How to Bake a Cake: A Reliable Vanilla Layer Cake

A good cake is a short list of pantry ingredients, an oven you trust, and a batter you do not overmix. This guide bakes a two-layer vanilla butter cake in two 9-inch round pans, then finishes it with a simple American buttercream. The same batter fills a 9-by-13-inch pan or about 24 cupcakes if you change the bake time.

Plan on about 20 minutes of mixing, 30 to 35 minutes in the oven, and a full cool before you frost.

Ingredients that actually matter#

Cake

• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, at room temperature

Buttercream

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar, sifted if it is lumpy
• 2 to 4 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt

Weigh the flour if you can. A scooped cup often runs heavy, and extra flour tightens the crumb. With cups, stir the bag, spoon the flour in, and level it.

Room-temperature butter, eggs, and milk blend into one batter. Cold eggs make the butter look curdled. Set them out for 30 to 45 minutes, or warm the eggs in a bowl of tap water for 5 minutes. Softened butter yields when you press it. Melted butter belongs in a different recipe.

Whole milk adds fat and a softer crumb. Two percent milk still works. If you only have buttermilk, use 1 cup and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda along with the baking powder so the extra acid has something to react with.

Pans, paper, and the oven#

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Give it a full 15 minutes. An oven that is still climbing will set the edges before the middle rises.

Use two 9-inch round pans that are at least 2 inches deep. Grease the bottoms and sides with butter or baking spray, line the bottoms with parchment rounds, and grease the parchment. The paper is what lets the layers come out clean. Dusting with flour is optional on top of the grease. Skip flour dust if you want the sides perfectly smooth under a thin coat of frosting.

For cupcakes, line two 12-cup tins. A 9-by-13-inch cake uses one lined pan. Metal browns more evenly than glass. With glass, bake at 325°F and start checking a few minutes later.

Mix and bake#

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture looks pale and fluffy. Scrape the bowl once. This step traps air. Shortcutting it gives you a denser cake.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each disappears. Mix in the vanilla. If the bowl looks slightly curdled, the eggs were cold. Keep going. The flour will bring it back.
4. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two parts. Begin and end with flour. Mix on low only until the last streak of flour disappears. The batter should be thick and smooth, not elastic. Extra mixing develops gluten and tunnels the crumb.
5. Divide the batter evenly. A kitchen scale is ideal: about the same weight in each pan. Smooth the tops.
6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for 9-inch layers. Cupcakes usually need 18 to 22 minutes. A 9-by-13-inch cake often needs 35 to 45 minutes. The center should spring back when you touch it, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few dry crumbs, not wet batter.
7. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, invert onto a rack, peel off the parchment, and cool completely. Frosting a warm cake melts the buttercream and slides the layers.

Rotate the pans once at the halfway mark only if your oven has a hot spot you already know about. Opening the door early, in the first 20 minutes, drops the temperature and can sink the center.

Frost and finish#

Beat the softened butter until it is smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time on low speed so it does not cloud the kitchen. Beat in vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Raise the speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add milk a teaspoon at a time if you want a softer spread. The frosting should hold a peak and still move when you press it with a spatula.

Place the first layer flat side up. Spread about 1 cup of frosting to the edge. Set the second layer flat side up as well. The flat bottoms give you a level top. Crumb-coat the outside with a thin layer, chill 15 minutes, then add the final coat. A bench scraper or a long spatula, held upright and turned against the cake, smooths the sides.

For chocolate frosting, sift 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa with the powdered sugar and add another tablespoon of milk. For lemon, use 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon lemon extract in the cake in place of the vanilla, and beat 2 teaspoons of zest into the frosting.

Serve the cake at cool room temperature the day you frost it. If the room is hot, refrigerate it and set it out for 30 to 45 minutes before slicing so the butter softens.

When something goes wrong#

The center sank. The oven was too cool, the door opened early, or the baking powder was old. Replace baking powder every 6 months. Test 1/2 teaspoon in hot water. It should bubble hard.

The cake domed and cracked. The oven was hot, or the pans were too full. An oven thermometer costs little and saves batches. If the dome is only cosmetic, slice it level with a serrated knife once the cake is cool, and put the trimmings out for snacks.

The crumb is dry. The cake baked too long, or the flour was packed. Next time, pull it when the toothpick shows crumbs, and weigh the flour. A thin soak of 2 tablespoons milk mixed with 1 teaspoon sugar, brushed on the cut side, softens a dry layer before you frost it.

The layers stuck. Grease the sides and use parchment on the bottom next time. If a piece tears, chill the cake for 20 minutes and patch it with frosting.

The frosting is greasy or soupy. Chill the bowl for 15 minutes and beat it again. If it is stiff, add milk a teaspoon at a time.

Storage, freezing, and serving#

An unfrosted cake, wrapped well, keeps at room temperature for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Freeze layers on a sheet until firm, then wrap each one in plastic and foil. Thaw, still wrapped, on the counter so condensation stays on the outside of the wrap.

A frosted cake keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cover it so the frosting does not pick up other smells. Freeze slices, separated by parchment, if you want single servings.

Cut with a long knife dipped in hot water and wiped between slices. Two 9-inch layers serve 12 to 16. Above about 3,000 feet, use a local extension-service chart for sugar, liquid, and temperature. A single tweak does not fit every elevation.

Save the recipe as a PDF#

Copy this page into a note, or print it to PDF from your browser, and keep one file in the kitchen. If you add a handwritten timing note from your own oven, drop a photo of that note into JPG to PDF and put it at the end of the recipe with merge PDF. A one-page version is easier to tape inside a cabinet. If the file is large because of photos, run it through compress PDF before you email it to a friend.

Name the file with the pan size, such as vanilla-butter-cake-9-inch.pdf, so you do not open last year’s experiment by mistake.

FAQ#

Can I use oil instead of butter?#

Yes, but it becomes a different cake: moister, with less butter flavor. Use 3/4 cup neutral oil in place of the 1 cup of butter, and whisk the sugar with the oil and eggs instead of creaming. The frosting should still be butter if you want it to taste like birthday cake.

Can I make the batter the night before?#

Bake it the day you mix it. Baking powder starts working as soon as it hits liquid. You can bake the layers a day ahead, cool them, wrap them, and frost the next day.

What if I only have one pan?#

Bake half the batter, leave the rest covered on the counter, and wash and reline the pan. The second layer may need a minute less because the oven is already hot. Do not hold the second half for more than about 20 minutes.

Do I need a stand mixer?#

A hand mixer is enough. A whisk and a strong arm can cream the butter if you give it extra time and stop when the mixture is pale. Fold the flour by hand either way so you do not overmix.

Bake it once as written#

Heat the oven, weigh the flour, cream the butter and sugar until pale, and stop mixing when the flour disappears. Cool the layers all the way, then frost. After that bake, write your oven’s actual time on the recipe PDF so the next cake matches this one.