This vanilla birthday cake is made from just two small 6” layers of yellow cake covered in chocolate Swiss buttercream frosting. It is the perfect classic vanilla birthday cake recipe with soft crumbs and creamy frosting, only in smaller form.
Happy birthday blog baby! Yes, this month marks year 5, half a decade, of this blog existence in the world wide web. That’s like 50 years in blog years and a century of blood, sweat, and tears. But it’s also the birthday month of my most favorite person in the world, my partner in crime, best friend, my Carl in UP, the only one I’d trust in an apocalypse. Hence, this classic birthday cake combo of yellow cake with chocolate frosting is the only thing to make, always a a favorite, classic but never boring.
Are yellow cake and vanilla cake the same?
Yes and no. A yellow cake can be a vanilla cake but a vanilla cake can be either a yellow cake or a white cake. This depends on whether whole eggs or egg whites are called for in the recipe. But a yellow cake flavored with vanilla extract is always a vanilla cake.
What is the difference between yellow cake and white cake?
Yellow cake gets its name from the golden hue of the cake which comes from whole eggs, or more specifically the egg yolks. As opposed to white cake which uses only or mostly egg white in the cake batter.
Yellow cake is typically made with all-purpose flour. It’s richer, denser and sturdier, which holds up well to layering and frosting. White cake tends to call for cake flour. It’s more delicate, cloud-like and spongier. Yellow cake makes me think birthdays and white cake makes me think weddings.
How to make yellow cake from scratch
Most people associate yellow cake with boxed cake mix. Nothing’s wrong with that if it’s your thing, but making cake from scratch is easier than you think. I used to be intimidated by cakes, so I started with cupcakes and slowly work my way up to making small cakes like this.
- For this recipe, I use my stand mixer to beat together whole eggs, sugar and vanilla for two whole minutes.
- Once beaten, the mixture should be light in color and look creamy. Though it won’t be thick.
- Then, in a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients together and add it to the stand mixer bowl.
- Stir until completely incorporated. Now the mixture will thicken.
- Next, warm the milk in a heat proof bowl; the easiest way is to zap it in the microwave for just under a minute. Alternately, you can heat it on the stove top, but for a small amount of milk like this recipe calls for, microwaving is entirely acceptable. Melt the butter in the hot milk and mix the oil in as well. Pour this mixture in the stand mixer bowl with the speed set on “stir”.
- Use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl to make sure the batter is thoroughly incorporated.
- Divide the batter into two 6” cake pans. You can eyeball it but I like to use a kitchen scale to make sure they have the exact same amount of batter because 1) I’m slightly OCD and 2) this will help the cakes bake evenly in the oven.
- Bake just until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
Can I use both butter and oil in cake?
Absolutely! This small vanilla cake recipe calls for both butter and oil. Cakes with oil tends to be more moist than ones with all butter. Oil is 100% fat, and fat inhibits gluten formation. Whereas butter typically contains 15% water, and water strengthens gluten formation. Too much gluten can result in denser crumbs and dryer cakes. But butter imparts a more delicious flavor that we all know and love. This cake gets the best of both world with a balance of both butter and oil in the batter.
As for the frosting, I went with chocolate Swiss buttercream because it is currently my obsession, and also because it’s delicious, and it makes for a classic birthday cake combo. This cake might be small, but it’s mighty! It will serve 8 easily, and 6 very generously, perfect for a small birthday dessert without too much left over to tempt you the next day.
More Birthday Cake Idea
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
📖 Recipe card
Homemade Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ((125 g))
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ((1g))
- 1 teaspoon baking powder ((4 g))
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar ((135 g))
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract ((14 g))
- ½ cup whole milk ((122 g))
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter ((28 g))
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil ((40 g))
Frosting
- 3 oz egg white ((85 g))
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ((104 g))
- ½ teaspoon vinegar ((3 g))
- 7.5 oz unsalted butter ((213 g, room temperature, cubed))
- ½ teaspoon vanilla ((2 g))
- 3 oz dark chocolate ((85 g))
- 1 tablespoon dutch-processed cocoa powder ((7 g))
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Butter two 6” cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a piece of round parchment paper cut to fit (optional but highly recommended).
- In a small mixing bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
- Add egg, sugar and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
- Heat the milk in the microwave for 40 - 50 seconds, add butter and oil to the hot milk and stir until the butter is completely melted. Add milk mixture to the stand mixer bowl while stirring to combine. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to ensure thorough mixing.
- Divide batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, about 280 g of batter per pan.
- Bake in the middle oven rack for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch. Run a paring knife along the edge to loosen the cakes if necessary and remove them from the pan. Peel off parchment paper if using and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the frosting
- Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water just until most is melted. Continue to stir as you take it off the heat until all the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Add egg white to the stand mixer bowl and beat with a wire whisk attachment on medium low speed until frothy.
- Increase speed to medium and slowly add sugar, one tablespoon at a time to allow it to incorporate into the egg white. Half way through adding the sugar, stream in the vinegar. Then continue to add the sugar until all gone.
- Increase speed to medium high speed and beat until stiff peak forms and the meringue is shiny and smooth.
- Reduce speed to medium low and slowly add the room temperature cubed butter, one cube at a time and allow it to incorporate into the meringue. When all the butter is added it will look chunky, like cottage cheese.
- Add vanilla and increase mixer to high speed and beat for 4-5 mins until buttercream is formed and smooth. Add the completely cooled melted chocolate and cocoa powder and beat until incorporated and fluffy.
Assemble the cake
- When the cakes are completely cool, place 1 layer on a cake stand or plate. Put a few pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake to cover the cake stand or plate. This is to keep the frosting from smearing everywhere.
- Add ½ cup of frosting on top of the first layer and even it out with an offset spatula. Add the second layer of cake on top.
- Frost the side and top to your liking. If there is any left over frosting, add piping decoration on top and side. Carefully pull out the pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour’s Classic Birthday Cake Recipe.
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Hi again,
So far I’ve made your strawberry, chocolate, carrot, & now I’m making this cake. I’m in high altitude denver 5280 & noticed this cake does not have baking soda like the others. Why is that? Also, being in 5280 Denver, would it be better to have baking soda and baking powder like the other recipes? Or does it not matter? The other recipes do work in Denver shockingly. It’s in the oven and looked ok batter wise. Will update you soon.
Hi Mia, baking soda needs an acidic ingredient to activate it, like buttermilk or brown sugar. This batter does not have anything acidic, that’s why there is no baking soda. I hope it works for you, please let me know! And thank you so much for trying out all the recipes 🙂
Hello,
The cake did work and turned out fine. My friend loved it. I felt Like it wasn’t as moist but I guess It’s cause I’m in high altitude. It was still delicious & edible and the batter did look liquid like before entering the oven so it’s definitely just based on where I live. Taste was great. I’m also not a fan of vanilla cake like the birthday girl. However, the frosting didn’t work as well for some reason but that could be because I was Working and could not concentrate on it fully. The melted chocolate after it cooled was put into the beaten buttercream & for some reason, some of it curled & turned back into chunk pieces. It wasn’t a lot. I tried to reheat the butter cream over steamed water over the stove. What do you think caused the melted chocolate in the buttercream to do that & curl back up. The buttercream itself did not curl and was smooth. Thanks.
Thanks for letting me know Mia! The only thing I can think of that would make the chocolate solidify is something was too cold. Was the buttercream too cold? It shouldn’t be since everything in the buttercream should be at room temperature. Was the chocolate just solidify or was it breaking like separating?
Everything was at room temperature even the melted chocolate. It solidified not separated. Yes, I’m guessing a temperature issue but could not figure out what as my metal kitchen aid bowl was also at room temp. I guess I will Just be more mindful next time. Thank you.
That is so strange! If you ever run into anything strange with recipes like this, please take a photo and email me. I will try my best to help you troubleshoot.
Hi, can this be made in a half pan sheet cake? Would it be enough batter if I just double it?
I think double the batter should be enough for half sheet pan.
the cake was delicious although im concerned about the frosting recipe. shouldn’t we use pasteurized eggs?
If you have concern, I would pasteurize the egg whites. See my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for more information.
Hi! I have now made this cake multiple times – with great reviews. I appreciate the frosting recipe especially as it’s not the typical version in which you must heat the whites with the sugar. I just measured out my whites and I have 104 grams as opposed to the 85 grams stated in the ingredient list. Is it ok to keep it or does it really have to be 85 grams on the dot? Thanks!
Hi Monika, if you keep 104 grams, you’ll need to increase the rest of the ingredients to keep the ratio. I would suggest taking some out to get 85 grams instead since it sounds like you have a scale and can do that easily. Use the leftover in scramble eggs or something.
delish
The cake recipe is amazing. I use freshly whipped cream and cut strawberries for the middle layer and the top instead of the frosting recipe and I end up with a beautifully light cake.
Thanks Danielle, whipped cream and strawberry sound dreamy!
Also, I only have fresh eggs. How many egg whites is 85 grams?
One egg white is about 30-33 grams, you can use about 3 egg whites or weight them and take a bit back out.
Hello.
For the frosting I am weary about the fact that the eggs are not being whisked with the sugar so as to dissolve the sugar. Your method isn’t standard. Does the granulated sugar dissolve or is the frosting gritty?
You do have to beat the sugar into the egg white in the recipe instructions. You just want to get it a little frothy at first and then start adding sugar slowly so it will incorporate in the egg white and make a meringue. It is not gritty, I make this frosting all the time. Please refer to my post about swiss buttercream for my details.
wow nice i will try i am 12
This cake was so very delicious! The texture was outstanding and it was fluffy AND moist! The Chocolate buttercream frosting was light and delicious, a great compliment to the cake. I plan to make this cake again as my go-to cake recipe. (Instead of two, 6″ pans, I used a rectangular 7″ x 11″ clear, glass casserole dish that I lined with parchment and baked for 25 min.)
What number of Tid did you used in this cake?? It looks beautiful
Hi Margot, I’m assuming you’re asking about the tip, I use the open star tip, wilton 1M.
What tip do you used in this decoration??? Please advise.
Wilton 1M tip.
Do you have to use whole milk? Will any other kind of milk work?
I prefer whole milk or 2%. And if you don’t have 2% then any other milk will work.
This recipe sounds amazing!! I want to try bake it tomorrow…however I only have 8 inch tins, will this affect the baking time etc?
Yes it will, and it will also depend on whether you’re planning to bake in two 8″ tins or one tin. If you bake in 2 tins, each layer will be much thinner and I think it may bake faster. If you bake in 1 tin, it will be thicker and may need to bake longer. Make sure to check them while baking. I usually leave the oven light on so I can see what the cake surface looks like, that gives me an idea when to pull them out and check with a toothpick. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Can i use this recipe for cupcakes as well?? If yes, any idea how many time will they bake??
Hi Shilpa, I have a similar cupcake recipe with vanilla cake and chocolate frosting here.
This is serously beautiful. Such a perfect birthday cake and I love the smaller size too.
Thanks! I love cake but I can go without leftover for weeks so the smaller size is totally a plus.
Can I use margarine for the 7.5 oz unsalted butter (213 g, room temperature, cubed)?
I KNOW the butter flavour won’t be there, but it’s all I have…
Taste aside, will it still WORK?
Monika, I’ve never made Swiss buttercream with margarine so I cannot guarantee that it will work. But my round about answer is it depends on the water content in your margarine. If it has high water content, it will most likely not work. If it has high fat content it may work, but your frosting may turn out much softer than if you use butter and it may be difficult to frost. Bottom line is that I don’t recommend it if you don’t want to take a chance. But if you do decide to experiment with it, I’d love to know the result.