This vanilla cake is a solid win of a recipe.

It feels “proper”. I don’t know, there’s something about the sturdy yet tender crumb and the subtle, authentic vanilla flavor. Even my dad went back in for a second slice!

I feel like this cake is straight out of the early 1900s. I can see an English family sitting near the fire and enjoying a slice with their afternoon tea.

This cake only has 7 ingredients. Basically 6, because salt doesn’t really count, does it?

This recipe calls for butter, no oil, and vanilla bean powder. This is where that truly homemade, authentic taste comes from. However, if you can’t find vanilla bean powder you can substitute it for vanilla essence, or preferably extract. I guess.

And to get that good ol’ airy texture, of course, you have to separate the eggs. And you don’t even have the risk of forgetting the baking powder, because I just used self-raising flour in my recipe! Why add two ingredients when you can just add one?

Icing & Storing the Vanilla Cake

This cake can be dressed up or down.

I just whipped up a simple vanilla icing by mixing a bit of softened butter with a bunch of icing sugar and some more delicious vanilla bean powder.

Feel free to go crazy! Make a flavored buttercream, or decorate it with strawberries for more of a shortcake, or ice it elaborately for somebody’s birthday. This is a truly multipurpose cake.

I wouldn’t make the cake more than a day ahead of when you plan on eating it. As with most things, it’s best fresh. However, you can store it in an airtight container, and it won’t dry out too fast, especially if you ice it all over.

Print Recipe

Old-Fashioned Vanilla Cake

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Dessert

Serves: 1 medium cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 45 minutes

This cake is simple enough for you to truly taste the delicate vanilla flavor, and is a lovely treat with afternoon tea

Ingredients

• 225g butter, softened
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla bean powder
• 2 jumbo eggs
• ¾ cup warm* milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups self-raising flour

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 165°C.

2

Beat together the softened butter and brown sugar so that it’s nice and creamy. Add in the vanilla bean powder, then beat in the egg yolks only. Add the milk and mix.

3

Sift in the self-raising flour and add the salt. Stir until just combined.

4

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the cake batter.

5

Divide the cake batter between two small greased pans and place into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. This will take about 30 minutes, but everyone’s oven is a little different!

6

Once cool enough to handle, tip the cakes out onto a wire rack. When they’ve cooled completely, you can ice them. I made a simple vanilla icing by mixing a bit of softened butter with a bunch of icing sugar and some more delicious vanilla bean powder.

Notes

*The milk should be warm so that the butter doesn’t clump up and become lumpy in the batter.

Feeling like something a bit less basic? Try this poppy seed cake. Or these chocolate cupcakes.