The best recipe for the classic vanilla birthday cake. This easy and simple birthday cake is made with a moist vanilla sponge cake, filled with a mascarpone whipped cream and decorated with an American buttercream frosting.
If you're looking for an easy recipe to celebrate a birthday! I have the perfect birthday cake for you! This cake is super simple and indulgent, vanilla sponge cakes assembled into a layer cake with a light filling and a pretty sugar sprinkles decoration.
Easy birthday cake recipe
This birthday cake is super easy to make, even if you're not very good at baking. It is composed of 3 layers of soft and moist vanilla-flavored sponge cake. Topped with a light and easy to make cream, the famous mascarpone whipped cream.
And to smooth and decorate this great cake, I chose the American buttercream which is the least technical, simplest and fastest buttercream icing to make.
With this you have the perfect combination of the classic vanilla birthday cake!
Useful tools for this recipe
- Cake pan 6 inch
- Stand mixer or an electric hand mixer
- Cake leveler
- Piping bag with 1B nozzle
- Cake turntable
- Cake scraper
You will also like : Best 10 cake decorating tools for great cakes !
For the vanilla sponge cake I use a " reverse creaming " method which consists in incorporating the butter into the dry ingredients and then adding the liquid ingredients. This would result in a much more tender sponge cake.
How to make the easy vanilla birthday cake
Click here to follow my complete and detailed American Buttercream recipe
Preparation of the vanilla sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 320°F / 160°C and line 3 round cake pans of 6 inch/ 15 cm diameter with parchment paper.
- Place the liquid ingredients in a medium bowl, the eggs, milk and vanilla.
- Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer, flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.
- Mix the dry ingredients for 10 seconds using the paddle attachment.
- Add the chopped butter to the dry ingredients and mix on high speed until you have a sandy mixture.
- Add half of the liquid ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the other half of the liquid ingredients and mix again for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Divide the mixture into 3 and fill the prepared pans.
- Bake for about 30 - 45 minutes until golden brown on top. (check for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the center and it should come out clean)
- Allow the cakes to cool slightly before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a cake wire.
- Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
When your sponge cakes are cold you can remove the crust with a knife.
Mascarpone whipped cream
- In a medium bowl place all the ingredients, confectioner's sugar, cold mascarpone, cold heavy cream and vanilla.
- Beat with an electric mixer for about 4-5 minutes until you have a thick cream.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to assemble.
Assembly of the birthday cake
- Place a first layer of sponge cake on a cake board and on your cake turntable.
- Fill the inside with a layer of mascarpone whipped cream and smooth with an angled spatula.
- Place a second layer of cake and repeat the previous step then finish by placing the last layer of sponge cake.
- Apply a layer of American buttercream over the entire cake and smooth first with the angled spatula and then finish with a frosting smoother.
- Make swirls with a pastry bag filled with buttercream and a star nozzle.
- Sprinkle with colorful sugar sprinkles.
- Let your cake rest in the fridge.
- Take the cake out 20 minutes before serving.
You will also like : How to frost a cake for perfect finish !
More birthday cakes
- Chocolate Layer Cake with Vanilla Ganache
- Naked chocolate cake
- Coconut cake
- Number cake
- How to make Cake pops
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Classic vanilla birthday cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
Description
An easy vanilla birthday cake made off a soft and moist vanilla sponge cake, fill with a mascarpone whipped cream and deocrate with a American buttercream frosting (for a 6 inch / 15 cm diameter cake - about 8-10 parts)
Ingredients
Vanilla sponge cake
- 390 g Flour
- 290 g Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 175 butter (at room temperature)
- 312 ml Milk
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Mascarpone whipped cream
- 125 g Mascarpone (cold)
- 150 ml Heavy cream (cold)
- 20 g Confectioner's sugar (sifted)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
American buttercream frosting
- 170 g butter (cut into pieces and at room temperature)
- 315 g confectioner's sugar (sifted)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream (or milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Vanilla sponge cake
- Preheat oven to 320°F / 160°C and line 3 6 inch / 15 cm cake pans with parchment paper.
- Mix together the liquid ingredients, eggs, milk and vanilla.
- Place the dry ingredients in the stand mixer bowl, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and mix on high speed for 10-15 seconds.
- Add the chopped butter and mix for 1 minute on high speed until sandy.
- Add half of the liquid mixture and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Then add the other half and mix again for 2 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into your 3 baking pans and bake for 30-45 minutes. Check the cooking with a toothpick by sticking it in the center, it should come out clean.
- Let the cakes cool a bit before unmolding them and letting them cool completely upside down on a cake rack.
- Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
American buttercream frosting
- Place the room temperature butter, cut into pieces, in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add the sifted confectioner's sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and salt and mix on high speed for another 3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Set aside at room temperature until ready to assemble.
Mascarpone whipped cream
- Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, the cold mascarpone cream, the very cold heavy cream, the sifted confectioner's sugar and the vanilla.
- Mix with an electric mixer for 4 - 5 minutes until you obtain a thick and homogeneous preparation.
- Set aside in a fresh place until ready to assemble.
Assembling the cake
- Place a first layer of sponge cake on a cake plate placed on your cake turntable.
- Garnish the inside with a layer of mascarpone whipped cream and smooth with a spatula.
- Cover with the second layer of sponge cake and repeat the previous step. Finish with the third layer of sponge cake.
- Apply a layer of buttercream over the entire cake and smooth with the spatula and then an cake scraper.
- Decorate the top with a pastry bag filled with buttercream and a star tip.
- Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles and place your cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: cake, Dessert
- Cuisine: americain
Nutrition
- Calories: 799
- Sugar: 64
- Sodium: 393
- Fat: 43
- Saturated Fat: 27
- Carbohydrates: 95
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 9
- Cholesterol: 180
Keywords: vanilla birthday cake, vanilla cake
Hi,
What a lovely recipe!
Can I also use a cake pan with a diameter of 18cm? Do I need to change the measurements of the ingredients?
Thank you in advance!
Hello Sara, thanks ❤️ , yes as I use a 15 cm pan in this recipe you can use a 18 cm pan your cake will be just a little less high.
Hiyaa,
This cake looks amazing, thank you for the recipe.
Quick question, which flour did you use for this recipe?
Thank you
Thank you very much, for this recipe I used homemade cake flour, if you have any use cake flour or simply all purpose flour will work too.