walnuts in the batter?
2. Would you suggest brushing the layers with sugar syrup or they’re ok as it is?
Thank you so much and I’m looking forward to this new recipe I’m sure the Brits will love.
Yes to adding Lemon extract, and the zest is totally up to you. Coffee: I would steep the coffee grounds in the milk overnight, strain the coffee flavored milk (making sure to add back any liquid that was lost to the grounds) and then carefully fold in small chopped walnut pieces. I’ve never done the nut inclusions, but that would be how I would go about it. 🙂 Simple syrup is up to you and only needed if you’re looking to add flavor, it’s not needed for moisture with this cake recipe.
Thanks so much Kara for the very quick response. I baked the vanilla today as I was craving so I can have something for myself. It just came out of the oven, however the sides caved in. Would you know what I did wrong?
It was either baked at too high of a temperature or for too long. Those are usually the culprits.
Hi Kara! I made this cake several times now & have gotten rave reviews each time. Thank you for sharing! My question is, I made this cake into a chocolate cake & followed your directions for the substitution using dutch processed cocoa. The cake came out flawless except for the fact that I couldnt taste the chocolate at all. 1. Can I add expresso powder to the dry ingredients to enhance the chocolate flavor? 2. Or should I just use more cocoa?
You can add espresso powder, but for some of my eaters that don’t like coffee, they can taste it. Try my Blackout Chocolate cake: 🙂
Thank you for your response! I tried it with a little expresso powder & I also added a little black cocoa. Came out anazing. Everyone loved it?
Kara,
Do I need to use bake even strips around the cake pans to get the flat top or will it just turn out that way? I’m not super experienced in making cakes from scratch – trying this one for a friend’s bday this weekend. Fingers crossed!! Thank you for the recipe.
The strips help tremendously. And the doming can be caused by a number of issues, so teh strips help to eliminate as much of that as possible. You will get some doming without them. Not tons, but some.
Hi Kara I tried this recipe last week. It was absolutely delicious!! Followed your instruction and it came out a treat. Thank you for your generosity!!! I have tried a lot of recipes for a great vanilla cupcake but haven’t been lucky so far. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? Thanks again!!
I’ll have a cupcake recipe for you reeeeaaallllyyy soon! Stay tuned. Sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss it 🙂
Thanks Kara. Just realized that you have replied back!! Thank u!
Cake: delish; method: easy…love, love, love this recipe. To make lemon cake, do I add 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or just extract? And if adding lemon juice, would I put it in with the milk mixture? Thanks again.
Hi Renita! I would use extract myself to avoid changing the acid balance of the recipe. I would also add the zest of a lemon to two. If you add lemon juice, yes: add it with the milk. If you add the lemon to the milk, mix them and let them sit for a few minutes before using, it behaves like buttermilk and will look curdled. That’s normal and completely ok 🙂
*WoofreakingHoo!*. This is it! Finally the recipe I have been after!!. The crumb is so tender ??. I do however need a bit of guidance! Everytime I’ve made a recipe written in the US it seems to be (way!) sweeter than what I’d hoped. I am using just the normal granulated “in the sugar bowl” sugar. Is this correct? I triple checked the weights because it seemed like a lot of sugar but Maybe you guys have a sweeter tooth than you Aussie counterparts? Do you think if I cut down on the sugar it would mess with the awesomeness of the texture? Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful knowledge with the world, your craftsy class was great!
It is purely an American sweetness thing. (Though most people don’t think it’s sweet enough without crazy amounts of frosting.) 🙂 And yes, reducing the sugar in a high-ratio cake formula will change the outcome. I would suggest using a slightly less sweet filling/coating or balancing it with something bright like citrus. And I’m so glad you liked my Craftsy class!!! It was my baby and I had a blast filming.
Hi Kara, I have been baking cakes for a couple of years (still feel like a newbie!) and have wanted a cake like this for a long time. When I saw the photos of your cake I didn’t think mine would turn out so beautifully but it did! The height of the cake and the texture were perfect. This cake is going in my permanent recipe file and will be used over and over. I have a question though…what determines the kind of crumb/texture, specifically the texture of this cake.
Thanks again for the recipe!
It’s the mixing method and amount of gluten allowed to develop with the All Purpose Flour. The fat protects the particles of flour and doesn’t allow much liquid to create gluten during the mixing method, though what IS created is strong enough to make for a strong, dense, cake that is still tender and fluffy to eat, along with not crumbling when cut… It’s kind of magical!
Fascinating! By the way, I had so many compliments on this cake – several saying it was the best cake they’d ever eaten. I would agree! Thank you!
This cake seems extremely sweet 3 cups of sugar to 16oz of sugar seems way too much
This is a high ratio cake and it’s formulated for the batter and resulting cake to be able to hold more sugar and liquid than a standard creamed-method cake. Try it. You’ll be surprised! And it’s also a bigger batch than a standard 2 8inch round cake recipe.
Hello kara! I hope are can still answer my question. I did look at the comments but I’m still a little confused. I tried this cake twice already, but still came out gummy and dense in the middle. I used whole eggs and measured everything properly. I’ve done Liz Marit’s cake which is the same mixing method..have been successful with that one. But the problem is that I wanted to do yours because I can use AP flour. Now anytime I make any recipie with APF they never come out right. Why?? I ask myself. So I thought ok I know the method and I have my scale…easy peasy! No. Not for me! I can always taste the flour and they come out dense. I use real fat butter. I have tried with different APF’s but nada. Please help!! I sooo want to try this because it’s APF. Now you did mention in a comment that it could be the mixing but it’s the same method as Liz’s plus if done it with you. Lol well your video on the same time..idk what to do but I refuse to give up!
Hi Denise! My recipe calls for only egg whites, not whole eggs. Be sure to use all room temp ingredients. If you can feel coolness, it’s too cold. Milk, eggs and butter need to be room temp. The butter is the only one that should be slightly cool since you don’t want it mushy, but still soft. Usually gummy centers are from ingredients being too cold. Try again. Follow the steps, be sure your scale is calibrated and not locked on the bottom (some scales have a bottom lock for transporting without damaging the sensitive mechanisms inside). This cake is going to be more dense than a typical sponge, but not as dense as a mudcake or a pound cake. Try again. You can do this. The recipe works and you will love it 🙂 Also, check your oven temperature calibration. Some ovens bake at really odd temperatures despite what they say, and their variance changes depending on the set temperature.
I have a Goop question. What is your consistency? Mine seems runny not like a paste is that okay? Also Do you paint goop on under the parchment paper too?
Hi Anna! The consistency should be like thick royal icing. It should be rich and creamy and should hold it’s shape for a bit when you drag a spoon of pastry brush through it. And you don’t need to put it below parchment, but with this you don’t need parchment at all unless you’re making a collar for the sides.
Hi Kara,
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this recipe. I just made it and it is awesome! It is the vanilla cake recipe I have been looking for! I found it interested that you did not put this together the way that I am accustomed to putting a cake batter together by creaming the butter, sugar and eggs together first and then alternating wet and dry until it comes together. I must admit that I was skeptical, but followed the directions and I must say I was amazed at the finished batter!
thank you again!
I love converting skeptics 😉 I’m a skeptic myself and it takes seeing it myself to believe it, so I completely appreciate where you’re coming from!
Hi Kara,
I made this recipe again last week (w/raspberry & passion fruit smbc). Each time I make I fall in love with it all over again. I’m strictly a hobby baker decorating cakes only for family but want to present a delicious and beautiful cake. With this recipe, I know that all I have to worry about is the decorating part. Any time I need a vanilla cake recipe this is my go to. No need to look for another recipe. Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing your recipes with us. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.
Kara I made it and wow everyone loved it thanks for sharing such a nice recipe☺Now i wanna try with caramel filling kindly share caramel recipe too please again thanks love your work☺
Thanks for this fab recipe it’s my new favourite and so much easier to carve cakes. They turned out brilliantly the very first time I baked them and taste lovely too.
You are most welcome 🙂 I’m glad you love it!
Hi Kara ,
Just found this recipe, I will give it a try for chocolate cake but I need to multiple it to a big batch. Have you done it before ? I need to serve 100 guesses!
Thanks for sharing.
I haven’t multiplied it that much at once (as in one single batch to make enough for 100 servings). I can’t advise on how it will behave. I suggest smaller batches to get the exact recipe right for each bake.
Hi Kara love love love your work ? don’t know if anyone has asked yet but can you freeze cakes a week a head?and after decorating cake with fondant is it safe to keep in refrigerator? Over nite?have tried other recipes and cake come out dry..so i gave up on homemade cakes..☹️
Yes to all of the above! When freezing you have to wrap (any) cake really REALLY well. But wrapping as soon as it’s cooled, and withot torting it will preserve the moisture. Wrap in at least 5 layers of plastic, and if they are small enough rounds, place them in ziplock style bags. ANd I always refrigerate after fondanting. DOn’t give up on homemade. You can master it 😉
Hi! Can I bake without the baking strip?
You can do anything you like, you’ll just get different results 😉 The strip helps immensely in getting a more even bake all across and avoiding sever doming and crusting on the sides. If you don’t have the strips from the store, I pull a piece of foil from the roll as long as is needed to go around the pan with about 4 extra inches. I lay a long, folded, very wet paper towel inside and then crease it over top of itself to form a strip that has a water barrier inside and then fold the extra on the ends together till its tight.
when I saw this for 1 us measue 3″high 8″ round it says 11/2 cups of milk or 6 oz shouldnt that be 3/4 cup? I have to check myself all the time so im just making sureim doing it right -thanks
also the eggwhite amount aprox one cup didnt change it says 3.5 aprox one cup in the use measue 1 cake ingredient list
Same response for the egg whites as for the milk 🙂
Hi Colleen! Did you change the quantity to half of the original recipe? 6 oz would be a halved recipe. The full recipe is 12 oz, or 1.5 cups. The 1.5 cups is a side note on the comments side and won’t change when the batch size is adjusted.
I made this over the weekend – amazing!! Like some of those above I was dubious about the process but I’m totally converted. Bakes flat, so easy to use, not crumbly, fluffy, tasted divine and the leftovers even tasted great days later despite not being wrapped thoroughly – So good!
Thanks so much for the recipe!
WOAH! If that isn’t one of the best reviews this recipe has ever had!!! Thank you! Ad i’m so glad you love the recipe 🙂
Sounds delicious! Just need to figure out what All purpose flour would be here in NL 😉 I really really really want to try this one! thanks!
It’s often referred to as Plain Flour or 500 (Germany, I think). It’s not self-rising flour.
Hi Kara , thanks for the receipe goin to give it a try this weekend , have you ever made this cake gluten free as I’m ceoliac and looking for a nice tasting cake and yours sounds perfect Thankyou x
Hi Donna! I haven’t made mine gluten free. But I have a great resource for you and it would have the perfect flour blend to replace AP flour: http://amzn.to/2eHQEbG I learned from this Chef and have made quite a few recipes from this book. Even though I don’t *need* to eat GF, I would still make some of the snacks in here because they are just good!
OMG !!! Your recipe is the best of the best ever sponge cake I found out that is easy to made ! Because I got too much egg yolk and I don’t know what to do egg white. You save me from not throwing egg white instead I can use as a sponge cake. Thank you so so so much !!!!!!
That’s awesome!!! Can I ask what you use the yolks for? I usually get questions about what to do with all teh extra yolks. I suggest curds and custards.
Hi Kara!!
Found your cake on pinterest! I scrolled through the comments hoping someone had asked but maybe I just missed it. Your recipe says 8×3 pan. My mom has 9xsomething i can’t remember haha would the recipe still be okay for that? I’ll add wherever necessary just want to make sure. Or I’ll go buy pans myself.
Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Bri! You should be ok in 2 9×2 pans. You can always use a parchment collar if you’re unsure how high it will bake. They make for lovely edges anyways 🙂
Hi Kara,
I was going to make this for a birthday party, but I need it to be rectangular. Would this bake the same in a 9×13 pan? If so, would the baking time be the same?
Thanks,
Ariana.
Hi Ariana! I haven’t baked it in a 9×13 myself. But baking times change with every different pan size. Go by color, aroma, and a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.
So…I made the chocolate version of this cake…removed 3 oz of flour and replace it with 3 oz of cocoa powder…I added instant coffee grounds to the milk and it was so much perfection I was just super excited, this cake met all my needs. My current chocolate cake is super duper moist and delicious however it is just too delicate and I needed to make it taller. This cake was moist, strong, soft texture, wonderful flavor and was the added height I needed. My husband said it tasted like I used real expensive chocolate lol (not sure what that taste like). Thank you so much for sharing.
I love this! Your husband’s response is awesome 🙂 I’m glad you like my chocolate cake recipe!
Alright, I tried this cake recipe twice yesterday and both times the cake shrunk way away from the pans. I followed the recipe to a T, even had it taped to my cupboard so I could look at it. I also used it for cupcakes ( I wanted a flat top) but it totally seperated from the wrapper and got small and shrively. HELP, what could I have done wrong? Any trouble shooting for this cake? It tastes amazing but mine looked nothing like what was pictured above. I’m not new to baking, but I was seriously at a loss on this one.
Hi Kait! This happens. You are not alone. And I can help 🙂 Did you use baking strips? The excessive shrinkage typically happens when the cake is over-baked on the sides (not over-baked all over, just the sides) or when it’s left in the pan too long after it’s removed from the oven. And as for the cupcake liners, I’m only a recent friend to cupcakes, but my baking gal pal Rose of Rose Bakes has a great blog post you should read about exactly that: http://rosebakes.com/cupcake-liners-pull-away-cupcakes/ 🙂
hi just wondering where the vanilla cake recipe is cuz its just showing the holiday eggnog cake
Hi Carla! Yeah… LOL I fixed it. Something wonky happened on the back end. The vanilla cake recipe is up again. Just clear your browser history and cache so it pulls the new info from my page.
Hi Kara thank you so much for sharing this recipe I loved the outcome. I’m now attempting to bake it in a 12 inch pan what should I do differently other then increase the amount of batter I make ? Please help. TIA you’re the best ?
Hi Anoush! Be sure to use cake strips around the pan and consider using a flour nail in the center as a heat distributor. Place a parchment round on the bottom of the pan and insert the flower nail upside down so the base is hidden under it. 🙂
Hello! I love that you shared your recipe! I am not sure if this question was asked, and I apologize if this is a repeat question. You have the recipe written twice one for the full recipe. I was kind of confused at which one to use. What is the difference? I am partial to weighing the ingredients however, I was not clear on the recipe. Thank you.
Hi! The recipe isn’t actually written twice, some are volume, some are weight. If you prefer weight measures (like me 🙂 ) use those. You’ll get the most accurate and precise results.
Hi Kara wrote to you a while back about freezing cake and if cake would still stay moist will I did it and it was super moist and so good I add 1/2 teaspoon of almond to your vanilla cake recipe..(cake was a big hit at Christmas party) keeped will in refrigerator also?so happy I tried again thank you so much most definitely will try again guess homemade isn’t so bad when you have the right information will keep practicing many different homemade cakes thank you so much for the tips?Will be trying all your cake recipes thank you your the best btw made hubby buy me how baking works book..yes I did ? lol he found the 3rd edition at Ollie’s bargain outlet for under $10.00 so happy ?
Hooray for great cake! See? Once you “get it” you get it 🙂 I’m glad you got the book, it’s such an informative and important resource!
Hi Kara,
When you clip on your Perfect Vanilla Cake on the first page of your website, the recipe is for your Eggnog cake.
Please let me know if I am doing something wrong.
Thanks!
Gah! Technology. All fixed 🙂 It was actually just the title that somehow got swapped. Thank you for catching that!
Hello Kara,
Tried your recipe, however not sure where I went wrong 🙁 My batter looked like it was separating, and the batter was not as thick as yours is.
All of my ingredients were at room temp. Cakes are still baking, will see how they turn out.
Please help…. Thank you
Sometimes that batter will look separated. It doesn’t affect the final result. Being thin in consistency isn’t normal and usually results from improper measurements. Let me know how it turned out. I’m curious!
What about sour cream? I always add a cup of sour cream to my box mix cakes and they turn out very moist.
No need. 🙂
What do you mean by 3.25 cups for the full recipe? Do I use what’s in black print or gray? Excited to try this recipe out!
Hi Julia! You can use either: 16 oz (weight) or the equivalent 3.25 cups (volume).
I LOVE baking but unfortunately don’t have all the kit (yet) I have a hand held mixer. Will that work ok with this recipe? Is there anything I need to change?
Thanks
Hi Nicola! You don’t need to change anything other than mixing times. You’ll need to double all stated times.
Thank you for all your information, I love your recipes I will try the vanilla cake this weekend, I have a question, if I’m baking more than one cake at a time do I add more time to the baking or it will take the same amount of time, thanks.
It should take the same time so long as there is good air circulation in your oven. If it’s over packed then it will take more time and they may not all bake evenly or in the same amount of time.
Which frosting do you recommend?
Hi Anne! I prefer my SMBC 🙂 http://www.karascouturecakes.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream/
Hi kara ! I have a question about this cake. I’ve done it several times in round pans and this time I used it in a 9×13. I doubled the recipe and it filled the 9×13 perfectly. Left it in the inventory or 50 minutes and knife came out clean buy it felt like a heavy cake .
When I cut open it was all undercooked. Not raw but itnvenndercooked. Is there special attention that must be used for 9×13 pans ? I’m clueless as to what happened….
Hi Elisheva! The “undercooked” look isn’t in fact under baked. That happens due to cold ingredients. Make sure your eggs, milk and butter do not feel cold at all before you use them. To be sure, I always soak my eggs in warm water for at least 5 minutes and a microwave my milk.
I never leave comments on anything but I had to make an exception today because this is the BEST high ratio cake formula I’ve ever used. I’m a chef and I teach pastry in culinary school so I’ve been tweaking formulas and testing others for a couple years to avoid using shortening but I don’t bake cakes often enough to really get anywhere. I don’t even know how I found your site because I wasn’t looking for cakes but the formula intrigued me so I had to try it. I have to admit, I was questioning your method because I’ve never beat a cake batter for 10 minutes after liquid was incorporated into flour. I did it anyway and I was blown away by the texture. Congratulations on formulating the PERFECT cake batter and thanks for sharing it!
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for the nod of approval 🙂 It’s always feels great to have another food industry pro try and approve of my recipes. I was classically trained at the CIA and I try to bring the really awesome stuff the pros do down a notch and make it awesome and attainable for home bakers. Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot 🙂
Hey Kara
Perhaps you have already answered this question but do you think this very delicious vanilla cake could be adapted to a coconut cake by adding shredded coconut and substitute all or part of the milk for coconut milk?
I wouldn’t add coconut to the recipe itself, but using coconut milk may work well! Give it a try and please send me a message about how it turned out!
HI Kara , like everyone else here,am in search of a great vanilla cake! Followed your instruction to the letter…cake seems to have turned out perfect so far. I only had one 9 ” pan so am cooking remaining one now after first cake out!( I know we’re not sposed to do that,but thought I’d try )
My question to you is,l want to put at least three layers on top of each other,halved with Swiss buttercream in between with raspbetty conserve,i.e. Six layers in total…do u think that needs support? Thanks for your help
Cheers Karen
Hi Karen! I know I’m late, but I only support over 6″ tall. So if you’re at 6, you should be fine 🙂
Happy dance ,happy dance…cake number two came out perfect too! Thanks so much for sharing,I was getting disheartened trying quite a few other recipes that didn’t cut it for me!
Never give up 🙂 Eventually you stumble across the thing that works for you. I’m glad to help!
Just trying out your receipes Kara, hoping it’s going to work! Would love to have a vanilla cake that I actually like. The batter looks quite curdled at the end, going into the tin. Is that what you’d expect?
Hi Sylvia! That can happen sometimes, even to me. It won’t affect the final cake.
Hi Kara! Can I divide the batter to 3 portions and mix in gel food colors to make rainbow cake? Thank you 🙂
Of course! I would suggest moving down to a 7 inch pan for that since your split quantities will be smaller, unless your marbling them all together in the pans 🙂
Thank you Kara 🙂 I hope I get it right 🙂
Can this cake be made with gluten free flour?
What about lactose free milk and butter?
What would you substitute the eggs with for vegan?
Thanks! Ellen
Hi Ellen! I haven’t made the cake with any of your listed adjustments so I can’t advise. While I am trained in baking for all of those needs, I haven’t worked this recipe for those alterations.
Hi.
To make a 6″ cake about 4 inches high would you halve the recipe? And split into two 6 inch cake pans?
Just watched your video on this recipe and looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it. Been looking for the prefect vanilla cake recipe.
That sounds about right, but be sure to collar your pans and wrap them with baking strips to ensure flat, even baking to give you the most usable height.
How do you get your cakes so flat and even? What brand pans do you use?
Hi Melanie! I use Wilton, Fat Daddio, and Magic Line. It’s not about the pan, it’s the baking strips! They are awesome. You can get goo ones here: http://amzn.to/2lkyqfH
when you start and stop the mixing does it hurt the batter? Dose it start to deflate?
Nope.
Hi Kara I can freeze this cake til i’m ready to use it right? That is the most beautiful cake i’ve ever seen.. Thank You so much!! Your Awesome
You absolutely can 🙂
Hi Kara
I have been so excited to try this recipe for a long time – I bake a lot of cakes but mainly use Madeira and wanted something different. I did a 6 inch round but it wasn’t great. I saw you posted to reduce temp by 25 degrees for that size so I did – I have a fan assisted oven so don’t know if it needed to go even lower. The cakes bake s with a large sphere dome on top? Not flat like I was expecting so I squashed them down a bit when they came out Andy also they only baked to 1 inch high each? I followed everything to the letter could you give me any advice at all please ?
Thank you so much
I used half the recipe and baked in 3 inch deep pans x no collar
Hi Hayley!
Did you use baking strips? And how full were the pans? They should be 2/3 full in a 3″ pan. !/2 recipe is likely not enough for 2 6×3. The baking strips and lower temp are going to be your best friend. Unfortunately I can only advise to turn the oven down a bit more. Baking times and temps are all dependent on knowing your oven. Mine is fine for 6×3 at 350˚F, but yours seems to need adjusting down. But baking strips. I hate them, but they work like magic!
Hi from the UK
Would you bake at 350 in a fan oven or lower ? I tried a 6 inch ( with half recipe) at 325 for 37 mins but it domed and only came to 1 inch tall? Thank you I can’t wait to cracking this as it tasted amazing if not a little short!
Hi Hayley! I gotcha just below 🙂
Thanks for sharing your talent. Can I use liquid egg whites in this recipe?
Thanks, Nancy
You absolutely can! 🙂
Hello,
Can I use Italian meringue instead of Swiss?
Absolutely! I love IMBC 🙂
Hi Kara this sounds tasty… Will this be enough batter for a number 7 and number 0 cake… Do u have a vanilla bean frosting recipe that will frost both number cakes… could u let me know ASAP! Thanks
Hi Sonja, I can’t say how much batter you will need as I don’t know the volumes/sizes of those pans or the needed quantity of cake. This recipe makes 8.5 cups of batter if you know how many cups you typically use for your pan.
And you can see a list of all of my recipes here: http://www.karascouturecakes.com/category/recipe/
Hi KARA! This looks like the recipe I have been searching for! Thanks! I’m about to try it. I need 2 layers 10″X2″ and I’m thinking I need about 1 1/2 recipe. My question is the temp and suggested baking time. Thank you so much from Missussippi!
First, yes to 1.5x recipe. Second, anything 10″ or over I use a core or flower nail in the center and under a piece of parchment. Be sure to use baking strips, and keep the temp the same. Watch your baking as the time will vary depending on the size and how your oven bakes. When it begins to get golden on the top watch for the sides just starting to pull away from the pan. Test it and if the toothpick comes out clean you’re good to go!
The cake was very good although it is more like a pound . Dense not light or fluffy
Nope. It’s not supposed to be light or fluffy. It’s an occasion cake suitable for tiered wedding cake and for carving. Light and fluffy will not do for those applications. 🙂
Can you use vanilla extract?
Absolutely can! Same quantities 🙂
I notices the recipe has for full recipe in parenthesis what exactly is the full recipe? If I am reading this right the recipe is for 2 -8 inch pans.
The full recipe is as it is written. There is an option to change the quantity and thus ingredient amount but most people prepare this as a single recipe. It is for 2 8″x3″ round pans, yes.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have made it twice now in (half recipe in 6″ pans) and it turns out so great! My husband actually requested this cake for his birthday this week and he usually always prefers chocolate. Anyhow, I was planning on making the cake again this weekend but had a question. If I wanted to make the cake one day and frost it the next day would the cake do well to wrap and freeze? I was planning on making a berry chantilly type cake and I am afraid the berries would make the frosting/cake soggy overnight. I am wondering how you would go about this. Thank you so much!!!! I really loveeee this cake!
Freezing the cake works very well, though if you’re only resting it overnight before assembly refrigeration is all that you need. But I agree with not letting fresh berries sit in a cake overnight. I like to assemble those the day they are needed 🙂
Kara. Holy cow woman. I followed this recipe to a T, Except I used half and half in place of milk, I used a nice vanilla extract. I’ve never tasted such a delicious cake. The texture is scrumptious, perfect density, moist, the flavor, OMG. Thank you so much. This was my first cake from scratch. Made it with my 18 year old daughter. I’ll never make a box cake again!
WooHoo!!! Another scratch cake convert! I love it 🙂
Hi Kara, is this cake moist/soft/light or dense? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! The cake is moist, soft and dense. It’s perfect for tiered cakes as well as carving.
Hey Kara,
Let me first say that I’m not a very experienced baker, so if I sound ignorant… it’s because I am, lol.
I’m planning on using your recipe for a 3 tier cake (10″, 8″, 6″) for my sister-in-law’s baby shower and I am stressing out about how to bake these cakes. I figure I can divide one full recipe between my 10 and 6 inch pans (with parchment collars).. but can I bake them at the same time or will it ruin my little cake?
I would appreciate any advice!
You most certainly can bake them at the same time, though they will bake for different amounts of time. The six inch will need to be checked around 40 minutes. The 10 inch could take 20 minutes longer than the 8 inch round. The best thing to do is watch and wait for the sides to just barely begin pulling away from the pan. The cake should be aromatic outside of the oven without having opened the oven at all. Those two items will tell you it’s time to check for doneness with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, you’re good to go!
Thank you so much for sharing with us your recipe . Sweet wishes. Stiliani
No problem! Everyone needs a go to Vanilla cake in their lives!
So, I bought a ton of butter to make a large cake for my daughter’s birthday… it’s salted. I love the sound of your recipe though and would prefer to use it instead of the one I had in mind. Can I use the salted butter and decrease or eliminate the salt in the recipe or do I habe to go buy many pounds of unsalted butter now?? I’m assuming I will need about 6x the recipe…. that’s alotta butter!!!
You can use it, I would cut the salt in the recipe in half, though. No need to go get more butter 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for your wonderful Facebook tutorial. I finally figured out why my cakes were so lopsided (pans too short, who knew about collars!) and didn’t cook evenly (wet strips! and beating the egg whites more). What a revelation! I followed the recipe step by step, but do not have a scale and so I measured my ingredients volumetrically instead of by weight. The cake came out looking beautiful and perfectly cooked, but tasted strongly like flour. Is this because measuring may allow for more than weight?
Hi! hat could well be it, but follow the 3.25 cups. Also, what kind of flour are you using?
I always love seeing your gorgeous posts on Facebook. So when I searched for a vanilla cake recipe and your name came up I thought I would try your recipe. It turned out perfectly. Thank you so much!
Aw!!!! Thank you Melissa! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
Hi I was a bit a confused by your recipe how much does the full recipe make and if the “full recipe” is not on the side of one of the measurements for that mean the measurement stays the same for the full recipe
The 3.25 cups is the equivalent volumetric measurement for the full standard recipe. That’s provided for the flour as it’s the only measurement that isn’t able to be easily converted from the weight measures I use.
I loved this! I have a question, can I put lemon zest into the cake recipe? Confession, I did and it seems to be curdling but I’m baking it anyway – my experiment! I love the parchment collar idea, wish I had done that.
Hi Christine! Yes! You absolutely can. Sometimes this recipe looks curdled depending on your ingredients and temp but it’ll bake up fine.
Hi Kara… dense and gummy… I followed all written steps in detail. 🙁 my plans for this weekend are ruined!
Hi Maria, unfortunately when the recipe fails it’s due to it not being followed as written. If it’s dense and gummy your ingredients were too cold when you mixed the batter. And this also can result when baking strips are not used.