My oldest son is a vanilla person, and typically the only one in the family who requests a vanilla on vanilla birthday cake. This is the recipe I use, and it’s a huge hit, even amongst the ‘chocolate or bust’ crowd.
Ezra’s Vanilla Birthday Cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
If you don’t have cake flour (I never do), you can make a simple substitution using all-purpose flour and cornstarch with the following ratio: 7/8 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons of cornstarch = cake flour, you’re welcome
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups cake flour (see note)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then line bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low and beat in one-third of flour mixture. Beat in half the milk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth top. Bake until a skewer interred into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30-45 minutes.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then flip out onto the racks. Flip the cakes upright, and let cool completely before frosting.