Easy Vanilla Cake (with oil, no butter)
Published Oct 20, 2022•Updated Jan 12, 2024
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An Easy Vanilla Cake recipe makes a celebration possible any day of the week! Especially because this cake is made without butter or buttermilk. All you need is oil to give the cake a tender, moist crumb.
To know me is to know that I love baking, but do not love a big baking project. I love a cake that can be whisked up while dinner is in the oven and enjoyed immediately after. And once I started making this Easy Chocolate Cake (also made with oil and no butter), I knew I needed a similar vanilla version. And this no-butter easy vanilla cake is the best vanilla cake recipe if you want oil instead of butter or buttermilk to give it a delicious, moist crumb.
Perhaps best of all, this cake makes just enough to serve a small group – like our family of five and a few dinner guests. It makes nine generous servings. I’ve used it to make birthday cakes for family members and friends. It’s great with just a dusting of powdered sugar, but is extra fun with my whipped cream frosting and a few sprinkles.
This cake has many fans!
My family makes this cake so often— one of a kind!! So simple and delicious & ADDICTING!
– Elizabeth
Why Bake a Cake with Oil
Convenience is a great reason to make a cake with oil instead of butter. Oil is easy to measure and doesn’t need to be softened first. And although oil doesn’t have the same rich flavor as butter, it makes for a very moist cake.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – Just the regular all-purpose white flour that you likely already have in your pantry. To get the most accurate results (and minimize dishes!), I like to measure it on a scale by weight.
- Sugar – Use granulated white sugar for this cake. Like the flour, I prefer to do this on a scale by weight, right inside the mixing bowl.
- Baking Powder – Double check that your baking powder is fresh. If it has been hiding in the back of your pantry for a few months, it might not sufficiently help the cake to rise.
- Egg, Milk, Vegetable Oil, Pure Vanilla Extract, pinch of salt – You’ll also need these other common ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
- Sour Cream – Keeps the cake moist and gives it a tender crumb.
How to Make Vanilla Cake
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl – egg, vanilla, milk, sour cream, and vegetable oil. (Note: Don’t worry if they are cold. The ingredients do not need to be at room temperature for this recipe to work.)
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until evenly combined (don’t overmix, but make sure no dry spots remain).
- Pour batter into a greased 8×8 baking pan. (It’s not necessary, but you can opt to line it with parchment paper for extra easy removal from the pan.)
- Bake at 350 degrees F until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the center of the cake springs back lightly when pressed, 30 to 33 minutes.
- Cool, slice, and serve!
Tips
- Don’t overmix. Stir the batter just until smooth. Overmixing can make your cake tough instead of light and fluffy.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting. If you’re going to add frosting (see below for ideas), be sure to let the cake cool completely. If the cake is still warm, your frosting will melt right off.
- Store the cake in the pantry (if not frosted) or in the refrigerator (if frosted) for up to 3 days.
Toppings for Easy Vanilla Cake
Any easy vanilla cake is great topped with any of the options below. Just be sure to let the cake cool completely before adding any frosting, or the frosting will melt right off.
- Powdered Sugar
- Cinnamon-Sugar
- Light and Fluffy Vanilla Frosting and Sprinkles
- Creamy Chocolate Frosting (for an 8×8 cake)
- Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Olive oil will work fine, but keep in mind that olive oil does have a flavor that will be noticeable in the finished cake.
If the cake is unfrosted, you can store it at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. If it is frosted, it’s best to keep it in the refrigerator. (Cold slices of this cake are delicious!)
The best way to make this cake ahead is to bake it up to 3 days ahead and store it, unfrosted, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature a few hours ahead of time and then frost right before serving.
Yes, but the cake will take 3 to 5 minutes longer to cook than the times listed below. (The cake was tested in an aluminum baking pan.)
Yes. Many reviewers have tried this and doubled the recipe to bake in a 9×13 pan. The cake may take a few minutes longer to cook.
I don’t find that this cake needs cake flour. All-purpose flour yields a tender, light crumb. If you do try it with cake flour, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Yes. You can bake this cake in round cake pans. If using a 9-inch round pan, the baking time should be about the same as listed in the recipe card. If using an 8-inch round pan, it should take about 5 minutes more to bake.
Yes. These layers are sturdy enough to stack into layers. Just bake as many individual cakes as you would like in round pans as outlined above.
Other Easy Desserts
- One Bowl Chocolate Cake – This is my go-to weeknight cake because it can be made in one bowl!
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars – These peanut butter bars loaded with chocolate peanut butter cups are made in an 8×8 baking pan which is great for a weeknight dinner, packing in lunches, or freezing for later.
- Smash Cake for Baby’s First Birthday – If you happen to have a baby in your life that is about to turn one (or just want a small cake to serve your family!), check out this sweet vanilla smash cake.
Favorite Tools
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls – My go-to mixing bowls for baking.
- 8×8 Metal Baking Pan – This nonstick pan is my absolute favorite for baking any small cakes, brownies, and other desserts.
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Vanilla Cake Recipe (made with oil, not butter)
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- 8×8 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (190 g)
- 3/4 cup sugar (150 g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk, any type
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (see note)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Note: I often also like to line it with parchment paper before spraying it for super easy removal, but this is optional.)
- In one medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a smaller mixing bowl whisk together the egg and vanilla until smooth. Add the milk, sour cream, and vegetable oil and mix again until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir them together until no dry spots remain. Be careful not to overmix the batter – you'll know it's ready when it still looks slightly lumpy but all of the dry ingredients are mixed in.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is golden on top, 30 to 33 minutes.
- Let the cake cool before slicing and serving. (Note: If adding frosting, be sure that the cake is completely cool before adding frosting.)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I swap out the sour cream for milk instead?
The texture will be off since milk is so thin. It’s great with yogurt instead of the sour cream though!
Perfect! My daughter wanted to add chocolate chips so we mixed them with a little flour and threw them in the batter, not sure the cake needed anything else but it came out delicious!
Yay – I’m so glad! I never complain about extra chocolate! We often add sprinkles too and make it into funfetti which is always a hit around here!
Can i bake it in 6 inch round pan? And how many layers will I have than? Or if I can’t how to make the right amount?
Yes – this will work and you can make two layers that are 6 inches round. I’m not sure about the baking time, so be sure to keep an eye on it starting around the 12 minute mark.
Hi Christine! No sour cream needed.
terrible. The batter took 50 minutes to cook fully and even then it was so under cooked, only thing good about this recipie is the taste
Oh my goodness – I’ve never had anyone else say this! Are you sure that your baking soda was fresh? It sounds like it might not have leavened your cake properly.
Did you use a metal or aluminum pan? Glass worked great when I made it 3x, using aluminum this time and taking longer to cook.
I tend to use an aluminum pan, but as you can see in the photos, I’ve made it with glass as well. I always think it takes a few minutes longer in glass, but baking times can definitely vary a lot based on the type and thickness of the pan.
Second time making this, Love It!! So easy and quick in 1 bowl!! Topped it with chocolate ice cream instead of frosting. Wonderful!!!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for the great note!
Would there be any reason coconut oil wouldn’t work as a substitute for vegetable oil?
I will add sprinkles for my granddaughter- funfetti cake 🙂
Looking forward to trying it!
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work!
I make a struesal topping, take the cake out about 7 min. early and put the topping on and return to oven for maybe 5-7 more min. Makes a great coffee cake.
The streusel topping is such a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing Pat!
You’ll need something in its place. Buttermilk would probably work or a plant-based yogurt.
My hubby and I enjoyed this delicious snack cake! It was very easy to make and I liked the fact that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. It was great not having to get the mixer out to make it. I found a homemade buttercream icing recipe that was perfect with it. The cake was a little bit dense, as another reviewer stated, but we loved the taste of it, so it didn’t matter. Thank you for this great recipe!
do you think i could use this recipe as a base for a poke cake with jello?? thanks in advance
I think that would be wonderful! I’m not exactly sure what adjustments I’d recommend, but this cake would be a great base to play with if you wanted to add the jello poke-cake style.
it ended up being wonderful! i didn’t even make any adjustments really, except maybe a little less sugar & added a small amount of almond extract, but i LOVED it for a small poke cake!