Easy Vanilla Cake
Servings: 16 small squares
Cake's Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 grams) water
- ¼ cup (55 grams) oil we recommend olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or beans from a vanilla pod
Cake's Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cup (225 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1½ teaspoon (6 grams) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 tablespoons (60 grams) butter or dairy-free butter (4 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
- 4 ounces (120 grams) cream cheese or dairy-free cream cheese
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar up to 2 cups if you like it sweeter
- ½ (½) lemon the grated zest (optiona)
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 340°F or 170°C. Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper and brush sides with butter. To a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: 1½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
- To a second bowl, add wet ingredients: 1 cup water, ¼ cup oil, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, without overmixing.
- Transfer cake batter to prepared baking pan.Bake at 340°F or 170°C for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.Let cake cool down 15 minutes in the pan, then take it out and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
- Spread frosting on top, keep in the fridge if not eating it immediately. Cut into squares, then you can add sprinkles on top before eating.
FROSTING
- Soften 4 tablespoons butter at room temp for 15 minutes, then add it to a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and the grated zest of ½ lemon.Beat with a hand mixer for 30 seconds.Add 4 ounces cream cheese and beat for 30 more seconds.
- Add 1 cup powdered sugar, beat on low speed first, scrape down sides, and finish beating on medium-high speed until perfectly smooth. Don't overbeat it.Let it firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 15 minutes, before topping the cake.
TIPS
- Don't overmix; overmixing develops the gluten in the batter making the cake heavier and gummy.
- Let cake cool down completely; it will taste better and have a more pleasant texture.
- Make sure your baking powder is active by pouring 1/2 cup of boiling water onto one teaspoon of baking powder. If it foams, it's good.
- Scale this recipe and use any pan you like. Check the scaling table in the TIPS chapter in the body of this blog post.
STORAGE
- Make Ahead: this vanilla cake is an excellent recipe to make one day ahead as it gets more flavorful as it sits in the fridge, and the frosting sets perfectly on top.
- Refrigerator: it keeps well and moist for 4 days. You can keep it in the fridge with the frosting. Best in a cake dome or some airtight container so that it doesn't absorb flavors from other foods in the refrigerator. Our advice when storing cakes is to remove onions, garlic, and other pungent foods from the fridge.
- Freezer: freeze for up to 3 months without frosting. To do so, let it cool down completely and wrap it in 3 layers of plastic wrap. If freezing with frosting, keep it in a freezer-friendly container.
- Thaw: defrost the cake in the refrigerator over several hours or overnight. Do not thaw at room temperature.
MAKE IT VEGAN
To make this recipe vegan you can use vegan cream cheese and vegan butter for the frosting.
Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 small square of vanilla cake with frosting out of 16 squares.
