As home bakers, we all need an easy, reliable and extremely delicious vanilla cake recipe in our repertoires for any occasion. Well, here’s your new go-to One Bowl Vanilla Cake recipe! Did I mention the best part - this cake is made using only one bowl. And no mixer required.
So, very few dishes to wash afterwards, which means more time for digging in and enjoying this delicious One Bowl Vanilla Cake.
Try my One-Bowl Chocolate Cake, too!
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The Best Vanilla Cake From Scratch
Creating an easy but deliciously moist and vanilla-forward one bowl cake recipe was the goal here and I had a lot of fun experimenting to achieve it.
This recipe contains just the basics. No special ingredients that’ll have you running to the store.
That’s the point of having a back-pocket homemade vanilla cake recipe. You can whip it up at a moment’s notice with only pantry and fridge staple ingredients.
In-laws are stopping by after dinner? No problem! Friend’s birthday is today? Got a quick cake recipe for that! New neighbors just moved in across the street? This one bowl cake is perfect for all these occasions and more. If you want to incorporate ripe bananas, then this banana cake with chocolate frosting will do the trick.
Frost this cake with whatever type of frosting suits your fancy! I offer a few options for you below including Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting, Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (both pictured) or change it up and go for Salted Caramel Frosting.
How to Make this Easy Homemade Vanilla Cake
To prepare this cake, start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisking helps aerate the flour and other dry ingredients, helping to create a fluffier cake batter which will produce a, you guessed it, fluffier cake.
Next, add in the wet ingredients. These include eggs, a neutral oil, such as vegetable oil or calona oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
Using oil instead of butter in this cake helps keep it moist and enables us to eliminate the need for a mixer to cream the butter.
Once the wet ingredients are incorporated into dry ingredients, pour the cake batter into a square baking pan that's lined with parchment paper.
Then bake! Once the cake is baked, allow it to cool completely before frosting it. Or, eat plain if you'd like. I'm not here to judge - this cake is yours and yours alone. You're free to eat it however you'd like!
If you're looking for vanilla cupcakes for a celebration, try Fluffy and Moist Vanilla Cupcakes.
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
To make this easy, one-bowl vanilla cake, you'll need the following ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Soda: make sure it’s fresh and make sure you’re not using the baking soda that has been sitting in your fridge. Baking soda is very good at absorbing odors, so using the one from your fridge will make your cupcakes taste like the contents of your fridge
- Baking Powder: make sure it’s fresh so it’ll work properly to help your cupcakes rise
- Salt: I use kosher salt, however, use whatever kind you have available. Feel free to adjust the level of salt to suit your preferences
- Eggs: US size Large eggs. Room temperature eggs work best. Remove the eggs from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to mixing into the batter to ensure they incorporate evenly
- Oil: use a neutral flavored oil such as canola oil or vegetable oil. Do not use olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, as these have a much more distinct taste that will carry over into the baked cake. If you want to use olive oil in a cake, give this Lemon Olive Oil Cake a try - it's so tasty!
- Milk: whole milk works best here. I have not tried this recipe with milk alternatives such as non dairy milks like almond, oat or soy. They should work just fine in this recipe
- Vanilla Extract: Use high quality pure vanilla extract whenever you can
Flavors of frosting that work best with vanilla cake
We've got lots of options for frosting this simple vanilla cake! Here are a few of my favorites:
Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting (pictured)
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (pictured)
Oreo Buttercream Frosting
White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Make ahead
This cake can be baked and cooled completely then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
If you are preparing this way in advance, double wrap tightly in plastic wrap (make sure the cake has cooled completely!) and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature before frosting and serving.
A note about round pan vs square pan
I would recommend using an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan, sprayed with baking spray and lined on the bottom with parchment paper. The baking time may vary a bit from what the recipe states below, so be sure to keep an eye on the cake while baking.
Making this cake into a layer cake
You can measure the total batter by weight or volume (cups) then divide that in half, or you can eyeball the amounts to be divided between the two pans. The baking time may also increase for multiple layers, so be sure to keep an eye on the cake while baking.
Try making Strawberry Vanilla Cake Pops with any leftover cake and frosting!
Like this recipe? Follow me on Pinterest for lots more recipes just like this one! And don’t forget to pin this recipe for later by clicking on one of the images below the recipe. Or, click on any of the images in this post to save to Pinterest.
Looking for more cake recipes? Give these a try:
FOR ALL MY FAVORITE BAKING TOOLS INCLUDING THOSE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE, CHECK OUT MY BAKING RESOURCES PAGE!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup vegetable oil or grapeseed oil or canola oil
- ¾ cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (177º C). Line an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined.1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add to the bowl the eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly combined and no dry spots appear. Whisk well until evenly combined.2 large eggs, ¾ cup vegetable oil, ¾ cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, bang pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles then bake in the preheated oven for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack before slicing or frosting
Video
Notes
- Cake can be baked ahead of time, cooled completely, covered with plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days
- Store frosted cake in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to one week
- If you are preparing this way in advance, double wrap tightly in plastic wrap (make sure the cake has cooled completely!) and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature before frosting and serving
- Frosting not calculated in nutrition information
- Frosting recommendations: Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting (pictured), Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (pictured), Oreo Buttercream Frosting, White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Nutrition
Comments
L.A.
Just made the recipe this morning. Wow! What a great recipe! It was so easy to make and came out so moist!!
It worked perfectly in a tin foil tree pan I bought.
Love it! I will definitely make this again soon!
Kimberlee Ho
So happy to hear this!! Thanks for sharing 😊
Busy Bee
Idk why my cake ended up with a not so baked bottom and it had too much oil on the bottom part of the cake. is there a way i can avoid this next time?
Kimberlee Ho
I don't know either and I'm sorry that happened to you! It's hard to say without seeing the way it was made. I've made this recipe many times without that happening, so it's difficult to say what caused this.
Donna Waller
This recipe was so easy! I doubled it for a 2 layer birthday cake. It came out perfect!! I made it a day in advance and frosted with your cream cheese frosting recipe. Everyone loved it and asked for me to make it again. Thanks again for another great easy delicious recipe!!
Kimberlee Ho
How wonderful! Thanks for sharing this, Donna! So glad everyone enjoyed it so much and it was easy to make.
Bimpe
Just baked a quick vanilla cake with this recipe. Took me all of 10 minutes to prepare and mix. Came put moist and amazing. I would recommend!
Kimberlee Ho
Awesome! Thanks for baking this recipe and sharing your feedback!
Mel Baz
I made it, it was easy and delicious! One thing though, it needs longer than 30 minutes to fully bake (45minutes for me). Otherwise, it’s a great recipe!
Kimberlee Ho
So glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing how long it took to bake in your oven. Every oven is different, so this is helpful!