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Who’s ready for cake!?
And Friday?!?! And celebrations!?!?
Me, me, me, ME!! ?
Over here in my little world, it’s been a big week and a half. First things first, Asher’s eighth birthday. I think the little girl had a pretty fun week. She seemed to love all of her presents and the finale to her celebrations was her Harry Potter birthday party with four of her closest friends. The fun isn’t completely over, come October 1, we will finally be heading off on our trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (thank you to those of you who recommended Orlando). I must say, I’m pretty psyched to go myself.
Second, BABY goats!!. Oh those baby goats…aka kids, as they’re officially called. These two little goats are the cutest little animals I have ever seen. Like puppies have nothing on them. What’s even cuter though? Watching Layla, their mom, play her motherly role. Since Layla is a first time mom, she didn’t quite know what to do for the first day, but her motherly instincts have kicked in, and now the only time she ever leaves their side is to eat, and even then, it’s never for very long. Watching their bond grow stronger each and every day has been incredibly awesome. Layla will not even let my cat Snape (or Snap or Snappers as Asher calls him) near them. She stairs him down until he runs off. <–for real.
Third, my sixteen year old brother, Red, got his driver’s license. Ahhh, what? How is that even possible? It feels like yesterday that he was the baby of the family. I cannot believe he is driving now…YIKES.
Fourth, this little site of mine is growing and I could not be more exited about it! Woot Woot! 🙂
So you see… it’s clearly a cake kind of Friday… obviously the best kind of Fridays.
OK, so here’s the deal with this cake. Typically I would never bother with a vanilla cake, but my cousin Abby convinced me that a vanilla cake with sprinkles (nonpareils…the round ones) was something I had to make. I’ve had it ingrained into me from a very young age that the only cake worth eating was chocolate. No seriously, I never, ever, ate vanilla cake growing up. I’ve probably only ever had just a few bites before making this cake.
I know, I know, that is kind of crazy, but you just do not know my mom. It’s all chocolate, all the time. The other thing my mom tried to instill into me? Sprinkles = BAD. I think she did this, one, because they messed too much with her pure chocolate on chocolate flavors, and two, because she knew they just added more unnecessary sugar, and three (and probably most importantly), she HATED to have to clean them up. Sprinkles and Nerds (do you guys remember those?) were pretty much outlawed in our house.
Well, I am breaking all the rules today and making a vanilla cake… and even adding (just a few) sprinkles…ooops.
Thankfully, I no longer live at home, and thankfully my mom never saw the ENTIRE BAG of sprinkles I spilled on my pantry room floor. Totally serious, I am forever a klutz.
Anyway, I made a vanilla cake, but since I love my chocolate too, I had to go with chocolate frosting. Like I just couldn’t do vanilla on vanilla. Maybe someday in the future, but just not today. Today needed mounds of whipped chocolate buttercream (again, cause we are celebrating baby goats over here, with more to come any day now!) atop my moist and fluffy vanilla cake!
Alright, so this cake?! Even though it is vanilla. I still LOVE it. It’s fluffy and moist, and has an intense vanilla flavor, which is possibly my favorite thing ever. That moist and fluffy and vanillay cake is the perfect pairing with my favorite whipped chocolate buttercream, like it is SOOOO GOOD!
So good, that even my sprinkle hating, chocolate only, freak of a mother had a piece… and truly enjoyed it!
Um, that’s what I call a successful vanilla cake! 🙂
You may have noticed that I didn’t cover my cake fully in sprinkles…ahh, sorry, but like I said, I spilled them all over the floor. If you have a serious love for sprinkles, feel free to go as crazy as you’d like!
I do actually prefer a cake probably minus the sprinkles. Well, I think just a few can be awesome, cause they’re so fun, but too many and, I dunno, they start to take away from the flavor of the cake. I guess it’s true what they say, like mother like daughter. ?
Ahhh, sooo here’s what I’m thinking, birthday or no birthday, this Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream should probably be made… ASAP… just sayin.
Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 18 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 709 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cup cake flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 sticks (2 cups) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs and egg yolks. Add the greek yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with flour until just combined.
- Pour the batter among the 3 cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Grab 3 large flat plates, line them with wax or parchment paper and invert the cakes onto the paper lined plates. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer). Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or until there are no streaks of white. Add 4 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes more or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*if you do not have cake flour, use 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons. Then add 2 tablespoons cornstarch. This will equal 1 cup of cake flour. Repeat this four times so you have 4 cups of cake flour. Then measure out the required 3 3/4 cups cake flour (reserve the 1/4 cup). **Vanilla cake adapted from Martha Stewart.
Cause really, all Fridays should include some kind of cake!
This post was originally published on September 9, 2016
This cake was just amazing! We were fighting over the last crumbs. I think the buttermilk is what makes this cake so remarkably good but I will never need another vanilla cake recipe….ever!
AH! YAY, so so happy you liked it Cheryl. Thank you for making it!!
Well, i made it with 6 sticks of butter and it was excellent, my daughter love it and the other kids too!!! Thanks…
I am glad they loved this Claudia! Thank you!
Hi , i got the same question, is 6 sticks of butter?? If you can help me, todays is my daughter birthday!!! Thanks…
Hi Claudia! I am so sorry, it is 3 sticks for the the cake and 4 sticks for the frosting. Recipe has been fixed and reads correctly. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you and happy birthday to your daughter!
Hi, I am going to bake this cake today for my husband’s birthday but I’m a little confuse about the “3 cups sticks butter” does it mean 6 sticks of butter?
Thank you so much❤️
Hi Sheryl! I am so sorry, it is 3 sticks for the the cake and 4 sticks for the frosting. Recipe has been fixed and reads correctly. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you and happy birthday to your husband!
I already know this cake is fantastic, I just wanted to ask you if you ever made it in a 9 by 13 inch pan or a jellyroll pan, like you would, a Texas sheet cake. I’m having a meeting at my house and it would be a lot easier to serve it if I could make it one of those ways. I then can cut it and put it in cupcake holders.
Yes, I have made it that way, it works great! I use a 9×13 inch pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!
I just wanted you to know that the cake was fantastic! Yes I froze the layers, and then put them in the fridge the night before I was going to serve it. I iced it the day I served it. I took it to a restaurant for a birthday dinner and not only was the owner of the restaurant impressed, my guest loved it. I think freezing the layers enhances the flavor and texture of the cake. The only thing that I would suggest, is to sift the cocoa powder before incorporating it into the butter and 10x sugar. I saw small pieces of the cocoa in my icing. I remade it, making sure that the cocoa was sifted. Just a suggestion. Also, my other issue was the cake was so gorgeous and tall, it didn’t fit into any of my very large cake carriers. Don’t worry, I did get it there very carefully. Thanks again for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Ah soo happy you liked it and everything worked out well! Sounds like everyone liked it which is amazing! So happy it was a success, thanks Marcy!
Will condensation occur on the icing when it’s defrosting?
Hi Mercy, I don’t recommend freezing the cake with the icing. I recommend freezing the cake layers and frosting just before you are ready to eat. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope you love the cake1
Have you ever made the layers a few days ahead? Do you freeze or store in the fridge?
I would frost the day I’m serving it. Or, do you not recommend that?
Hi! I have made them ahead and store in the fridge for a day or in the freezer for longer. If freezing, I would just frost the layers frozen and then let the cake taw 2-3 hours before serving. frosting the cake frozen makes things so easy. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
Aw, this is so cute! So happy for you and your blog, of course! <3 Anyways, I am SUCH a klutz myself. I spill protein powder, sweet potatoes, fruit, granola, and SO much more! And I totally can relate–I love any cake, but I NEED my chocolate fix! This cake looks magnificent! The buttercream frosting just tops everything off perfectly!
Made this yesterday for a Christmas party! It was divine! Best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. It stuck to the pan, and I was worried, but once it cooled it popped out! The frosting was fantastic. And there are green and red nonpareil sprinkles all over my kitchen floor because I accidentally dumped the tub on the cake. That’s what I get for decorating at 6 a.m., hah! It looked festive, at least! And unless my cats eat the sprinkles, bet my floor will look festive when I get home too. 😀
Yay! So so happy you liked it!! I always end up getting the sprinkles everywhere too! Wish my cat liked them! haha. Thanks so much!
WHAAAAAAAAAA THE HELL. why am I only finding your blog now?????? you are pure genius and your cake looks absolutely devine! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!
Haha welcome welcome!! So happy you are loving it and this cake! Thanks so much Sanaya!
If I wanted to add raspberry jam as a filling, do you think that would work well with the vanilla cake and chocolate frosting? Also, how would you recommend assembling the cake with the filling? Would you do a layer of frosting with a “frosting dam” around the edge and spread the jam on top before adding the next cake layer? I’m going to assemble it a day ahead and don’t want the jam to make the cake soggy. I’ve never done a fruit filling with chocolate frosting before, but that’s what the person I’m baking it for wants, so I would welcome any tips!
Hey Becs! Sure, that would be great if you like raspberry and chocolate together! I would layer the cake as follows: cake, frosting, jam, repeat. Let me know if you have ANY questions. Happy to help! Thanks! 🙂
First, I want to say how precious you are! I so admire that you saw the need and took over the role of cooking for your quite-large family at such a young age! What a blessing you are to your family! And then you turned it into a career success! God is good! And, I get to call it “quite large” because I’m number 13 of 16 children!
This Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream! It is so delicious! And boy did I have my doubts – 3-3/4 cups of flour – I thought, that can’t be right, can it? It was! And I am so glad I decided to trust the ingredients and just go with it! This was a compromise cake. I shared my birthday celebration with my husband this year and if I had it my way, like you and your Mom, it would have been a chocolate on chocolate cake. But since I was sharing the celebration with hubby, then I went with white cake and chocolate icing – much to my dismay, or so I thought. WRONG! I didn’t have all of my ingredients ready like I should have and I think I may have whipped the cake a bit more than I should have. It was quite thick when I put it in the pan. Again I doubted myself (and the recipe!)! WRONG again. I figured it would be really dry because of all the mixing. WRONG. It was a huge hit. And so moist. My 33-YO son said that it is my best cake yet! And that icing! Boy was it good! The only variation I made in the recipes was I added a touch more heavy cream to the icing. I even added the sprinkles!
And, for our meal, I made your Sage Butter Lemon Roasted Chicken in Goat Milk with Brussels Sprout Pasta. It was so delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed it! And it came together so quickly and made the house smell so wonderful with the fresh sage and thyme leaves! And, the goat milk really did add a nice flavor. I was so glad that my local grocer carries goat milk in the refrigerated milk section. I wanted to make zucchini and squash zoodles in place of the pasta, but I was limited on time and decided against varying the recipe. We too had a really nice evening together in spite of our busy lives. And this dinner together was just what we needed as a family. You see, my older brother, Carey, (#8/16) lost his brave battle with cancer, on my husband’s birthday. Your recipes brought much comfort to us – me, my husband and two sons – a few nights ago. Thank you for giving back by sharing your recipes and your life!
With gratitude,
Jocelyn Green
Wow, this makes me so happy that you and your family enjoyed your cake, dinner, and your night in general. And thank you for sharing this with me Jocelyn! And 16 kids? Holy cow… I thought the seven kids in my family was a lot!! Haha, anyway, I am super happy you had a great night and everyone enjoyed it! Thank you! ?
This cakes is amazing. Just made it for my sons 5th birthday and adults and kids confirmed its superiority! Question though. Any chance you have ever halved this recipe? Can you provide weights for the flour so it’s easier to cut in half? I’d like to make a mini cake for a baby’s 1st birthday and desperate to use this recipe! Thoughts?
Hey Lesley! I am so happy you enjoyed the cake, that is awesome! I have halved this cake and it works great! Unfortunately, I do not know the weights, but I do believe you can calculate it online. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you again! 🙂
I’m not a huge vanilla fan but man do I LOVE chocolate!!! I’m will definitely try this recipe this weekend and tag you! Thanks for sharing!!
Yay!! Cannot wait to see it! Thanks so much Mayra, I hope you love it!