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Snack

Vanilla Birthday Layer Cake

A tender, buttery two-layer vanilla cake, the classic birthday cake. Frost it with vanilla or chocolate buttercream.

⏱ 1 hr 55 min (25 min prep, 30 min cooking, 1 hr waiting) 🍽 Serves 16 · 1 slice (1/16 of the cake), unfrosted make aheadkid friendlyfreezer friendly vegetarian

In our collection Birthday parties: menu and shopping list β†’

πŸ“… Add to my plan

ContainsMilk, Eggs, Wheat. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 16 servings
  • 3 cup All-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 tbsp Baking powder
  • ΒΎ tsp Table salt
  • 1 cup Butter, unsalted, softened (2 sticks)
  • 2 cup Granulated sugar
  • 4 Eggs, large, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
  • 1ΒΌ cup Whole milk, at room temperature

Make it yourself

Make the butter yourself β†’

In the planner, Make it on the shopping list swaps the store item for these ingredients and puts the work on your prep day.

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

Steps

You’ll need: two 9-inch round cake pans, parchment paper, stand or hand mixer, mixing bowls, cooling racks, toothpick.

  1. Heat the oven to 350Β°F with a rack in the middle. Grease the pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, and grease the parchment. Flour the sides lightly, tapping out the extra.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
  3. Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
  4. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts and the milk in two, starting and ending with flour. Mix just until no flour shows. Don’t eat or taste the raw batter, and don’t let kids lick the spoon: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs (FDA). Bake it first.
  5. Divide the batter between the pans and smooth the tops. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the tops spring back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
  6. Cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn the layers out onto racks, peel off the parchment and cool completely, about 1 hour, before frosting.
  7. To frost, see β€œFrost a layer cake” on the Birthday parties page: a thin crumb coat, 20 minutes in the refrigerator, then the final coat.
Make aheadBake the layers up to 2 days ahead, cool, wrap tightly and keep at room temperature, or freeze them. Frost the day before or the morning of the party.
❄️ FreezerWrap cooled layers in plastic wrap and foil and freeze up to 2 months. Frost them while still a little frozen; they crumb less.
β†Ί LeftoversKeep a buttercream-frosted cake covered at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerated up to 5.
πŸ§’ With kidsKids can measure, crack eggs into a separate bowl, and run the mixer on low with a grown-up.
Cupcakes swapThis batter makes about 30 cupcakes; bake 18 to 20 minutes.
Gluten-free swapA cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum works in this cake.
Sheet swapBake it in a 9-by-13-inch pan for 35 to 40 minutes.

Goes well with

🍦 Vanilla Buttercream🍫 Chocolate Buttercream

Good to know

All-purpose vs. bread flour (and friends) Baking soda vs. baking powder Table salt vs. kosher salt vs. sea salt Cooking Fats Compared Salted vs. unsalted butter

An original Teddy Rook Book recipe, written for our Birthday parties collection; safety steps follow USDA. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.