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Vanilla Cake – Back To Basics!
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This timeless back-to-basics vanilla cake features two perfectly balanced, ultra-fluffy sponge layers sandwiched together with vibrant strawberry jam and smooth vanilla buttercream. Requiring just 10 minutes of active prep time and 30 minutes of baking, this foolproof 14-slice classic is the ultimate foundational recipe for bakers of any skill level.
Notes from The Patisserie
Back in 2018, I thought I would start a new series on my blog – ‘back to basics’. As much as I hope that all my recipes are simple and doable by anyone of any baking ability, I know that some are not. Or, some people do just want to learn the basics – and I want to help with that.
I thought that I would go for an absolute classic for my fourth instalment, a vanilla cake. This beauty is a two layer vanilla sponge cake, with vanilla buttercream frosting, and one of my favourite jam flavours… strawberry!
Okay, so back to basics has potentially gone a little bit too basic now, with a vanilla cake… but I’ve had endless requests. I do have a Victoria sponge recipe on my blog already, but this a two layer beauty and potentially explained in a much better way.
The sponge science
This is basically the most simple yet most scientific of cakes. It only really takes four ingredients to make something DELICIOUS, but you have to get it right. It doesn’t really matter whether you use a two egg recipe, three egg, four egg etc… as long as the ratios are equal.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter but you can use baking spread too
- Sugar – the best sugar for a back to basics vanilla sponge
- Flour – self raising flour will give the lift in the sponge we are looking for
- Eggs – I use medium eggs
- Vanilla – I use vanilla extract to cut through the sweetness of the sugar
There are obviously other factors that are involved with getting the perfect cake – but really the ratio, how you mix it, and the oven being the correct temperature is so important. I use a fan oven, so I bake my cake at 160ºc. As my oven is new, it helps so much, but with other ovens I have used an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is correct before baking – as ovens can be drastically out.
Basic method and ingredient swaps
If you know your oven is at the right temperature – just make sure you mix it correctly. I switch between the all in one method, and the beating sugar and butter first method – but in general, I find the beating the sugar and butter together method is better for the most.
Usually I use my Kitchenaid mixer with the scraper paddle attachment for a majority of my baking – and all my cake mixes and buttercreams. I don’t use a whisk, as that creates too much air, and can be quite faffy – but if you have just a handheld mixer, then the whisk attachments for those are fine.
You can easily make a cake mix and such with just your hand, a bowl and a spatula, but for buttercream it does take a bit more welly to get it just perfect! You could go the whole hog and make your own homemade jam if you want, but I just thought I would stick with this recipe being about the actual cake.
If the butter is too cold for the cake, it can make the cake mixture a little lumpy. I usually use room temperature unsalted butter (the kind you get in foil), or baking spread for cake sponges. Either work absolutely fantastically! However, for the buttercream, you must NOT use baking spread. Only use unsalted butter for the buttercream – otherwise it can split or taste horrible.
FAQs
How can I ensure my oven temperature is completely accurate?
Since built-in dials can be wildly inaccurate, hanging an inexpensive standalone oven thermometer on your centre rack is the best way to verify the true temperature before your tins go in.
Why should I weigh the batter when dividing it into the tins?
Using a digital kitchen scale to divide the batter evenly (roughly 500g per tin) ensures both layers bake at the exact same rate, preventing one cake from over-baking while the other under-bakes.
Can I substitute self-raising flour with plain flour?
Yes, but you will need to add two level teaspoons of baking powder to your 250g of plain flour and sift them together thoroughly to replicate the uniform rise of self-raising flour.
My buttercream feels too stiff to spread cleanly; how do I fix it?
Simply beat in a single teaspoon of warm water or milk at a time to instantly loosen the mixture and achieve a silky, spreadable consistency.
Vanilla Cake – Back To Basics!
A delicious two layer vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam!
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Servings: 14 Slices
Ingredients
Cake!
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 250 g self raising flour
- 5 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream!
- 200 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 400 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Extras!
- 200 g strawberry jam
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and line two 8"/20cm tins with parchment paper, and leave to the side.
- Beat together your butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy!
- Add in your self raising flour, eggs and vanilla and beat again for a a couple of minutes until smooth.
- Try not to over beat – mix until it comes together and is smooth
- Split the cake mix between the two tins. I weigh it to make sure its even – each mix should weigh 500g each (roughly)
- Once in the tins, bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until baked through. I check my cake is baked by using a skewer, and listening carefully to see if it bubbles!
- Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the buttercream, make sure your butter is at room temperature.
- Beat the butter on its own for 3-4 minutes, I use the paddle attachment.
- Once the butter is nice and supple, add the icing sugar in 1/2 at a time, and beat fully before adding any more in.
- Add in the vanilla, and beat again for 3-4 minutes until it's all come together.
- Carefully pipe or spread half of your buttercream onto the first cake, and then top with some jam.
- Add the second sponge on, and then spread the rest of the buttercream on top.
- Decorate with your favourite sprinkles, and enjoy!
Notes
- This cake will last for 3 days at room temperature, in a cake box.
Storage and freezing
This classic vanilla cake stores beautifully and will remain completely soft and delicious for up to 3 days when kept inside a standard cake box or airtight container at room temperature. Avoid refrigerating this cake, as the cold air will pull moisture directly out of the sponge layers and turn them dry and crumbly.
If you want to get a head start on an upcoming celebration, you can wrap the un-iced, fully cooled sponge layers tightly in a double layer of plastic cling film and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Other ‘back to basics’ recipes
My first part of the back to basics series was my triple chocolate brownies, followed by my no-bake vanilla cheesecake, and then thirdly the chocolate cake. I figured doing a vanilla recipe would fit with the system and alternating between the two flavours.
Hi Jane,
I absolutely this recipe and goes down a treat every time I bake this!
I’m looking to make this into a 3 tier cake for a birthday cake and fully cover in buttercream, would you be able to advise the ingredients weights for the cake and buttercream please? Would everything for the cake be 375g or 400g?
Abi x
For a 3 layer cake I use a 400g mix, and for buttercream I would maybe use 2.5x x
Could I ask if you made this 3 tiers, and if so, how many eggs did you use? Thanks so much
How much ingredients would I need for a 10 inch cake tin please xxx
Hello! You would need to use roughly 1.6x the recipe x
Hi Jane,
Love the recipe, cake turned out lovely! Just wondering, my buttercream came out a kind of pale yellow (presumably from the butter!). Yours looked a little whiter in the photos. Is that just lighting or is there a way of having it less yellow? It tasted good though and that’s the main thing!!
Thanks so much for all the recipes you share.
It’s probably a combination of lighting, but also its down to how much you beat the butter first – the more you beat the butter on its own the lighter it will be! x
you have to whip the butter for a very long time until it is white , sometimes i go 10 mins. also i have had this problem before because i used stork instead but using real butter is better to make a white buttercream. Also if you still find it’s still yellow but perfect in consistency then you can try using and very small amount of purple dye to cancel out the yellow.
Can this recipe be made in 10 or 7 inch cake pan as I do not have an 8 inch cake pan, I want to make a cake for Mother’s Day.
I would say the best out of those is the 7″, as the 10″ is much much bigger in volume!
Hi Jane!
How do I ensure the cake rises eventually and flat on top? Thank you!
You can lower the temp and bake for longer, but it can also sometimes just be the oven you are using!
Hi Jane . This cake looks delicious ! I’m thinking of making it for my grandma’s birthday but would like to make a 6 inch 4 layer version . I know what all the measurements for this are but am not sure how many eggs to add ? <3 xx
Hello! Weigh the eggs in the shells and match to the other ingredients x
Hi Jane,
Love your recipes! I just want to confirm that for a 3 layer version, all the ingredients weigh 400g. ie. 400g of butter / sugar / flour and also 400g eggs?
I’ve just weighed a variety of different medium eggs and 8 together come to about 550g. Should I use 8 medium eggs still or reduce it to 6 or 7?
Thanks!
Yes basically! Medium eggs can vary a lot so stick with the 400g weight, so sounds about 6 for you!
This is my absolute go to recipe but I do find the sponge to be a bit dry especially the day or two after. Just wondering if there is anything I can do to make it more moist? I’m planning to make it for a birthday but need to make 2 days before eating & want it to be yummy still!! Xx
You can try a simple sugar syrup soak which is like 150ml water and 150g caster sugar dissolved together in a pan and then drizzled on the sponges (like you would a lemon drizzle)? X
After 5 failed attempts and various different recipes for a birthday cake I came across this recipe. It is amazing! I doubled the recipe and made a beautiful two tier cake for my sons 1st Birthday. Everyone loved it! Thanks Jane your recipes are alway brilliant! X
Can this be used for a tiered cake?
Yes!
Hi Jane,
I have made a Vanilla sponge cake but it is dense. I use a gas oven. What could I have done wrong?
It can be any number of things – under baked, too high a heat, over mixed etc!
Hello, if I was to make this into a bigger 2 layer cake using 400g for butter flour sugar. How many eggs would i need and how much vanilla?
Or if I was to make it into 3 layer cake how many eggs /vanilla would I need?
Thanks 🙂
You would want to weigh the eggs in their shells to get to as close to 400g – it could be about 7-8 medium eggs! But I usually do a 400g mix for three layers anyway and baking time is about 30 minutes x
What weight would a medium egg be? We only had large but want to make sure we’re getting the measurements right.
They can vary – between 53-63g in the uk, whereas large is 63-73 (so it can be VERY different.) You’d need to measure them in shells and try and match the weight as close to the recipe as you can! X