Versatile Vanilla Cake
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Everyday Food, May 2009
- Prep Time 15 minutes
- Total Time 45 minutes, plus cooling
- Yield Serves 12
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- Whipped Frosting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
- Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
- Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with Whipped Frosting. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides.
Cook's Note
Reserve the egg whites left over from the cake for the frosting. If you don't have buttermilk, substitute plain yogurt or sour cream (not fat-free).
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This cake is amazing! I made it with Mrs. Milman's frosting and loved it! I fell in-love with it. One of my favorite cakes recipes!
This was a wonderful cake. I believe this is the best vanilla cake I have ever baked. The cake was very fluffy and very moist. I can't wait to try more cake recipes from your collection. Thank You
Versatile Vanilla cake, round 2: A BIG HIT! I made this cake in 3 layers for my mom's birthday. I drizzled some melted caramel over two of the layers prior to frosting, which hardened in the fridge, but was great when we microwaved a slice. For frosting, I made Martha's Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream (http://www.marthastewart.com/348602/fluffy-vanilla-buttercream). PERFECT!!! This cake, with the vanilla buttercream, will be my go-to cake recipe from here on out!
Great! I halved this recipe, along with another half of the chocolate variation, and made a six-layer chocolate and vanilla cake. The layers were very thin. I think this cake recipe is best for no more than four layers. But still yummy!
I am a beginner baker, with much to learn, but i did well with this recipe. i made the double layer cake, and it was moist and good. i took it to work for a girls birthday at my job. i had read many reviews on how difficult the whipped frosting was, so i decided to use a vanilla icing recipe from one of my own recipe cook books. it came out very very well, the whole cake was eaten. and i felt proud, thank you martha, from florida!!
This cake can turn the home cook into a professional baker but you have to let the butter and eggs warm to room temperature and carefully follow each instruction. Batter is whipped and cloud-like and the cake has a commercial texture without the chemical additves and with much more flavor. A winning recipe that works well with Italian buttercream and whipped milk chocolate frosting.
Not good. Very crumbly and too dry. More like a scone than a cake. I made it as a birthday cake and guests were not pleased. I love Martha, first recipe of hers that did not work for me. Did not bake well and the edges were hard. Very thick and unruly batter.
overall a yummy cake but not what i was expecting. it's thicker than i thought it would be - more dense and it tastes like sugar cookies. i made it with cream cheese frosting. everyone seemed to like it but it's not my favorite. i think it would have been better with a lot of frosting or with the whipped frosting that they recommend.
I made this cake for my parents' birthday, and it was a let-down. The texture was kind of cornmealy and crumbly. The frosting tasted good but even after 15 minutes of mixing, never formed stiff peaks. I added 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar and it helped it thicken a little more. Overall, it was just lacking in flavor. The cake might have been salvageable if the cake batter had chocolate chips or if strawberries were folded into the frosting. Not one of Martha's best.
I've made this cake twice in the past month. I made it for a women's church group and a birthday party. Everyone love it! They all said it was delicious. The only thing I added was coconut to the top and sides of cake.
A delcious cake! Perfect consistency, texture and taste. I made traditional vanilla buttercream instead of the whipped frosting and it was delicious.
Made this cake for the second time last week and, again, pure happiness. I've only made about 10 cakes in the last couple years, but this one seems easier than others somehow. And it's really good. As for Clairedelune, the protein and leavening differences can definitely wreak havoc on the results.
Last try! One had cake flour
(continued from below).... One had cake flour
I don't know what we did wrong but the cake never rose! Also, even though the knife came out completely crumb free at 32 min, the cake tastes raw. The one thing I found out (after the fact) was that my baking powder had expired in 2007. However, I had just made two cakes the week before that came out beautifully with that same baking powder. One had cake flour
save egg whites for frosting!
this cake is delicious! i do not recommend the whipped frosting with it though. you can find tastier.
I made the chocolate version of this cake and it was delicious! The frosting makes it taste even better!
I save the egg whites from the cake recipe in the freezer until I have enough to make angel food cake. Delicious recipe and I like how you made it easy for us to change it around to be different cakes.
susanaqnunes, soy oil is incredibly unhealthy. Butter is not bad for you, you should do some research. I recommend looking into Weston A. Price.
sorry - the comments app is sketchy with Macs! I made the vanilla version, except I used 1/2 vanilla
I made the vanilla version, except I used 1/2 vanilla
Instead of butter I use 1 cup soya oil, or sunflower oil (I don't know if you have it).
It makes the cake more fluffy and with less colesterol.
On the Today Show ...... You said we could make it a coconut cake.... How much would you add? And what changes would we have to make to the flour if any? Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
On the Today Show ...... You said we could make it a coconut cake.... How much would you add? And what changes would we have to make to the flour if any? Thank you!