Everyone should have a solid vanilla cake recipe. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, vanilla cake is a must have for the recipe box. I call this one my vibrant vanilla cake as I like to use lemon juice when making the icing. There is something about fresh lemon that really brings out the woodsy, floral undertones of a good quality vanilla. In other words, it’s the perfect balance of flavors.
Madeira cake is my favorite cake recipes to bake as it’s delicious, simple, cheap and quick to make. The cracks on the top not only gives it interest but makes the cake look fancy without any effort. Furthermore, you don’t have to spent a lot of calories (or money) on icing the cake in expensive frostings as it’s lovely by itself or with a simple glaze. You can have this cake batter in the oven within 10 minutes and on the table in a little over an hour. Perfect for unexpected visitors or for a last minute dessert.
What I love about this particular recipe is by using oil, the crumb stays moist for days, it uses healthy and it is dairy free for those with lactose intolerance or dietary restrictions. You can also skip the glaze altogether and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or leave it plain. I frankly prefer a nice plain vanilla cake over most other cakes out there. There is something about the simplicity of a vanilla cake that makes you just feel like you are a kid again.
Another bonus is this is an easy recipe to tweak to your liking. Try some orange extract instead of the vanilla, take out a few tablespoons of flour and add in some cocoa, toss in a few teaspoons of spices. Add in the zest of a lemon and drizzle the top with lemon juice. This is how I made the orange spice cake and the chocolate cinnamon ginger cake. One thing I do recommend is learning this recipe and then adjusting the amount of sugar to your liking. Preferring 1/2 cup (100g) sugar myself, others may like 1 1/4 cups (225g) sugary sweetness. This is one of the best cakes to make as it’s great to experiment with flavors, tastes great and doesn’t cost a lot of money.
Gather ingredients. 
Sift together dry ingredients. 
Whisk wet ingredients, mix in dry. 
Place in a lined or greased 9×5 (23x13cm) loaf pan. 
Bake. 
Stir. 
Cover. 
Slice. 
Happy Baking!
So now that you have read about how to make my vibrant vanilla cake, why not watch this video? In addition, watching will help you learn how to make all kinds of lovely cakes in the future, not just vanilla. I call that multitasking.
Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (225g) flour
- 4 large (200g) eggs
- ¾ cup (180mL) oil
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 1 ½ tsp (6g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
For the Glaze
- 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbs (15-30mL) juice or water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C.)
- Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf tin (23x13cm) or line with parchment paper.
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Sit aside.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in sugar. Add flour mixture and beat until you no longer see lumps, about 1 minute. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 45 – 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Center should read between 200F (93C) and 210F (99C.)
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
For the Glaze
- Mix together powdered sugar and juice or water, one teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.
- Spread over top of cake. Allow to air dry for several minutes before slicing.
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe. Please I’d like to ask for your opinion about either baking in grammes or using measuring cups , each time I use my measuring cup to measure out my flour , a cup and half gives about 175g as opposed to yours which is 225g. This is confusing 🥲
Which would you suggest that I use , your measurements in grammes or my measuring cups.
Hello, Taiwo! I create all my recipes using grams and milliliters. For best results, I suggest using the grammes (grams.) Every recipe was also tested using US cups which have a volume of 240mL. Both will give you great results and a lovely cake. But for accuracy, weighing your dry ingredients is ideal.
You must be an experienced baker to be getting 175g! The brand, type of flour, whether it is stirred, sifted and manner in which people scoop and level flour out will result in a wide range from 110 – 170 grams per cup. After testing dozens of the most common flours here in the US and scooping like a beginner or average baker scoops flour, we decided to stick with 150 grams per 1 cup of flour. You can read more here if you like: https://jacksonsjob.com/how-much-does-a-cup-of-flour-weigh-in-grams/ Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this .
My first trial was fantastic !
It was sooo moist and rich my family and friends couldn’t believe I learned it online.
It tasted very nice, they wanted more lol.
I’m so glad you, your friends and family approved, Temi! Isn’t it just a lovely and simply recipe to bake? If you like cinnamon, next time try adding a tsp or two of cinnamon to the flour mixture. By the way, it freezes really well. We make a few at a time and always have a few for unexpected guests already sliced in the freezer. Sometimes, we eat it frozen! 🙂
Baked this cake for my birthday and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for doing what you do
I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Ronak! Here’s wishing you many more years of health and happiness! I’m glad the cake turned out well for you.
My first try I slightly over baked but it still turned out pretty delicious!
100% will bake again.
I’m so glad you liked it! The bad thing about baking is everyone’s oven is a little different and finding that perfect temperature initially can be a bit frustrating. When we got out new stove, it ran 25 degrees hotter and I was over-baking for weeks until I put in a separate gauge and found out the issue! If you find the recipe time needs adjusting, let me know! 🙂