Finally! Success with High Altitude Vanilla Bean Cake iced with velvety strawberry rose swiss meringue buttercream.
My greatest baking failure in the kitchen has to be a basic white vanilla cake. I have lost count as to how many times I have failed. Each one I bake sinks in the middle. They were heavy and greasy. I used to think that I could bake any cake that Martha Stewart created. Nope. I had considered myself a baking failure. Thanks, Martha. Until I discovered the dreaded “altitude” effect. It became necessary to create a High Altitude Vanilla Bean Cake.
In all the years I watched and learned from Martha, never once did she ever mention, that I recall, altitude adjustments. I live in the foothills of the Wasatch mountain range in the Salt Lake Valley. The mountain views are spectacular and I am so thankful to walk out my front door and have such an awesome view. However, the altitude of 4,500-5,000 above sea level creates a real problem with baking. After 2 weeks of nonstop baking and tweaking recipes, I have finally come up with a recipe for High Altitude Vanilla Bean Cake.
Note: I have not tried this at any other altitudes other than my own. I’m hoping my daughter in the Denver area will try this recipe and report on how it works at mile high altitudes. No worries for you sea level lovers (I hope). I have added adjustments that can be made at lower altitudes and I just pray they work. Please, send me loving feedback. No yelling, please. Adjustments are found in the printable recipe notes at the bottom of the page.
Begin by gathering all the ingredients. Have them premeasured in bowls and ready to go. Begin by preparing 3 6-inch cake pans, by spraying or lightly grease and dust with flour. Set aside.
Slice open vanilla bean. With the backside of a knife scrape our seeds from the inside.
Add vanilla seeds to vanilla and stir to combine. I used my fingers and rubbed the two together.
If using a vanilla paste, add with vanilla extract.
Cream butter and sugar mixture.
Slowly mix in 1/4 cup oil
Add 2 eggs and mix until thickened and light yellow.
While eggs and sugar mixture is beating. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
Add the flour mixture to creamed egg/sugar mixture alternately with yogurt. Beginning and ending with flour.
Add vanilla and 1/2 cup boiling water. Mix just until combined.
Divide batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden and the cake springs back with lightly touched.
Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn out on a wire cooling rack. Cool completely. At this point, the cakes cake be wrapped in plastic or foil then frozen for 2-3 weeks.
I’m using strawberry rose Swiss meringue buttercream. The recipe is included in the cake recipe below. Strawberries and rose are a great combination and a perfect icing for this spring cake. This particular icing is killer on a chocolate cake. Here is a link to step-by-step photos and instructions for Swiss Meringue buttercream.
Top with fresh berries.
Vanilla Bean Yogurt Cake with Strawberry Rose Buttercream
Adjusted for high altitudes above 3,500
Ingredients
Cake:
- 300 gr all-purpose flour (2 cups + 2 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250 gr sugar (1 1/3 cup minus 2 tablespoons)
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup full-fat yogurt
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Strawberry Rose Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 2/3 cup egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups or 3 cubes unsalted butter cut into 1 tbl. cubes or slices
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup strawberry puree
- 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon rose water extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
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Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Generously coat 3 6-inch round baking pans. Set aside .
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Sift flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
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Slice vanilla bean in half, with the back of a knife scrape seeds from the pod. Mix into the sugar.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer or other mixing bowl, add vanilla sugar and butter. Cream together.
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Slowly mix in oil. Beat for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
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Add eggs one at a time. Mix until light yellow in color.
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Add the flour alternately with yogurt beginning and ending with flour.
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Mix in vanilla and boiling water.
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Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned and cake springs back when touched.
Remove from oven. Allow cakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto a cooling rack. Cook completely. Cakes may be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 weeks.
To make Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
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In a very clean bowl of an electric mixer, add egg whites and sugar. Place over a simmering pot of water, stirring constantly until temperature reaches 160 degrees F. Rub a small amount of the mixture between two fingers to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.
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Using the whisk attachment, beat until the mixture is a thick meringue and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch. The bowl must be cool before adding the butter.
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Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment. With the mixture on medium-low speed add butter once slice at a time until all of the butter has been incorporated. The mixture should be silky smooth and thick. The mixture may begin to look curdled, keep mixing until it is smooth. This can take 10 minutes or so. Mix in salt and vanilla. Add strawberry puree and rose water extract. Once puree is added keep mixing until mixture is silky again.
Recipe Notes
- Prep and cook time is for baking cake only.
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream can be frozen for weeks. Thaw frozen buttercream in a refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature, then beat with paddle attachment until creamy.
- If buttercream looks curdled, place a warm dishcloth on the bottom of the mixing bowl. Repeat as often as necessary until icing looks smooth and creamy.
- Whatever you do, DO NOT look at the nutrition calculations. Just enjoy a slice of heaven. Work it off in the morning.
- If you live at lower elevation levels, make the following adjustments. Delete 2 tablespoons flour and Add 2 tablespoons extra sugar, increase baking soda to 2 teaspoons.
Oh my gosh! i RECENTLY STARTED BAKING AT 9,300′ AND WOO — WHAT A DIFFERENCE FROM MY OLD SEA LEVEL LIFE!
I TRIED A VANILLA CUPCAKE RECIPE FROM ANOTHER SITE AND THOUGHT ITWAS GOOD — AND THEN I DECIDED TO TRY THIS ONE. WOWWZAAAAA — THIS IS LEGIT AMAZING!
THE RECIPE MADE 22 CUPCAKES (1/4 CUP OF BATTER) IN 18 MINS AT 325f. (I JUST REMEMBERED I WAS SUPPOSED TO INCREASE THE TEMP, NOT DECREASE IT, BUT WHATEVER, THEY ARE PERFECTLY RISEN AND DELICIOUS)
OTHER MODS I MADE FOR MY HIGH ALTITUDE:
>INCREASED FLOUR TO 2 1/2 CUPS
>DECREASED BAKING SODA TO 1/4 TSP
>DECREASED BAKING POWDER TO 3/4 TSP
>DECREASED SUGAR TO 1 1/3 CUP MINUS 3 TBSP
>USED 3 EGGS
THEY ARE SO LOVELY! GOING TO MAKE THE FROSTING NEXT — WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES! THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR DOING THE HARD WORK FOR ME!
Hi Kendra, Thank you so much for your energetic comment. Altitude is REAL! Altitude and baking can be difficult. I’m thrilled you loved the cake. Thank you for adding your additional adjustments. Bakers in Colorado will love you! I hope you love the icing.
HI there. As im REVISITING your recipe, i noticed that the dlour and sugar will say the gram and then tHe cup. Is it converting it or is it the gram plus the cups ? Thank you!
It is converting the grams to cups. Now that I look at it, it is very confusing. I will put the cups in parenthesis in hopes to make it more clear. If you have a scale, using the gram measurements is more precise. Especially when baking at high altitudes. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other quesions. Janetx
Hi Janet, im revisiting your recipe and wondering if i can make cupcakes with it. If i can, do you know how many it would Make? Would i have to alter anything in the batter? Thank you!
I live in Tuba City on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. I am at about 5,000 elevation.
I tried this recipe a month ago and the cakes came out sunken in the center. I thought I had used too much liquid and then I tried adding two extra tablespoons of flour to what is suggested on the recipe. Success!!!!! The cakes came out PerFECT. I love this recipe. Thank you sooooo much!!!
Teresa Orman
Great news! I’m thrilled the second cake worked out great! High altitude can make baking so difficult!
This may be a silly question, but how full to I fill the cake pans with batter prior to baking? Half full, 3/4 or?
I’m making my DAUGHTERs birthday cake today and am unsure and dont want to over or under fill the pans.
I generally fill the pans 2/3 to 3/4 full. If I use three 6-inch cake pans, I just measure by weight so that all the layers are the same height. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
How would I adjust this recipe to make high altitude cupcakes instead of a cake? Does anyone know?
Thanks ahead of time!
I live at 9,300 ft. I made no adjustment to the original cake batter recipe. I scooped the batter into cupcake liners and baked at 360 degrees for about 13 minutes. The recipe makes 24 regular size cupcakes using a #20 scoop (filling the liner 3/4 full).
Best vanilla cake recipe EVER!! Thanks to Janet for sharing it ๐
Awesome!!! Thank you so much.
Hello! I have made this recipe a few times and love it. However, I’m still struggling with a couple things that I was hoping you couLd help me with. I’m in Denver as a referEnce. I’ve been using the bake-even cake strips and so my baking time is closer to an hour. My cakes end up looking a lot more golden on the top than yours do in your picture, but they still tend to shrink quite a bit (1/4 inch – 1/3 inch) when I remove them from the oven. It is sinking/shrinking evenly (i.e. not just in the middle) and so I still end up with flat tops. Is some sinking/shrinking expected? And have you ever used baking strips (to verify the baking time)? Thanks so much!!
I have used the bake even strips. I don’t recall baking the cake longer. Do you soak your strips in water? Just curious. If you scroll down through the comments you will see several comments from bakers in Colorado. They have some great suggestions like preheating the oven to 360โ. then turning the temp back down to 350โ. My cakes do shrink a bit around the edges, but I haven’t noticed the height shrinking. Try baking the cake for 35-40 minutes then check to see if it’s close to being done by inserting a toothpick. It seems like 60 minutes is quite long and may contribute to the dark golden color. Maybe it’s just slightly overbaked. The cake doesn’t dome up light some cakes do. Maybe try omitting the baking strips to see if you still get an even bake. I’m not sure I have answered your question or not. Please let me know if I can help further.
Hi Janet! Thanks so much for the quick response. I do soak my strips before using. I attempted the cake again today without the strips. The middle never quite rose up. It finished baking with a bit of a sunken Middle. However, the cake did not shrink at all when I removed it from the oven. I am sure this is something I am doing wrong. I re-read the recipe and noticed I was adding the vanilla bean paste too early with the sugar. Beyond that, the only other I can think of is the temperature of the yogurt and butter. Are they supposed to be room temerature or cold? I apologize if this was previously answered.
The butter is best at room temperature. I measure out all of my ingredients and set them out while preparing the pans, etc. So I think the yogurt isn’t completely at room temperature, but not cold right from the fridge. It’s possible it may simply be your altitude is higher than mine. Scroll down through the comments and you will find several from Colorado. They have sent a few tips that work for them at 7,000 and above. I hope this helps. Also, I’m not sure if your a measuring or weighing the ingredients. I believe that weighing is very helpful with this recipe. I found a pretty inexpensive scale on Amazon if you’re interested.
Thanks! I have been using a scale to measure, but have also been using room temp yogurt. So iโll try making that adjustment too. Thank you so much for your time, help, and recipe. I really appreciate it!
Are your eggs medium, large? does it even matter?
This is a good question. I should have specified. I always use large eggs for all of my baking. Let me know if you have any other questions.
How would I adjust this recipe to make high altitude cupcakes instead of a cake? Does anyone know?
Thanks ahead of time!
This recipe works great for cupcakes. Fill the cupcakes 2/3 of the way full with batter and bake for 13-15 minutes. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick inserted into the middle to see if they are completely baked. The toothpick should come out clean. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have many other questions.
hi janet, can i say this is a white cake recipe?
i also need to know if i can use another simple recipe for the light pinkish strawberry icing. The swiss meringue one seems a bit hard for me. I also want to ask u how did u tint the strawberry flower pink.
thanks
chamila
It’s not a super-pure white cake because it does have egg yolks in it. The picture on my blog is pretty spot on with the cake color.
You can add rose water or flavoring along with pureed strawberries to regular powdered sugar icing or cream cheese icing. At first, the strawberries will look like they aren’t going to mix in completely. Just keep mixing and it will blend in nicely.
Actually, regarding the pink flower, I just happened to have those little flowers growing in my yard and I just add them for a bit of color.
I would love to see a video! I just moved from florida and im baking my friends wedding cake. I tried a RECIPE today and was not happy. I will be trying this recipe and posting on how it goes!
I sure hope this works at a lower altitude. Please let me know what your results are. I know that the recipe works great from 3,500 – 7,500 ft above sea level.
Update: ( im in colorado btw ) this recipe worked fantastic! I even tweaked it bY adding lemon extract. I also SUBSTITUTED 1/2 cup of hot milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream instead of one full cup of sour. I did 230 grams of sugar which is a little less than what the recipe calls for. I went ahead and whipped my whites with half the sugar and then folded the rest into the mixture. It was great! I know i tWeaked quite a bit but so happy i had foubd your recipe and Boiling water, who would thought? Thank you so much! I will also be trying the original recipe soon.
Sounds like a fabulous recipe. Bravo!!
Sorry i meant to say i substituted yogurT for sour cream and milk ( i didnt have yogurt)
Thanks for the substitution option.
Do you know how many cups of batter this recipe makes?
I’m sorry I do not. I have never measured the amount of batter. It would probably be easier to weigh it.
What would you do to Convert this to a yellow cake For high altitude? My husband loved this cake but wiuld like a yellow cake for Easter.
Well, this cake isn’t a true “white” cake because it has egg yolks in it. I’m not sure if adding more egg yolks would cause a problem. How about a few drops of yellow food color??
help can someone convert the grams for me, I do not own a scale.
Hi Randi, If you look at the recipe I have grams then next to that I have the measurements. For instance on the flour says 300 gr. Right next to that the measurement is 2 cups + 2 tbl of flour. I pretty much weigh the flour and sugar to be precise but I have also listed the US measurements. Everything else is the measurements you are used to not in weight. Let me know if you have any further questions. You can contact me at simplysogood@hotmail.com
i’M at higher altitude in the mountains of colorado (about 7,000 ft) so I made a few adjustments for higher altitude, keeping in mind that it was already adjusted for that. i added an egg white and decreased the leavening agents by half. i also didn’t have vanilla beans or paste so i increased the vanilla extract to four teaspoons. after all that this is the best cake i have ever baked. i tried another recipe this morning that i ended up throwing out and then i found this one and my family couldn’t be happier. thank you so much for this recipe which is my new go-to for vanilla cake.
P.S. your frosting looks amazing but I didn’t have rosewater so i made mine with a homemade blackberry jam filling and lightly frosted with vanilla buttercream. i wish i could post a picture!
Oh, also i used sour cream instead of yogurt!!
Thanks you so much for this valuable information. I love the idea of blackberry jam filling. Yum!! I’d love to see a pic. Send it to simplysogood.com. I’ll see if I can add it to the post.
Hi! With the stay at home mandate in Colorado I plan on making this cake at 7500ft to keep my sanity. Can I subst sour cream for the Yogurt? I saw someone did that in the comments but slso added buttermilk wh I donโt have at the moment. I am not chancing going to the store right nOw๐.
Staying in and being safe takes precedence over everything right now. I think sour cream would work well. I would thin it slightly with a bit of milk or even water…maybe add 2 tablespoons of liquid to thin. Let me know if you have any success.
I used 1 cup of sour cream in lieu of the yogurt and it turned out great! Iโve tried several times to bake a scratch cake since moving to Glen Haven (7500 ft) 3 years ago. This was my first success! Thanks for the recipe.
Wahoo! I’m so happy to hear sour cream can substitute well in the recipe. Happing Baking!
I used sour cream as well (in Colorado Springs) and it was perfect!
Wahoo! Thanks for sharing.
6200ft elevation here, just made your cake and it tirned out very moust and delicious! I have been frustrated wIth cake baking in the rOcky mountains for about TWENTY years. The lesser air pressure causing the leavening of the powders and egGs to happen preMaturely is the main culprit. more Than one publication Recommends cold eggs at elevation, less leAvener, less sugar, Less fat, more liquid. Ive Tried several adjustments and recipes. it always sinks and had a terrible texture. Your recIpe worked perfect the first time! so very grateful, thank You!
Wahoo! I love hearing about baking success. I great book for high altitude baking is Pie in the Sky by Susan Purdy. This is my bible for baking adjustments.
Cristy: Cakes will sink when there is too much liquid. Try following your recipe and just add about 2 tbsp of flour. I usually have good luck with that.
Janet: THis was a great recipe. I substituted non fat greek yogurt (2/3 cups) and (1/3 cup) water for the full fat yogurt. It worked fine.
Sugar turns to liquid. I will add 2 tablespoons flour and delete 2 tablespoons of sugar. This works as well.
Oh my goodness, Do you have any idea how many years and recipes I have tried? This cake recipe works in UTAH!!! Its delicious. Thank you!!!!
Oh my goodness how are you??? I’m so glad the cake worked!!!! Wahoo!
Hi Janet! I love your websIte! Everything looks so delicious! After so many fails at homemade cakes this cake is finally what I have been looking for! Thank you for being willing to share. It has Been so frustrating for Me that high altitude bakers are left out by the MAJORITY of cake recipes out there. I wish you would come up with a white cake recipe! I have a few questions though. Since Iโm a perfectionist, I am Curious what you mean by mix, cream, or beat. I have a Kitchen-aiD mixer. What speed do you use use for each of those instructions? For example: When I mIx the water in, am I just Stirring it in at a low sPeed, or am I beating it In at a medIum speed, or does it matter?! I hope that isnโt a pain to answer, but it sure would relieve my stress. Thanks so much for what you do!
Hi Cindy, Thank you so much for your kind comments. When you say that I should come up with a white cake recipe, do you mean something other than this recipe? Even though it is titled Vanilla Bean Cake it is a basic white cake if you omit the vanilla bean. I generally begin mixing all the ingredients on low speed (#2) then speed it up a bit (#6) for beating in eggs. For the water, I mix it at the lowest speed. The batter will be thin after the water has been added. If you pick up the speed at that point, it would flip out of the bowl and make a mess. I hope I have answered your questions.
Thank you For your quick response! I can see you Work at late hours ๐. The information is so helpful! You are โsimply so good!โ As for white cake, if this one counts, Iโm all in! I just thought that white cake didnโt have egg yolks in it to keep it pure white for weddings. I love this cake and Iโm using it in my nieces wedding cake!
Hi janet, for this recipe, when you cream the butter and sugar, is it supposed to get light and fluFfy before adding the Oil? I seem to keep Getting a Grainy paste.
Hi Joanne, The butter and sugar do get grainy. You can kind of see it in a picture. After adding the oil the mixture will be smooth. I hope this helps. The cake should turn out great.
Cake just came out perfectly at 9600 feet–just south of leadville, CO! Baked it at 360 for 30 mins. I could not find whole-milk yogurt, so I used whole-milk *Greek* yogurt minus a few tablespoons, and added enough milk to thin it and bring it all back up to one cup. Seems to have been an adequate substitution.
Note to Janet: non-photo Text instructions should include addition of liquid vanilla in cake step #8 (include vanilla with boiling water).
Thank you so much for leaving this comment. I’m thrilled the cake was a success at 9600 ft. Bravo on your Greek yogurt substitute. Thanks for making note of the vanilla addition. It has been corrected in the steps.
Can you please share the brand of Rosewater extract you use and where i can purchase it? Thank you!
I use the following brands. They are available at my local grocery store but can be purchased from Amazon. The Neilsen-Massey brand is more concentrated and I only use about 1/2 teaspoon.
Cortas Brand: https://www.amazon.com/Cortas-Rose-Water-Product-Lebanon/dp/B00V8TRZG4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1IAHG3Q7ONFJI&keywords=rose+water+for+cooking&qid=1561740279&s=gateway&sprefix=rose+water%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-4
Neilsen-Massey: https://www.amazon.com/Nielsen-Massey-Rose-Water-gift-ounces/dp/B00194BI4I/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1IAHG3Q7ONFJI&keywords=rose+water+for+cooking&qid=1561740333&s=gateway&sprefix=rose+water%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-8
wow!!! I made this cake yesterday for my granddaughter’s 2nd birthday. I live in Lone Tree, colorado, at about 6,000 feet and followed the suggestion of another reader to cut back on the leavening just a smidge. I did not have vanilla beans so just used a heavy hand when adding vanilla extract. I weighed the ingredients (the first time I’ve ever don this!) and I baked it in 2 8-inch pans. it had a very nice rise that did not fall. I preheated the oven to 365 and immediately turned it down to 350 when I put the cakes in. I frosted it with a whipped cream/mascarpone frosting and topped it with fresh berries–oh, and put a little raspberry jam and more berries between the layers along with some frosting. It was fabulous! And beautiful! The cake itself was so tender and soft–a perfect texture and wonderful taste. I’m so glad I found your recipe–thank you!!! It will be my go to cake recipe from now on.
Wahoo!! I love hearing that this recipe works at such high altitudes. Your cake sounds amazing. I going to have to give it a try ๐ I have been to Lone Tree before to a splash pad with my grandkids who just live in Parker. It’s so beautiful there.
Thank you! I live at 7000ft and havent been able to get a good cake for 10 years. Finally a recipe that takes the guess work out. I reduced baking soda and powder a smidge more than what is in the recipe and turned up the over 20 degrees.
Thank you, Kelly. I’m so happy to hear the recipe works at 7,000 ft. Thank you for letting me know the changes you made. This will help others who live at high altitude.
I just made this recipe this morning. I made a double batch and used the strawberry frosting on half and made a chocolate ganache frosting for the other half. This cake recipe is amazing. I live in Colorado and this is the best high altitude cake recipe i have used to date. Thank you!
Thank you, Penny. This is so great to hear. I have a lot of reviews from Colorado. โค๏ธ I love the addition of chocolate ganache. Way to push it over the top ๐คค
I AM GOING TO MAKE THIS TODAY IN CUPCAKE FORM. I LIVE IN PARK CITY AND OFTEN HAVE ISSUES WITH CAKES. THIS WILL BE FOR A CHILD TURNING 6 AND I WANT THE BEST FOR HER PARTY….WISH ME LUCK
Good luck! Please let me know how the cupcakes turn out in Park City. Vanilla cakes have been a nightmare for me at high altitude. So far the recipe was successful at 7500 above sea level. My fingers are crossed. We want to keep all 6-year-olds happy on their birthday.
ThaNk you Ever so much for Developing a recipe for high altitudeS! I also live in Utah and every simple cake i made Was an oIly, cRumbLy, Sunken mess! I have this recipe saved forevermore. ๐ฅณ
Thank you so much. I hope you love this recipe. So far I have had success even at over 7,000 ft. It’s delish.
I live in the avenues and i have been searching for a vanilla cake recipe that works for a long time. I can’t wait to try this one – i’m thinking if it works for you it’ll work for me. Yay! I’ll let you know! I’m guessing if I want to bake it in a 9″ pan I could just make two layers? i don’t have 6″ cake pans. might be time to buy some though ๐
Hi Deborah, This works great in a 9-inch or an 8-inch. I’m assuming 9 x 13 as well. Let me know if you have any trouble. My fingers are crossed.
I wanted to come back and tell you how wonderful this cake recipe is. I use it exclusively now because it’s perfect. I made a cake for a friend recently. I’ve been making cakes for his birthday for years. He loves Boston cream pie and I always used a mix because I couldn’t get the cake part to come out right. This year he got the real thing. He said it was, hands down, the best cake he ever ate and that included restaurant cakes. It was so good his wife ate almost all the leftover cake while he was at work. ๐ This is a very fussy man and he was over the moon. So, thank you for all your hard work testing and retesting this recipe. I want you to know how much I appreciate it and so does my friend ๐ and pretty much everyone I make cakes for… ๐
Hi Deborah, Thank you so much for your feedback. You have made my day and moved me to tears. Whew! I’m so glad the recipe worked. Altitude and create havoc with baking cakes. What a great friend you are. You must have created the best Boston cream pie ever. Way to go!
I am so glad i found this recipe. i live in salt lake city in emigration canyon, and followed another recipe (to a t)as a test run for a 6 inch two layer cake for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party. utter failure – completely sank in the middle. i am looking forward to trying this recipe.
Hi Sue, I live near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I just baked this cake last Friday for a little 6 inch layer cake for a 10 year old girl. Turned out great. My fingers are crossed. Let me know if you have any trouble.
Dear Janet,
You my friend, are a saint! this is my new go-to recipe
I used the gram weights and the cake turned out faBulous and i live at 9,300 ft (baking at altitude is such a challenge.) I didnt have yogurt on hand, so Used 3/4c SOUR CREAM and 1/4c buttermilk, with no other changes. Thank-you for Sharing your Great reCipe!
Whew! So great to hear Joan. Thank you so much.
aFTER STARTING THIS RECIPE USING GRAMS, i REALIZE THAT THE GRAMS DO NOT MATCH THE UNITS OF MEASURE LISTED.
2c + 2 TBS FLOUR, SAY 300 GRAMS. MY CALCULATION WOULD BE 255, NOT 300.
@ fLOUR 120 GRAMS A CUP.
1 1/3 – 2 TBS C sUGAR=250 GRAMS. @ 200 GRAMS PER CUP OF SUGAR WOULD BE 242 GRAMS OF SUGAR.
i AM GOING TO GO WITH THE GRAMS LISTED AND HOPE FOR THE BEST!
Hi Joan, I measured then weighed each measurement. I believe my scale to be accurate, but I will double check. Thanks for the info.
This cake is amazing here in FLORISSANT, co at about 8,500ft. It is light fligfy and moist . Thanks so much !
Wahoo! This makes me so happy!! Thank you for sharing.
I just discovered your site while searching for dutch oven bread recipe and I’m now waiting for your crusty bread to cool. This cake looks delicious and my son would love it! I don’t have 6 inch cake pans. Could you use 2 standard size or a 9×13 perhaps? Thanks!
Hi Sandra, I’m so glad you found my blog. Yes, you can make the cake in 2 standard size or a 9 x 13-inch, Cupcakes too. I hope the recipe is a success for you. Happy baking.
I am hoping to make this recipe using the 2 standard cake pans, but also add an additional 9″ pan to use for small cutouts for a smash cake for my daughter’s first birthday. How should I adjust the measurements?
HI Alexandra, This is what I’d do…because I just don’t trust myself with amounts. Is a standard size cake pan 8-inch rounds or are you thinking 9 x 13-inch? I would make a double batch OR make 2 separate batches and make 4 cakes. The cake freezes great. Save the extra cake for another use. Or just a quick cake for a family dessert. Let me know if I didn’t totally answer your question.
WOW! Again, absolutely beautiful photos. I’m so impressed with your baking and photography. I just come to your website to look at your pictures and daydream about tasting your baking! (Your skill level is much higher than mine!) The decorations on the cake are absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you, Elizabeth. You are so kind and NO my skill level is not higher than anyone. You can do this!