Fluffy, Buttery Vanilla Birthday Cake

5 from 3 votes

Fluffy, Buttery Vanilla Birthday Cake

This Fluffy, Buttery Vanilla Birthday Cake is so moist, delicious, and the best rendition of a perfectly frosted vanilla cake ever made. Not to mention, the airy and fluffy vanilla buttercream which adds a nice velvety taste and texture--- perfect for a Birthday or any celebration!

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Keyword: baked, birthday, cake, classic, dessert, easy, fluffy, homemade, sweet, vanilla, vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 608kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake:

3 cups super-fine cake flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
2 cups organic pure cane sugar (I use Wholesome Sweets)
4 tsps baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
5 large organic egg whites, room temp. (I use Organic Valley)
1 large organic egg, room temp. (I use Organic Valley)
1 cup coconut milk (You can use your fave plant-based milk)
3 Tbsps vanilla extract
¾ cups unsalted butter, finely cubed (I use Land O' Lakes)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened at room temp. (I use Land O' Lakes)
5-6 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsps vanilla extract
4-5 Tbsps organic heavy cream (I use Organic Valley)
pinch of sea salt
blue food coloring, optional (I use McCormick)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For Vanilla Cake:

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease OR line with parchment paper two 9-inch cake pans.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg whites, large egg, ¼ cup of coconut milk, and the vanilla extract and whisk ingredients together. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, add the flour, pure cane sugar, baking powder, and sea salt and whisk together dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add cubed butter and using a pastry blend, blend butter into dry mixture until the texture becomes crumbly.
Now, add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the electric mixer (in slow increments and batches), mixing everything on low speed. Add the remaining ¾ cup of coconut milk and continue to mix on low speed. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom if needed. Continue to mix until well combined.
Divide the cake batter evenly into both prepared cake pans and bake for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown at the tops. Be sure to test the cake after 30 minute timeframe to ensure that center is baked through by inserting a butter knife or toothpick. If not, check again every 2-3 minutes thereafter until full time has passed.
Once done, remove from oven and let cakes cool completely, about 15 minutes before removing from cake pans. Let them cool completely (preferably overnight) OR for at least an hour before frosting.

For Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer (fitted w/ a paddle attachment), whip the softened butter until fluffy and creamy, about 6-8 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and sea salt, and mix until well combined. Be sure to scrape down sides and bottom if needed.
Slowly add the powered sugar until well incorporated (scarping down sides of course!), while mixing on low speed to avoid a mess. Then add the heavy cream and add any additional powered sugar OR cream (1 tablespoon at a time) until desired consistency is met.
Continue to whip on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes, before adding blue coloring (if desired). The buttercream frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy, so be sure to refrigerate if not using right away.
Once cakes are fully cooled, frost bottom layer with a generous amount of buttercream, then add second cake on top and frost entire cake as desired.
Wallah!

Notes

FLOUR: If you don’t have cake flour, you can always just use all-purpose flour entirely instead.

STORAGE: Keep cake tightly wrapped using plastic wrap and refrigerated for about 1 week.

CUPCAKES: This recipe yields about 30 cupcakes. Simply bake for 18-20 minutes instead, until centers come out clean.

Nutrition