Classic Vanilla Cake With Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting

Alright, here we go. A pretty epic recipe for a pretty special day. Last Friday marked the FIRST BIRTHDAY of this little blog of mine! And today, we’ve got cake to celebrate, but it’s not just any kind; this combo is probably one of my ultimate loves and I am over the moon to have come up with an easy (yet incredibly delectable) recipe for you. I’m talking Classic Vanilla Cake with Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting!

This is the birthday cake of my dreams and I am still giddy over how good this turned out. Not to toot my own horn or anything but upon one bite, I was really surprised that it tasted just as I hoped it would. Dig into my cake-making history and you’ll find out that basic birthday cakes (all I ever want in life) rarely turn out for me, I can’t make vanilla buttercream to save my life, and I’m all caps HORRIBLE at decorating cakes. But apparently this Classic Vanilla Cake with Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting had different plans for me; thank goodness.

Turns out that sticking with what you know after years of baking will work out; who knew? My goal was to keep this simple — not only to share with you all — but for myself, too. I wanted a classic, go-to recipe for my own repertoire because I’ve been trying so hard to nail a good, basic vanilla cake. This one — inspired by the ease of store-bought cake mixes — uses oil instead of butter (no unnecessary whipping required, yay!). The result is in fact, a very good cake. I’m really proud of this Classic Vanilla Cake with Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting. The oil will actually help it hold its shape when icing so that crumbs won’t get all over your hard work. But don’t let that fool you: it remains soft and fluffy, which is what we all want. The best part is the use of oil lets you eat it quicker straight from the fridge at midnight because the oil won’t harden like butter! What a bonus! Additionally, you won’t end up with a cake that’s just sugary frosting. I personally end up scraping most of my frosting off with most cakes as it just becomes unappetizing after a certain point. I really enjoy tasting the actual cake so this one lets both the vanilla and milk chocolate flavours sing.

When it comes to the actual frosting of this cake, it’s the only kind I know will always work out for me. I’ve desperately tried various vanilla buttercreams but none have turned out just *quite* right for me. The texture never seems to be smooth and fluffy enough, or the flavour is either too buttery or sweet. During one of my dramatic frosting attempts a few years ago — I became slightly frustrated that this particular time would be just like my previous failures — I landed upon a miracle. I decided to add cocoa powder because I wasn’t digging the plain vanilla vibe. To then improve the texture I added a few splashes of whipping cream that I happened to have in the fridge. This changed everything. The whipping cream added a fluffiness I was never once able to achieve — simply adding milk to loosen the texture just doesn’t cut it. I can’t recall if I’ve tried this trick with a plain buttercream but that’s on my to do list now that I have the confidence to know I can make a good cake. I’ve adjusted this frosting recipe over time to add melted chocolate when I can because of the lusciousness it adds. This one uses one of my childhood favourites — Cadbury Dairy Milk — and it carries the chocolate flavour SO WELL. I’m convinced this is the ‘je ne sais quoi‘ of this whole recipe! But feel free to use whichever brand you prefer.

As far as that thing about me not being able to frost a cake…this Classic Vanilla Cake with Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting is the best result I’ve ever had. I do now own a large and small offset spatula (I used mainly the large one here) and it helped a bunch. I’m sure most people have better hand-eye coordination than me to pull it off with another tool in the kitchen but I’m convinced it really helped me maneuver the frosting in just the right way. Also, as I’m sure you can see, this cake embraces its flaws so no need to be super precise!

So, we’re pretty much going back to basics with this cake and frosting recipe. But don’t confuse basic with boring here because I promise once you make this Classic Vanilla Cake with Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting you’ll want to turn to this recipe in the future. It’s just a cute, happy-looking, classic birthday cake combo. As you can guess with some other recipes on this blog (see here & here for reference) I really enjoy food (*cough* desserts) that evoke a heightened sense of childhood nostalgia. And this cake does just that. Happy baking — especially if it’s someone’s birthday or even just a random Tuesday! Any excuse to eat cake is a good excuse in my book!

Classic Vanilla Cake

Makes three 6-inch cakes (yields about 4 cups of cake batter)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 TSP baking powder
• 3/4 TSP salt
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 1/4 TSP vanilla extract (the best quality you can use)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar

Directions:

• Prep your cake tins by greasing and lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) into a medium bowl.
• In a separate large bowl using an electric whisk or stand mixer, add all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, eggs + yolk, vanilla) and sugar. Mix on medium-high speed until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until well-combined, about 1 min 30 seconds.
• Divide batter evenly into cake tins (about 1 & 1/3 cups of batter for each 6-inch tin). I only had two 6-inch tins, and therefore baked the 3 layers in two batches — two layers the first time, and the third during the second time.
• Bake cakes for about 30-35 minutes, or until slightly golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from tins after a few minutes, and let them fully cool on a wire rack.

Fluffy Milk Chocolate Frosting

Makes enough to ice a 3-layer, 6-inch cake

Ingredients:

• 100g of milk chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Cadbury’s Dairy Milk)
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (to taste)
• 1 TSP vanilla extract
• 1/4 TSP + a pinch of salt
• About 1/3 cup of whipping cream, room temperature
• Hot water (optional; as needed)

Directions:

• Melt the milk chocolate using your preferred method (I used a double-boiler technique), and set aside to cool.
• In the meantime, beat the butter and 1 & 1/2 cups of powdered sugar in a large bowl with electric whisk or a stand mixer, until it begins to turn a lighter colour and becomes fluffy. Reserve the additional powdered sugar to add later in the process as needed.
• Making sure the melted milk chocolate is cooled, add it to the butter mixture along with the cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Beat for a couple minutes on medium-high speed until well-mixed.
• Now, add the whipping cream a few tablespoons at a time, to help lighten things up. I used a total of about 1/3 cup. Adjust the quantity as needed. You are looking for a smooth and fluffy consistency.
• Taste the frosting; add more powdered sugar or cocoa powder as needed to balance the flavours. Just make sure they are sifted in order to ensure any lumps don’t ruin all your hard work!
• As a last step to create a luscious frosting, add 1 tablespoon of hot water. Beat thoroughly before adding any more to prevent incorporating too much.
• The frosting is best used on the day it’s made; the finished cake will last refrigerated in an air-tight container for a few days.

Notes for frosting the cake:

• Be sure to remove the parchment paper from each of the cakes before assembling.
• Use a large serrated knife to cut across the tops of the cakes in order to create an even base for assembling.
• Use a small spoon or offset spatula to create the “swooped” design on top of the cake. And don’t forget the sprinkles!