For years I’ve been dreaming about finding a dense yellow cake recipe that could hold up to being stacked in layers as well as a thick layer of velvety frosting. So many recipes I came across just didn’t fit the bill; either they were too fluffy negating the ability to even hold up to being frosted or they were flavorless and blah.
So when I saw this cake posted way back in June, I filed it away in the back of my mind as a possibility for this year’s birthday cake. The thing is, I couldn’t shake this cake. Every time I thought about my upcoming birthday this whole summer, visions of this cake floated into the forefront of my mind. Pink. Sprinkles. Vanilla beans. It was practically the most basic cake that I wanted so desperately – nothing fancy, no swirls or drizzles or compounding flavors. And I insisted on waiting until my birthday to make it.
Believe me, there were many times where I almost threw in the towel…where this cake almost got made. But I held strong and waited until last week. And honestly? I’m so glad I waited. I made this cake, step-by-step, and feeling like it was a hot and stuffy August night in 1986 again, I had all the anticipation and excitement of the 8 year old me waiting for my candle-lit birthday cake to be brought in through the darkened room with drones of the [maybe not-so-purposefully] out of tune birthday song in the background. Seriously, I was dancing with excitement to show Kyle this cake when he got home from work and had he OK’d eating cake before dinner (thank God for being an adult!), I think I may have burst.
And it was everything I wished for. Dense, moist, tangy from the buttermilk, speckled with vanilla beans, with a smooth buttercream frosting that lent just the right amount of sweetness to the cake layers. It was most definitely the prettiest cake I had ever made and I couldn’t be happier with how the towering three layers and frosting held up to being cut into such perfect slices. Needless to say, I’ve found the yellow cake recipe I’ve been searching for all these years and I can see many birthdays in the future (mine and/or others) being brightened with this vanilla bean cake.
Pink Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake
source: Sweetapolita
Ingredients:
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature (on counter apprx 20 minutes)
- 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 9 egg whites, at room temperature
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter three 8″ x 2″ round cake pans, line with parchment rounds, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until lighter in color and slightly increased in volume, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the egg whites gradually, mixing until fully incorporated.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix vanilla extract and vanilla paste (or contents of vanilla bean) into buttermilk. Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk into creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated or finish by hand gently.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. If possible, weigh the batter in each cake pan on a digital kitchen scale to ensure even layers. Smooth with small offset palette knife, and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating once after 20 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick or skewer comes clean.
- Let pans cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto racks, gently, peeling away parchment rounds. Let cool completely.
- 3 1/2 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
- 3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated. Add in the salt. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract and heavy cream on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the mixer speed and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed, about 4 minutes.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s absolutely stunning Tara. And a big Happy Birthday to you!
I too saw and saved this recipe when she first posted it, knowing it would come in very useful one day
Your cake has turned out SO beautifully it has reinforced my need to make this soon, maybe for my birthday as im an August babber also! That slice you have cut is just unreal-y perfect…im debating whether this is actually a cake made out of cake or not..haha Lovelllyyy post and your photos – wow! Happy belated Birthday 
Everything about your cake is just perfect! Your pictures are beautiful, and it looks absolutely to die for. Hope you had a great birthday!
What a gorgeous cake–your pictures are beautiful!
Tara, it is so gorgeous!! So glad you had a good birthday!
That is a beautiful, beautiful cake. It makes me want to bake a layered cake…for no reason at all.
Happy Birthday to you!
And who says timing isn’t everything! Happy birthday! Glad you spoiled yourself with this awesome cake. It was a lot of work, but I am sure eating one slice was worth all the effort. Stunning picture.
Just gorgeous!! I’ve had this one bookmarked for a while, too. After seeing your gorgeous pictures, what am I waiting for??
Tara, this is simply stunning! I’ve never wanted to eat my screen so much before. Happy Birthday!
These are my favorite photos you have ever taken, which is saying a lot. Absolutely gorgeous cake – wish I could have a piece! Happy birthday Tara
Aww thanks, Annie. That really means a lot. *blush*
This might just be the prettiest cake ever and such gorgeous photos! Happy birthday!!
Gorgeous cake! Happy birthday!
Your cake looks so pretty and I love the sprinkles. I have a pink birthday today and although I already made the cake I might try your frosting. I love that it uses the heavy cream, which I imagine makes the frosting a bit lighter and fluffier.
Becki: Your comment went to my spam folder but I just wanted to wish you a belated Happy Birthday! Hope it was a great one!!
Wow! Those layers are absolute perfection! You did an amazing job. Happy Birthday
Happy birthday! Your cake is beautiful.
WOW this is a stunning and gorgeous cake. Your slice is absolute perfect- how did you do that with no crumbs or anything? It’s so so so beautiful!
Beautiful!!!!! I love yellow cake, and finding the perfect recipe is tough!
Your photo makes this cake look unreal and so absolutely lovely that it is truly too pretty to eat. And the recipe sounds quite delicious.
This cake looks so delicious… and tall! I love it. The sprinkle things look adorable too. I am definitely trying this one soon.
What a pretty, pretty, pretty cake!! And the ingredients sound extremely tasty. I think I may try this one. How fortunate we are to be able to bake our very own birthday cake, exactly like we like it!
Wow. Just looking at your photos shows that this lovely treat was worth the wait. Beautiful! And a very happy birthday to you!
WOW! What an absolutely gorgeous birthday cake! It’s super cute and your pictures are beautiful!
That is so pretty.
Now that’s a Birthday cake!!!! It looks fantastic.
what a cake!
How did you make the frosting pink? Guessing 1-2 drops red food coloring??
All Seasons Cuisine: I used pink food gel (Wilton) but you could definitely use red food coloring. Start with a small amount then work up to your desired color. Keep in mind that the color will deepen as it sits.
This cake is absolutely GORGEOUS Tara. In fact, feel free to make it for me at my next birthday.
Pretty isn’t the word! This cake looks perfect – absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t even want to stick my fork in it!
Popping over from Amy’s Notebook post. This cake is absolutely gorgeous–great job!
Surfed on over from Pinterest! This is A-mazing! And I love your photos
Gina: Thanks so much! And welcome!
Happy Birthday, Tara! Did you have to level your cake layers at all, or did you stack and frost them the way they came out of the oven?
Allie: Thanks! Yes, I did level off the tops of the cakes but I only needed to take a little bit off the top of each of them. I use a long serrated knife (it’s actually my favorite bagel knife) and eyeball the tops of each layer from eye level.
Have you tried this recipe for cupcakes? I have been searching for an awesome vanilla cupcake recipe. Your cake is beautiful!
Janna: Thanks! I haven’t tried the recipe for cupcakes but I know for sure that this ( http://annies-eats.net/2010/01/05/vanilla-bean-cupcakes/ ) is an awesome vanilla cupcake recipe. I’ve made it a few times but have yet to blog about it. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much! I am going to try both over the weekend! I’ll let you know how it goes :0) I am in search of awesome cupcake flavors for “push pop cakes”.
Simply stunning! Nice work, and happy very belated birthday!
Wow that looks amazing! Do you think this would this work with 9″ pans?
Laura: Yes – 9″ pans will work but the cake won’t be as tall. You’ll also need to decrease the baking time by a few minutes.
I made this cake for my daughter’s 17th birthday this last week. The cake took longer to bake than noted, but it’s probably just the difference in oven temps since they seem to vary greatly. I just kept my eye on it, was not an issue. The cake is very dense and has a wonderful flavor. The family wasn’t a big fan of the icing, but you could sub any of your own favorite buttercream icing in its place, just make sure you make enough. I used just 1 drop of red food coloring and got a beautiful pink coloring.
This cake is a disaster!! It is currently exploding in my oven. The batter has overflowed in all three 8″ pans, and blobs are burning in the bottom of the oven. Thank goodness it’s a self cleaning oven. My daughter’s 32nd b-day is today and she selected your recipe. I’m wondering if there should be 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons of baking powder.
Paula: I’m sorry the cake isn’t turning out for you. I made the recipe and posted it as it was written on Sweetopolita’s blog and the original indeed includes 2 tbsp baking powder so I can’t say what went wrong with your cake.
I am going to try this for my daughter’s first birthday, but I don’t have a stand mixer. Would a hand mixer work? Also, are you supposed to line the bottom and sides, or just the bottom with the parchment paper? And how does the flour stick to the parchment paper? Sorry for all of the questions. I don’t do a lot of baking!
Christine: No worries about your questions! Yes, a hand mixer will work – just be sure not to overbeat the mixture once all of the flour is added. Line only the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Here’s the trick: butter/grease the pan the stick the parchment paper round to the butter/grease, then butter/grease the top of the parchment paper and the sides of the pan, and then dust it with flour. Alternatively, a much easier method is to use PAM for Baking, which is what I swear by when baking – there’s no need to flour the pan after using this stuff. Let me know how it turns out!
i love this cake! i’m going to make it for my daughter’s second birthday. thank you!