One Bowl Vanilla Cake

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 vanilla cake recipe!

Best part is that 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!

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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.

Frost this cake with whatever type of frosting suits your fancy! I offer a few options for you below including Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting and Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (both pictured).

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!

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

Can I make this cake gluten-free?

I have not tried making this cake gluten-free, however, I have had luck in the past substituting cup-for-cup or measure-for-measure gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour.

I would recommend a high quality brand such as Bob’s Red Mill. Be sure it says cup-for-cup, measure-for-measure, or 1-to-1 on the label.

Which flavors of frosting work best with this 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

Can I make this cake in advance?

Yes! 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.

Can I make this cake in a round pan instead of a square pan?

Sure! 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.

Can I make this recipe into a layer cake?

This recipe will yield a 1-layer vanilla cake. If you are looking for a two-layer cake, double the recipe and pour half the batter into each pan.

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.

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:

• One Bowl Chocolate Cake
• Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake
• Banana Snack Cake
• Butter Cake

FOR ALL MY FAVORITE BAKING TOOLS INCLUDING THOSE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE, CHECK OUT MY BAKING RESOURCES PAGE!

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