Fluffy Vanilla Cake
Light, airy, fluffy with a sweet vanilla flavor. This is perfect to make a light cake or cupcakes! This recipe is great and you can add your own personal touch with your filling :)
Ingredients:
Cake Batter
2 cups cake flour / all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup full fat milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp vegetable or canola oil
Vanilla Butter Cream
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
500 g powdered sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp milk
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350, you want the oven to be nice and hot before you put your cakes in.
Prepare your cake tins. Butter generously and dust with flour. (make sure to get any excess flour out.
Combine your flour, baking powder & salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Add your eggs to your mixing bowl fitted with your whisk attachment.
Whisk for 30 seconds on medium speed (6) until frothy on the top, then add your sugar 1 spoonful at a time.
Once your sugar is added, turn your mixer up to speed (8), and mix for 7-8 minutes.
Your egg & sugar mixture will be pale yellow and very frothy when it's done and have tippled in size. The sugar will also be dissolved in the mixture.
While your eggs are beating, heat your milk and butter until warm and the butter is melted. (you want this to still be warm by the time you add it into your mix later.
Once your egg mix is done beating, add 1/3 of your dry ingredients at a time, mixing on low each time until incorporated.
Pour your warm mil & butter into a medium bowl (you can now use the bowl you used for your dry ingredients to save on dishes). Add in your vanilla & vegetable oil.
Add 2 large scoops of your batter into your warm milk & butter mixture. Whisk vigorously until everything is combined. We do this to temper the mixture before adding this warm liquid into your batter to prevent any separation.
Once this is all mixed, add it into your large mixer with the rest of your batter and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and mix again on low for 10-15 seconds until combined.
Pour your batter into your prepared cake tins.
Hit your tins on the counter 3-4 times to get out any large bubbles.
Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden brown.
Let your cakes rest in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cook. *I like to cool my cakes upside down if your making a two-tiered cake to ensure you have flat cakes which are much easier to stack)
Make the Vanilla Butter Cream:
Add your softened butter to your mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on high for 1 minute until light and fluffy.
Add your powdered sugar 1/3 ad a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated. *mix on low to avoid any sugar clouds puffing up from your mixing bowl
Add your vanilla extract and 2 tbsp of milk. Mix medium speed to combine. Add any additional tbsp of milk to get the consistency the way you like.
That's it! Super simple.
Tips on Assembly:
Add a thin layer of buttercream on the base of your cake, pipe a thick border of icing around, then put your filling in the middle. This will hold it all in and nothing will ooze out!
A bright fresh fruit mix to fill this cake with works perfectly! I love cut up strawberries with a tbsp of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice!
Add a nice simple syrup to lightly brush on your cake before frosting, it adds a nice moisture to your cake. Be careful not to overdo it though, you don't want a soggy cake!
Dont have a piping bag? No problem. I didn't have one for a LONG time and I would just use a ziplock bag. Use a large one (gallon size), fill it with your frosting and then cut a hold on one of the corners. *perfect*
