Plain Cake

Ingredients Needed

You can make this basic vanilla cake recipe even if you’re baking for the first time. Make sure you use room temperature ingredients.

• Flour and Sugar: For this simple cake, use all-purpose flour and granulated sugar. No special flours or sweeteners are required! Use a measuring cup to ensure all your measurements are right.
• Eggs: This plain cake recipe requires six whole eggs to provide structure, resulting in a less crumbly cake.
• Milk: The milk provides much-needed moisture to the recipe so the cake isn’t dry. You can use any type of milk that you prefer, but we suggest whole, skim, or evaporated milk.
• Butter or Margarine: In cake recipes, margarine or butter gives the cake a tender crumb and prevents it from being dense. When using either fat, make sure it is soft so you can effortlessly mix it with the sugar.
• Baking Powder: This ingredient is crucial for the cake to rise. Ensure the baking powder is fresh and check the expiration date because old products won’t work effectively.

For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.

How it comes together

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How it comes together

The best vanilla cake recipe starts with simply creaming sugar and butter, adding wet ingredients, and dry ingredients. Here are the steps involved:

1. Cream together margarine or butter and sugar until light and fluffy. If using a stand mixer, the whisk attachment is better for this than the paddle attachment.

Mix this simple vanilla cake by hand in a mixing bowl or using an electric mixer on low to high speed (depending on the strength of your stand mixer) or using a hand mixer. All methods would work well.

2. Add eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar and butter mixture and mix on low speed.

3. Add in a third of the flour, all the baking powder and grated nutmeg to the wet ingredients and mix until all incorporated.

4. Alternate adding the flour and milk, until all incorporated. So, add half of the milk and mix until fully incorporated. Then add half of the remaining flour and mix to combine. Add in the remaining milk and mix to incorporate, and finally add in the remaining flour and mix to combine.

5. Pour the batter into a greased and floured baking pan and bake. You could also add the batter to a large round cake pan greased and lined with parchment paper.

The plain cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pantry notes

• Spices: Although this recipe has some nutmeg, you can always add more baking spices for a more pronounced spiced flavor, such as cinnamon, cloves, or ginger.
• Extract: Experiment with different flavors of baking extract. You can swap the vanilla with lemon, maple, almond, or even coconut! There are plenty of options, and it’s so easy to customize the flavor to your preferences.
• Milk: If you want to use plant-based milk, such as almond milk, it will certainly work. Just remember it will slightly change the flavor of the cake. However, the almond flavor and vanilla extract will taste good together!

We do not recommend using cake flour for this recipe. Please stick with all-purpose flour.

Cook notes

• It’s possible to use cake tins of varying sizes, but the baking time may need to be adjusted. If you opt for a larger pan, the batter will spread out more, resulting in a cake that bakes faster and is shorter in height.
• Conversely, if you use a smaller pan that creates a deeper batter, the cake will take longer to bake, as the center needs more cooking time. In this instance, it’s a good idea to slightly lower the oven temperature.
• You can always double the recipe if you need more batter to fill your exact cake pan. Just remember never to fill the pans more than 2/3 full.
• If your cakes always form a dome shape, check if your oven is accurate. Ovens that run hotter than they should can cause this issue. To check your oven’s accuracy, use an oven thermometer and calibrate the oven if needed.
• You can also try using cake strips to prevent cakes from doming. These strips are soaked in water to become moist and then wrapped around the outside of the pan. They remain on the pan while baking and protect the outer edges of the cake, resulting in a more even bake.
• Store any leftover cake in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to a week. We love to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.
• If you bake this cake in round cake pans and frost it, you can frost it with different kinds of frosting, like cream cheese frosting, American buttercream, or chocolate frosting.

• Yield: 10 servings
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 50 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons softened salted butter (141 grams) or margarine
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose sifted flour (360 grams)
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk (250 ml), 2% milk or evaporated milk would work

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Oil and flour a 10-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the softened butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium to high speed. It takes us about 5 minutes with our stand mixer. You might need to adjust your mixer speed and time depending on your mixer.
3. Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar, mixing each time until the egg is incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
4. Add a third of the flour, all the nutmeg, and baking powder, and mix until well incorporated. Add half of the milk and mix to combine. Add half of the remaining flour and mix until just combined then add in the remaining milk and mix to combine. Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined and there is no more visible dry flour.
5. Pour the batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it on the cooling rack and let it cool completely. Enjoy!

Notes

Pans of varying sizes could be used, but the baking time may need to be adjusted. If you opt for a larger pan, the batter will spread out more, resulting in a cake that bakes faster and is shorter in height.

Bake in 2 8-inch round pans if you want to bake two cakes that can be frosted into a layer cake.

This cake pairs well with tea or coffee! It is a great thing to have in your fridge. You can also serve it with whipped cream and fruit or yogurt.

We have rewritten this recipe for clarity and a better baking experience, altering how the eggs are added and when the milk is added. It’s still the plain cake recipe you love and enjoy!