I know this blog is all about Southeast Asian recipes, but once in awhile we’re allowed to not take things too literal, right? My daughter’s fifth birthday happened sometime last week, and she had been asking me to make her the yummiest vanilla birthday cake. Incidentally, vanilla is also her favourite flavour! Unlike previous years where we custom ordered her cakes, we broke with tradition this time and went rogue with a homemade cake.
I don’t know about you, but every time I bake a cake or a pie I feel like it’s taken a lot out of me haha. I was thoroughly zoned out after this gig in the kitchen. The original recipe is from Sugar Geek Show’s moist vanilla cake recipe, but I adapted it. It was hands down the most delicious, classic vanilla cake I’ve ever tasted. And can you believe it, it was my first time baking a proper buttercream cake and using a palette knife to make those flowers! Hard work, but so worth it after because my little one was so so happy!
I pondered between a smooth frosted cake or a rustic one, going with the latter in the end because it makes it seem more natural. Also bought a bunch of eustomas to decorate the cake. It just make the cake seem so girly after—perfect for my sweet little preschooler.
Easy Vanilla Buttercream Cake
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 283 g full cream milk room temperature (divided - 113g to mix with the oil, 170g to mix with the eggs and vanilla)
- 85 g sunflower oil or any vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 368 g cake flour sifted
- 368 g castor sugar sifted
- 14 g baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt Note: If you're using salted butter, you can omit the salt. Keep the quantity of butter same, regardless if it's salted or unsalted.
- 227 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
For The Buttercream Frosting
- 454 g icing sugar sifted
- 113 g egg whites room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 454 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-3 drops pink gel food colouring, or any colouring you prefer
Instructions
- Grease your cake pans with baking spray or butter. I placed parchment papers in them for easier release.
- Add oil to the milk, stir then set aside. Add eggs and vanilla to the other portion of milk. Whisk well to combine.
- Measure flour and sugar, then place them into the bowl of your mixer. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix at low speed 1.
- Gradually add the chunks of butter. Mix until the batter looks like coarse sand.
- Add milk + oil mixture then adjust speed to medium 2. Whip for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as you go along to ensure even distribution of dry and wet ingredients.
- Turn speed to low. Slowly pour in the milk + egg mixture. Mix until just combined until the batter is thick. It shouldn’t be runny.
- Preheat oven to 168C. Divide batter into cake pans, filling each pan 3/4 full. Gently shake and tap the pan on a table to burst air bubbles and even out the surface of the batter. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove cakes from the oven. Tap them again to release air and prevent shrinking. Let cool on a cooling rack.
- Remove cake layers from parchment paper and wrap them in plastic wrap then place them in the fridge for 30-35 minutes to firm up. If you're not frosting them immediately, you can keep them overnight in the fridge or freezer. Just make sure to take your cake out of the fridge a few hours before you plan on frosting it.
- Make your frosting by combining egg whites and icing sugar on low speed. Adjust to high and whip for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and salt.
- Add butter and whip until batter is curdled. Keep whipping on high for 8-10 minutes until it turns white, light and shiny. Turn to low speed and mix for another 20 minutes for smooth, creamier buttercream.
- Divide the frosting to 3 large bowls. Add colouring, adjusting the intensity as you like. I opted for 3 colours - white, and two shades of pastel pink.
- Remove chilled cakes from fridge. Shave away the brown bits and trim the dome off with a serrated knife until they stack nicely and level. Fill them with frosting in between layers and frost the outside of the cake.
- With the remaining frosting, decorate the outside of the cake with buttercream flowers. I used a palette knife to create these floral shapes with different shades of pink.
Notes
If you made this dish, let me know by tagging @saveurmalaisie on Instagram.
