Vanilla Sheet Cake
This Vanilla Sheet Cake is soft, fluffy, perfectly moist, and topped with the creamiest homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. Made from scratch with simple pantry ingredients, this easy sheet cake recipe is perfect for birthdays, holidays, potlucks, and any celebration. Save this classic vanilla cake recipe for your next party!
Servings: 12 people
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3 whole large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 cup milk at room temperature
Frosting
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, corn starch, baking powder and baking soda together until well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in the vanilla extract, oil, sour cream and mix again.
- Rotate between adding the milk and flour mixture in 3 increments to the wet mixture. Make sure the cake batter is combined, but do not over-mix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean and the tops are a light golden brown. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.
Make the frosting
- In a separate bowl, beat together the softened butter with an electric mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Mix on low speed and gradually increase the speed when adding the powdered sugar.
- Add in the vanilla extract and milk and continue to beat on high speed until creamy and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin, and more milk if frosting is too thick.
- Spread frosting all over the top of the cooled cake. Make the frosting smooth or make swirls with a spoon. Decorate with rainbow sprinkles (optional), slice and enjoy!