Ingredients
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, room temp (reg or plant-based)
- 1/3 cup (75g) vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cup (350g) granulated sugar, divided
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (300g) cup for cup gluten free baking flour*
- 1/4 cup (30g) cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (240g) milk, room temp (reg or plant-based)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, room temp (reg or plant-based**)
- 2 tbsp milk, room temp (reg or plant-based)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 5 cups (550g) powdered sugar, spooned and leveled***
Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease two 8″ round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a measuring glass, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip together the butter with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar.
- Mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add in the remaining 1 cup of sugar and oil and mix until smooth.
- Now mix in the eggs, two at a time, followed by the vanilla. Mix well to fully combine.
- Pour in half of the dry ingredients and mix.
- Right before it’s fully combined, mix in the milk and vinegar mixture.
- Again, right before it’s fully combined, mix in the remaining dry ingredients to create a smooth batter. It should be pretty thin and pudding-like.
- Evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans and spread even.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. They should be golden around the edges and right in the center.
- Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then run a knife along the sides, turn out onto a cooling rack, and peel back the parchment paper.
- Completely cool the cakes either at room temp or in the refrigerator before frosting. *Make-ahead: Allow the cakes to cool completely and then wrap each one in plastic wrap. The layers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or frozen for a couple months.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients.
- Run on low speed just to combine.
- Once everything is smoothed together, crank up the speed to a notch below the highest setting and let it go for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, stop and scrape down the bowl. Then crank the speed back up and run for another 5 minutes.
- This 10 minutes of mixing knocks out the air bubbles to leave you with an incredibly smooth vanilla buttercream.
- To assemble, spread a layer of buttercream between the two cake layers.
- Cover the entire cake in a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) and chill for 20 minutes. This locks in the cake crumbs so they don’t get caught in the final layer of frosting.
- Once chilled, coat the cake in the remaining frosting. It should be enough to do one thick layer or a thinner layer with enough left to pipe decorations on top.
- Finish with some sprinkles and enjoy!