I originally made this cake for my Scream Movie Night dinner! You can check out the full spooky menu here [Link].
I made this Vanilla cake from Recipe Tin Eats. I altered this recipe to be dairy free and it worked well as a two layer cake with chocolate frosting in the middle, topped with white buttercream frosting and a red bloody icing with oreo crumbs as dirt and a knife in the middle.
Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
CupsMetric
- 2 cups plain / all purpose flour (cake flour works well too)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 eggs, at room temp
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup dairy free avacado oil butter
- 1 cup dairy free unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk and oat milk work as well.
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tsp vegetable or canola oil
Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 sticks unsalted butter , softened
- 1 lb soft icing sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 – 4 tbsp milk , to adjust thickeness, if needed
I always use dairy free butter with avocado oil in all of my recipes along with almond milk. I use 1:1 in most of my recipes and I have not seen any issues with most of my recipes. They usually turn out quiet well, delicious, soft and fluffy. If a recipe calls for 1c of milk, I add 1c of almond milk. The only time i use more or less of milk or butter is when I am making biscuits and gravy or a powder sugar icing.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Baking the cake on the middle rack works very well for this cake and many others.
Grease 2 x 20cm / 8” cake pans with butter, then line with parchment / baking paper. Best to use cake pan without loose base, if you can. But feel free to use any cake pan you like or even cupcake pans.
Begin by whisking the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Then set aside.
In a separate bowl or stand mixer, beat eggs for 30 seconds on speed 6 of a Stand Mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or hand beater. With the beater still going, pour the sugar in over 45 seconds. Then beat for 7 minutes on speed 8, or until tripled in volume and white.
While egg is beating, place butter and milk in a heatproof bowl or measuring cup and microwave 2 minutes on high to melt butter (or use stove). I use the stove and just heat the milk till it slightly warm to the touch.
When the egg is whipped, add the flour in 3 batches beating for 5 seconds on Speed 1 in between each addition. Once all the flour is in, beat for another 5 – 10 seconds until you can’t see any flour, then stop beating the cake batter straight away.
Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl.
Add about 1 1/2 cups (2 ladles or so) of the cake batter into the hot milk (don’t need to be 100% accurate with amount). Use a whisk to mix until smooth – you can be vigorous here. Will look foamy.
Turn beater back on Speed 1 then pour the hot milk mixture into the cake batter over 15 seconds, then turn beater off.
Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on Speed 1 for 10 seconds – batter should now be smooth and pourable. Pour batter in to prepared cake pans and bake until lightly golden brown. I would say about 30min but do keep an eye on the cake as many ovens cook faster or slower.
Cool & frost:
Remove from oven. Cool in cake pans for 15 minutes, then gently turn out onto cooling racks. If using as layer cakes, cool upside down – slight dome will flatten perfectly. Level cake = neat layers.
Once cake layers are fully cool, top with frosting of choice, or cream and fresh berries or jam. See list of ideas in post!
Vanilla Buttercream:
Beat butter with paddle attachment in stand mixer for 3 minutes on high until it changes from yellow to almost white, and it becomes fluffy and cream
Add powdered sugar gradually in 3 , pours beating slowly (to avoid a powder storm) then once mostly incorporated, beat on high for a full 3 minutes until fluffy.
Add vanilla and milk, then beat for a further 30 seconds. Use milk only if needed to make it lovely and soft but still holds its form (eg for piping). Use immediately. (If you make ahead, refrigerate then beat to re-fluff).
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