Basic Vanilla Cake Recipe
Know how to bake a basic vanilla cake is a foundation of baking. Every baker needs this staple recipe in their recipe book. As a baker, I won’t just stop here, I like to give this basic and simple vanilla cake recipe a twist to turn it into a stunning and surprise cake.
People like being surprised
A stunning cake is always the centrepiece of a party, whether it is a wedding, a kid’s party or any special gathering to celebrate an important event. People are always happy to see the cake. That is my strong motivation to be a baker.
However, there is another even stronger motivation to keep me moving forward – I love to add that extra moment of joy by baking cakes with a surprise inside. Imagine, when the stunning cake is finally cut and there is something unexpected on the inside. How fun is that?!
Baking a surprise inside cake adds extra joy and fun even though there are more steps needed before I actually put the batter into the oven. I enjoy seeing people being surprised when the interior of the cake is revealed. The first word they normally say is, ‘Wow’! This is the ultimate moment for me to keep baking.
“Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.”
One of my surprise inside cake stories
I remember there was a surprise inside cake that I baked for a cooking competition at my school in Hong Kong. There were ten participants, including three teachers and seven parents in the competition. It was a competition but actually it was really a gathering event for the parents and teachers to join together and enjoy a nice time and have food together.
My cake was a very simple and basic vanilla cake recipe with vanilla frosting, decorated with black zebra stripes of fondant. Before the judges start tasting all the food, my cake was sitting quietly on the very left hand side of the table. All the parents and teachers in the hall were talking about my cake and how beautifully decorated it was. They were discussing how I cut the zebra stripes and stuck them onto the cake so perfectly. To be honest, I almost could not hold my breath to tell them there was a surprise inside my cake. I was the only person in the hall who knew what would happen in the next second. When it was the time to cut the cake, a loud ‘WOW’ echoed round the whole hall. This was a moment I enjoyed very much!
How can you make it?
Of course, you need to make a cake batter first. The flavour is totally up to you. I normally choose vanilla cake flavour. It is a very simple recipe so that you can focus on the design rather than using a more complex recipe.
Colour the vanilla cake batter
Then you need to colour the batter. It is quite interesting if the batter is too yellow, you need to colour it to white first before you add any other colour. Otherwise, the yellow batter will change the desired colour inside a little bit. If you want to colour the batter black, (I learned this from making a mistake), put some unsweetened cocoa powder into the batter and make it a bit dark brown before colouring black. It is a lot easier. Otherwise, a LOT of black food gel colouring is needed.
After you’ve finished colouring the batter, comes the fun part. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin. This step may take a bit longer time than usual. It depends on the desired colour order. First, put approximately 1/2 cup of the first coloured batter (black in my recipe shown in the picture) in the centre of the cake tin. On top of and in the centre of this circle of batter, spoon approximately the same amount of the second coloured batter (red). (Since the first and the second coloured batter(black and red) were pushed to the bottom, you can see them after baking.) Next, spoon the same amount of black batter into the centre of the red mix. Continue with this method until putting all the batter into the cake tin. Sometimes, you will need to gently tilt and shake the tin so that the batter fills the whole tin.
Finally, just bake it as usual. Around 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake starts to shrink from the edge of the cake tin. It’s that easy – and you will have your surprise inside cake to shock and delight your family or friends.
Once you understand this method, you can play around with different colour combinations to create your own unique cake designs. It’s fun!
Frost the basic vanilla cake
I like using a very simple way to frost my surprise inside cakes, such as a classic vanilla buttercream and a little fondant decoration. Sometimes, less is more.
Do you like surprising your beloved, friends or family? Why not bake them a surprise inside cake?
Basic Vanilla Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 345 grams all purpose flour (sifted)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tps salt
- 226 grams unsalted butter
- 300 grams granulated white sugar
- 4 pcs large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tps pure vanilla extract
- 240 ml milk (room temperature)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 180 degree C with rack in centre of oven. Butter two 9-inch cake pans. Then line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until soft and creamy and gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. It takes about 5 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time until well combined after each addition. Scrapes down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Turn the mixer into low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending the flour.
- Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans, smoothing the tops with the back of an offset spatula. Bake them for about 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean and the cake spring back when pressed lightly in centre.
- Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool, in their pans, for about 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto a rack. Remove the parchment paper and re-invert the cakes so that tops are right side up. Leave them cool completely before frosting.
NOTES
- This recipe is for two 9-inch round pans.
- If you use salted butter, just omit the salt.
NUTRITION
Bake it
Give this recipe a try! Let me know how it goes for you! I love connecting and seeing your pictures. It really makes my day.
More tasty recipes for your next bakes
- Banana Walnut Cake (video tutorial)
- Coffee Walnut Loaf Cake (video tutorial)
- Pandan Chiffon Cake
- Coffee Chiffon Cake (video tutorial)
Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you will enjoy this recipe.
If you’ve tried my Basic Vanilla Cake recipe, please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. The more we chat the more I know what recipes I should be making and sharing. If you have any recipe suggestions I would also love to hear them.
Rating the recipe once you’ve made this Basic Vanilla Cake may also help other readers decide whether to make my bakes, so I would love it if you could come back and let everyone know what you think.
Happy baking!
