It’s not a cheery birthday party without a cheery cake with sprinkles, right? Well, this cake hits the spot!
This vanilla birthday cake with extra sprinkles is super moist and delicious and it will be your go-to cake for many birthdays yet to come!
What you will love about this vanilla birthday cake
This vanilla birthday cake is full of fun sprinkles. It is totally moist and pillowy, and it is a completely homemade vanilla birthday cake from scratch!
Sometimes I like to save time and just use a box mix and spruce it up, but other times there is something very satisfying and special about making a vanilla cake from scratch.
This cake is convenient because it is a cake without cake flour (I never have that on hand).
You will love how this buttery vanilla cake turns out!
Tips
Please make sure that you use room temperature eggs. The consistency and texture of your cake batter and baked cake depend on your eggs being at room temperature. They will not whip up correctly if they are still cold.
Ingredients
Let’s begin by chatting about our flour for a moment. Many MANY recipes call for using cake flour. Cake flour is a flour that has a lower protein content and therefore naturally is lighter and fluffier in texture. While many recipes list cake flour as an ingredient, it is not necessary in many cakes. I do like a light and fluffy cake just as much as John Doe down the road does, but that doesn’t make me want to spend my allowance on a box of cake flour.
It is perfectly fine to use all-purpose flour in a cake recipe! I release you from the idea that cake flour is superior. But I will say that all-purpose flour, since it has a higher protein content, tends to be a little more dense.
However, I propose that you would not be able to tell the difference between a cake baked with cake flour and this vanilla birthday cake without cake flour. As long as you follow the steps to whip up the eggs really well, you will end up with a deliciously moist and fluffy cake!
For the butter, I also never purchase unsalted butter. I like salt and salted butter tastes good, so in this recipe we will use salted butter.
While we are speaking about our ingredients for vanilla birthday cake, we should most definitely talk about our vanilla. Never NEVER NEVER use imitation vanilla!!!! Ya’ll… that stuff is NASTY! Always use pure vanilla extract! I don’t have time to use an actual vanilla bean, but pure vanilla extract will be perfect for this recipe.
These are the vanilla birthday cake ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Butter (salted)
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Multi-colored sprinkles
- Buttermilk
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Your favorite buttercream frosting
How to make Vanilla Birthday Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter the sides of two 9-inch cake pans.
Cut a circle of parchment paper that fits into the bottom of the pan and put one in each pan. This will help with removing the cake without damaging it.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, put 4 eggs and one egg white and mix it on medium speed with the whisk attachment for about 1 minute. The eggs should get nice and foamy.
While the mixer is still going, slowly mix in the sugar, just a few tablespoons at a time over about a 2-minute time frame.
Keep the mixer on for another 3-4 minutes until the eggs and sugar have at least doubled in volume (or even tripled) and it should be very white.
While the eggs and sugar are mixing, melt the butter and heat up the buttermilk so that it is warm.
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together.
Add half of the flour mixture into the egg and sugar mixture and mix it until combined. Add the other half of the flour mixture and mix it again.
Once it has combined, slowly add the hot butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, and buttermilk to the batter while the mixer is on low-medium speed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and sprinkle the top of each cake pan with a generous amount of sprinkles. Take a knife and gently swirl the sprinkles in then stick the cakes into the oven straight away.
Bake the cakes for about 30 minutes or until they are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool down for 15 minutes before loosening them from the edges of the pan. Carefully invert the cakes onto a wire cooling rack to cool and remove the parchment paper.
Cool the cakes all the way to room temperature. Put the first cake layer on a serving platter and frost it with your favorite buttercream frosting.
Carefully stack the second cake on top and frost it too.
I just absolutely LOVE to cover my cake in fun sprinkles!
Enjoy!
Variations
This lovely, sprinkled vanilla birthday cake can be varied by the type of frosting you use. Some people (not me) like to eat vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.
Nothing quite compares to a homemade cream cheese frosting either! Check out the best homemade cream cheese frosting in my recipe for Carrot Cake 🡨here!
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Two 9-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
FAQ’s
Do I have to use oil when I bake a cake?
You can use just butter when baking a cake, however using a light flavored oil (like vegetable oil or canola oil) will help with the moisture content of the cake and to give it a better crumb and consistency. In this recipe, I advise to use both butter and some oil to get that fluffy, moist texture.
What complements a vanilla cake?
Your favorite kind of ice cream is always a great option to complement a cake. A cup of coffee, berries, or nuts and seeds are also wonderful alongside vanilla cake recipes.
Vanilla Birthday Cake
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Two 9-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour add 2 Tablespoons more if using cake flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 large eggs + 1 egg white room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter salted
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup sprinkles plus more for topping
- Your favorite buttercream frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter the sides of two 9-inch cake pans. Cut two 9-inch circles of parchment paper and line the bottom of each pan with it.
- Put the 4 large eggs and the egg white (room temperature) into the bowl of a stand mixer and with the whisk attachment, mix them on medium to high speed for about 1 minute.
- Gradually add the granulated sugar to the eggs while it is mixing. Only add 1-2 tablespoons at a time over about a 2-minute time frame.
- Let the eggs and sugar mix for about 3-4 minutes until it has doubled or tripled in volume, and it becomes very white.
- While the eggs are mixing, melt the butter and heat up the buttermilk until it is hot.
- Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together and add half of it to the eggs and sugar batter after the eggs and sugar have mixed. Mix it on low speed until combined then add the other half, mixing it until it is just combined.
- While the mixer is on, slowly pour the melted butter and hot buttermilk into the cake mixture then add the oil and vanilla extract. Don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and sprinkle the top of each cake evenly with ¼ cup of sprinkles on each cake. Take a knife and give it a swirl.
- Bake the cakes in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes.
- Loosen the cakes from the sides of the pan then carefully invert them onto a wire cooling rack and remove the parchment paper.
- After they have cooled completely, place the first cake layer on the cake platter and frost with your favorite buttercream frosting. Carefully layer the second cake on top and frost it with buttercream also. Generously put multi-colored sprinkles all over the cake, or just on the sides. Serve and enjoy!
My name is Beth, Elizabeth Evelyn to be exact. A native Tennessean, I was born in the South.
I am the author behind Local Milk Blog.
Local milk is a journal devoted to home cookery, travel, family, and slow living—to being present & finding sustenance of every kind.
It’s about nesting abroad & finding the exotic in the everyday.
Most of all it’s about the perfection of imperfections and seeing the beauty of everyday, mundane life.