A freshly baked cake is always the focus of any birthday celebration. I mean, isn’t the food always the focus? And because I am here today to help celebrate the birthday of my sweet blog friend, I decided to bake you a cake. When I was growing up, for each birthday in my family, my mom, grandmother or aunts would bake a cake, cover it with decadent frosting and then often spend hours decorating it.
If I am going to eat the calories in a slice of cake, it better be worth it. I’m talking about a rich, decadent cake packed with flavor, not some store-bought dry flavorless loaf of sugar. This Vanilla Bean Cake with Strawberry Buttercream is worth every ounce. The strawberry buttercream creates a natural pink color that is bright, fun and perfect for birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers or even Mother’s Day.
Vanilla Bean Cake
The cake is moist and decadent and the frosting is packed with sweet strawberry flavor. You will LOVE the frosting. It always receives rave reviews. The frosting is smooth and decadent but not too rich.
Strawberry and vanilla is one of my favorite combinations. Because I use fresh, natural and organic ingredients whenever possible, I used premium vanilla beans to flavor the cake and fresh, ripe organic strawberries for the frosting. Both are essential to achieve the highest quality and most flavorful cake.
Vanilla Bean Cake with Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, (3 sticks)
- 2 2/3 cups sugar
- 9 egg whites, at room temperature
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, , (3 sticks) at room temperature
- 6-7 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted*
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease the edges of three 8" x 2" round cake pans. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, about 4 to 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the egg whites gradually, mixing until fully incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk vanilla extract and vanilla paste (or contents of vanilla bean) into buttermilk. Pour one third of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Add half of the buttermilk, then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth with small offset spatula, and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely.
To make the strawberry frosting:
- Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve placed over a bowl to remove the seeds. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and half of the sugar. Beat on low speed until well blended. Add the other half of the sugar and two tablespoons of strawberry puree, mixing until combined. Increase speed to medium and add additional puree, a tablespoon at a time, until desired color and flavor is reached (I used all of the puree). Add vanilla and beat on high for about 30 seconds to lighten the frosting.
To assemble the cake:
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand, plate or cake board. Spread and smooth 3/4 cup frosting, using a small offset spatula. Repeat with second cake layer. Place the third cake layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining strawberry frosting. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and serve.
Notes
- I like the frosting to be light and smooth. Add between 6-7 cups of sugar and continue mixing until desired consistency is reached.
I made this cake for my husband’s b-day. The frosting was awesome but the cake was just ok. It was very dense and heavy. The taste was just ok too. I guess I like a lighter cake especially when making a three layer cake! I had to cut very thin slices, too heavy for my taste.
Hi, Lynda! I am sorry to hear that you didn’t love the cake. It is a pretty sweet cake so I like to cut small slices too. I hope that you try the frosting again.
Hi Ashley, I really want to make this cake however I only wanted to do a 2 layer cake instead of 3. Would it be possible for you to provide me with the recipe converted to make a 2 layer cake if that is possible? Will that change the outcome? Thanks much appreciated!
I ran across this yesterday on Pinterest and decided to make it today. I was having a picnic with a friend and decided to make this since I had all the ingredients already. This cake was nothing short of amazing! I loved it as did my friends who had some as well. I think I found my “go-to” vanilla cake recipe (which I was in search of). Thank you for sharing this deliciousness!
Hi Chelsea! I am so glad to hear that you and your friends enjoyed this cake. It is one of my favorite flavors!
Hi Ashley,
I’ve been scouring the Web for a cake like this for my daughter’s upcoming first birthday. So sweet and simple, and looks delicious! Technical question for you: I’d like to make this as a sheet cake (12x18x2) and a “smash” cake (6×2) for the birthday girl. Any thoughts on how the recipe would translate to these sizes? I am fairly terrible at conversions!
Thank you!
Hi Abby! I have never made this recipe using the sizes you mentioned. But this recipe makes a pretty big cake, so you should definitely be able to make the sheet cake and may even have enough leftover to make the smaller cake as well. You will probably need 1.5 – 2x the frosting. Please let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!
Hi Ashley! I finally tried this recipe in my 12×18 pan and it came out very flat — about an inch thick…did I do something wrong, or do you think there was just not enough batter? If it was just a lack of batter, do you think I could bake another layer and stack them, or would it be better to just over? I’m concerned if I stack them that they will be too dense, or that the ratio to icing will be off. Thanks!
Hi. Abby! It is possible that it wasn’t enough batter although this recipe makes a lot of cake. You could definitely try stacking them. You may just need to make additional frosting. I wish I had more suggestions but I always make this cake in 8″ round cake pans.
I meant to write back here so long ago! I ended up tripling the recipe to see what would happen — success! That made enough for a nice high sheet cake and a 6-inch layer cake for my daughter to have as a smash cake. Turns out you need a lot of batter for a 12×18, 3 inch pan — I guess that makes sense when you think about it! It was delicious and a hit at the party. Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad to hear that it turned out well. Thanks for sharing your results!
Would this recipe easily translate to cupcakes? Any tips?
Hi Robin! I have not made cupcakes with this recipe, but you could probably try baking them for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let me know how they turn out if you do decide to try them. It will make a lot of cupcakes.