Nothing says nostalgia more to me than a vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream. It's the classic birthday cake combination. This vanilla cake is fluffy, moist and tender and topped with silky chocolate French buttercream. It’s out of this world delicious and a total crowd pleaser.
For more cake recipes, try my Brown Butter Cake with bourbon dulce de leche buttercream, my Salted Caramel Corn Cake and my Cookie Dough cake.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This buttermilk cake is my go-to vanilla cake. Buttermilk makes the cake tender and moist. It’s insanely good with any frostings or fillings.
- The texture of this vanilla cake is dreamy. It has a moist but tight crumb that melts in your mouth but is sturdy for dividing the cake into layers.
- The chocolate frosting is silky and custardy French buttercream. It’s creamy and chocolatey but also light, like a mousse. It’s so hard to not just eat all it with a spoon.
- Step by step photos with easy-to-follow instructions for perfect vanilla cake and chocolate buttercream every time.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
(See recipe card for a full list of ingredients and amounts.)
Cake flour – Makes for a soft and tender cake. Note that DIY cake flour substitutes will not work with this recipe.
Canola oil- Adds additional moisture
Buttermilk – Helps the cake to be tender and moist
Vanilla – Vanilla is the main flavor of this cake. Pure vanilla or vanilla paste is the best. If you want more of a box cake mix flavor, you can use imitation vanilla.
Bittersweet chocolate – or semi sweet
Egg yolks – helps create a rich and silky buttercream
Recipe Instructions
(Full recipe instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.)
- Whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla.
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and beat on low until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Slowly pour in about ¼ cup of the buttermilk mixture, just enough to saturate the flour/butter mixture. Turn the speed to medium high and beat for a full two minutes.
- Pour the remaining buttermilk mixture in two additions to the batter, mixing one minute after each addition. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. Cool completely.
- Beat in the cooled, melted chocolate to the prepared half batch of french buttercream.
- Frost the cooled cake, add sprinkles and enjoy.
Baking Tips
- This recipe intentionally does not have volume/cup measurements. The most accurate way to bake is with a kitchen scale, particularly with more complicated bakes like cakes, macarons, breads and cupcakes. This ensures the measurements are exact and the results are consistent every time.
- Ingredients must be at room temperature. If the ingredients are too cold or too warm, they can cause the cake batter to break and the baked layers to be dense and short.
- This vanilla cake is mixed using the reverse creaming, or two stage method. Reverse creaming cakes have a tighter, more delicate and softer crumb with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Because reverse creaming cakes can be delicate, they are easiest to layer, carve, stack, etc. when they are chilled.
- The mixing method instructions should be very closely followed, especially when beating a small amount of liquid into the flour/butter mixture. This step determines the texture of the cake so be sure to beat for a full two minutes.
Storage
Store the cake at room temperature for one day, but because the buttercream has egg yolks in it, it should be refrigerated. Store, wrapped well, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Bring to room temperature before serving. But really, it's so good, you're not likely to have leftovers.
Both the cake and frosting can be made in advance and stored in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw them both overnight in the refrigerator. Bring the frosting to room temperature an mix well before using.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Doubling this recipe will fit a 9x13 pan or 3-8” round cake pans.
This cake recipe is designed to bake flat so there isn’t a need to do any trimming on the top. Because it bakes flat, I don’t recommend this recipe for cupcakes. My Funfetti Cupcakes are similar to this recipe and they bake up beautifully.
Did you make this recipe? Share it with us! Tag @littlevintagebaking on Instagram and leave a star rating below if you LOVED this recipe. For more baking and decorating ideas follow me on Pinterest.
More Cake Recipes to Try
Recipe
Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Equipment
Ingredients
Buttermilk Cake
- 7 ounces cake flour
- 7 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ ounces canola oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
Chocolate French Buttercream
- ½ batch French Buttercream
- ⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
- sprinkles (always optional but always recommended)
Instructions
Buttermilk Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare the cake pan. You can use an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Brush the bottom sides of your cake pans with melted butter. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, mix for 1 minute to combine.7 ounces cake flour, 7 ounces granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- In a measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla. Set aside.2 large eggs, room temperature, 1½ ounces canola oil, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
- With the mixer on low-medium speed, add in the softened butter pieces, one or two pieces at a time. Mix until the mixture resembles cornmeal. You should be able to gather a bit in your hand, squeeze and you have a solid piece. This means the butter is evenly distributed.4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- With the mixer still on low, pour in ¼ cup of the buttermilk and mix until the flour mixture is just moistened.
- Turn the mixer speed to medium (4 or 6) and beat for *2-3 full* minutes. The mixture should be whipped, thick, and lighter in color. This step is crucial to the
- Stop the mixer. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
- On low speed, add the remaining buttermilk and egg mixture in two parts, scraping down the bowl after each addition has been mixed in.
- Once all the wet ingredients have been incorporated, give the bowl a final scrape and mix with a spatula. Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes. Start checking the cake at 30-35 minutes to test for doneness. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, and the top of the cake feels springy and set when touched.
- Tap the cake pan firmly against the counter to remove excess steam. If your cake domes at all, use a clean kitchen towel to gently push the dome down. Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan.
- Run a palette or butter knife around the cake in the pan before turning it out to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Chocolate French Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the prepared buttercream and room temperature melted chocolate.½ batch French Buttercream, ⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
- Beat on low until well combined, silky and creamy.
- Frost the cooled cake. Top with sprinkles.sprinkles (always optional but always recommended)
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