Caked Up

Vanilla Cake, classic, simple, some would even say basic. You would think it would be the first cake flavor a baker would master. Not me. I’ve struggled with this flavor for years. No matter what I tried the cakes would be too dry, bland, or oily. Many of them tasting like sugary cornbread. I would stress anytime someone would request a vanilla cake and for a long while I would just dress up a box mix a little to get the job done. To my relief I was eventually able to develop a recipe that I’m satisfied with. It’s a bit of a Frankenstein of different tips and techniques I’ve gathered over time.

1 Stick of Room Temperature Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Tb Vanilla
2 1/4 C Flour
3 Tb Instant Vanilla Pudding Powdered Mix
3 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 1/4 C Milk
1/8 C Vegetable Oil

Pre heat oven to 325 f
Mix dry ingredients in to a bowl and set aside.
Combine Milk and Vegetable Oil in a measuring glass and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time waiting until each egg is mixed in before adding the next.
Mix in the Vanilla.
Mix in about one third of the dry ingredient mixture then add about one third of the wet mix.
Alternate mixing in the dry and wet ingredients until it’s all incorporated.
Pour batter in to two greased 9 inch cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

P.S. This cake freezes well and in my opinion tastes even better after it has been frozen for a few days. So it’s perfect if you need to bake in advance then you can thaw and decorate when desired.