Everyone needs a good to cake recipe, a tried and true favorite that you can pull out for any everyday moment, a nice dessert after dinner to celebrate getting through the week. This is a classic vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, a light and fully texture with sour cream to make it extra moist paired with a luscious chocolate frosting.
This is easy enough and small enough to be a weeknight dessert. This is a small batch cake recipe, it makes just 1 6-inch cake layer which I find is just enough to share between 2 or 3 people. I bake for just myself and my husband and always struggled with making full size recipes meant for a big family or party of 10 which left us with leftovers for days- either things go bad on the counter or we’d get sick of eating the same thing for days on end. That led me to creating Petite Batcherie so I can bake and enjoy the results without dealing with all the leftovers or all the math trying to divide other recipes in half or quarters.
Equipment Needed
- 6 inch cake pan: One 6in circular cake pan
- Parchment Paper: Line the cake pan with a circle of parchment paper to avoid sticking.
- Stand Mixer or handheld mixer: I use a 5qt Kitchen Aid stand mixer for all of my recipes. They can be made using a handheld mixer as well. I do not recommend making this recipe without a mixer as we need the butter to reverse cream into the dry ingredients and be equally distributed.
- Scale: the most accurate method of measuring
Ingredients
Cake Flour
- I recommend using cake flour for this recipe- it has less protein that all purpose flour and gives your cakes a lighter and fluffier texture. You can find cake flour in most grocery stores in the baking aisle, I recommend King Arthur brand.
- If you don’t have cake flour on hand- you can make a substitute with all purpose flour and cornstarch sifted together. Measure 1 cups AP flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift twice.
Sour Cream
- Sour cream adds moisture and fat to the cake which makes it taste great. I don’t recommend leaving this out, as it will significantly change the texture of the cake.
Tips & Tricks
Measuring
- The most accurate way to measure while baking is to use a scale to bake by weight. It sounds intimidating but it’s not it’s actually easier than measuring with cups. I use this OXO scale (link)- the display pulls out so you can use a large container and still see the screen.
- I know not all bakers use a scale, and particularly new or not frequent bakers who are likely interested in small batches, so I do provide measurements in US cups. Keep in mind especially for flour you should scoop flour with a spoon into the measuring cup and level it with a knife. Do not use the measuring cup as the scope, this compacts the flour and you will end up with too much flour which changes the texture of the final result.
Separating Eggs
- It is easier to separate cold eggs versus room temperature eggs. Separate the eggs at the same time when you take the butter of out of the fridge to warm up.
- How to: crack the egg as close to the middle as possible and use the two halves of the shell to gently pass the egg yolk back and forth, letting the egg whites fall into your container below.
- You’ll use the two egg whites separately so it’s easiest to use two different containers.
- Pop the egg yolks back in the fridge in an airtight container and use them for something else (like scrambled eggs or a recipe that only calls for yolks)
Reverse Creaming Method
- This recipe uses the reverse creaming method rather than traditional creaming butter and sugar together. I find that the quantity of butter and sugar in small batch recipes is too small for the bowl of my mixer, it gets pushed out to the sides of the bowl quickly and requires a lot more scraping down of the sides versus a full sized batch.
- For reverse creaming you mix the dry ingredients and then add the butter in small chunks, mixing until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces. Scrape down the bowl and then with the mixer on low pour in the liquids (oil, sour cream & vanilla), as these mix in the texture will look clumpy but just keep going and it will work itself out. Once the liquids are incorporated, scrape down the bowl again and with the mixer on low add in 1 of the egg whites, continue mixing until it is fully absorbed. Repeat with the second egg white- by this step the mixture will be smooth.
FAQ
Can I substitute All Purpose Flour for the cake flour?
I do not recommend this substitution. All Purpose Flour has more protein than cake flour which means it will yield a denser cake. For a vanilla cake you want a light fluffy texture to showcase the light vanilla flavor. You can try making your own cake flour by mixing cake flour and cornstarch- it is not a perfect substitution but it is better than using all purpose flour alone. Measure 1 cups AP flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift twice.
What frosting should I use?
Whichever one you like! I recommend here a chocolate frosting but this light and fluffy cake pairs well with all kinds of flavors, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry etc. Use it as a base for your favorite buttercream flavors
Easy Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 59 g Sour Cream (room temperature, ¼ cup + ¾ teaspoon)
- 18 g Canola Oil (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 81 g Cake Flour (½ cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 97 g Granulated Sugar (½ cup MINUS 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 51 g unsalted butter (room temperature, ¼ cup MINUS ½ teaspoon)
- 2 egg whites (room temperature, in separate bowls)
Frosting
- 70 g Unsalted Butter (room temperature, ¼ cup + 3 teaspoons)
- 134 g Powdered Sugar (1 cup + 6 teaspoons)
- 15 g Cocoa Powder (9 teaspoons)
- 28 g Dark Chocolate (melted, 1oz)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 1 teaspoon Milk
- 1 teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard)
- Spray 1 6-inch cake pan with cooking spray and a parchment paper circle, set aside
- Measure the sour cream, canola oil and vanilla extract into a bowl and set aside
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients together: cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
- With the mixer on low, add the room temperature butter in small pieces to the dry ingredient mixer. Keep the mixer running until you create a sandy texture with the butter broken up into evenly sized pieces, about 2 and half minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl
- With the mixer on medium, slowly pour in the liquids mixture. The batter will look lumpy at this point, keep mixing until it is evenly combined.
- Scrape down the bowl, ensuring there are no clumps of flour stuck at the bottom of the bowl
- Add 1 egg white and mix on low until it is fully absorbed, about 1 minute
- Scrape down the bowl
- Add the second egg white and mix until it is fully absorbed
- Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F convection setting (or 350°F standard), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and then cool completely before frosting about 1 hour
For the Frosting
- Beat butter and melted dark chocolate together until creamy
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, alternating with the milk
- Add the vanilla extract
- Add the corn syrup and mix well
- Beat well until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
Assembly
- Chill the fully cooled cake in the fridge for 20 minutes so it’s easier to work with
- Using a small amount of frosting do a crumb coat- a thin layer of frosting to lock the crumbs onto the cake
- Chill the cake 20 minutes in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer
- Using the most of the remaining buttercream, frost the cake. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread frosting on the top of the cake, then along the sides to create a smooth edge.
- For the decorative boarder- use a Wilton 1M piping tip in a pastry bag or zip lock bag. Starting from the inside edge of where you want the boarder, pipe in a circular motion perpendicular to the cake, slowing moving around the cake until you reach where you started
