This bakery recipe makes an incredibly moist vanilla cake with strawberry filling. It starts with soft, fluffy cake layers, easy fresh strawberry compote, and creamy vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 ½ cups) All-Purpose Flour (I use Gold Medal)
- 2 Tablespoons Instant Clearjel or 3 Tablespoons White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix (Or use vanilla instant pudding mix. White chocolate makes a slighter lighter golden color.
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Buttermilk
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Almond Extract or additional Vanilla extact (I love the almond flavor with this cake, but you can substitute with equal parts vanilla extract if desired)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Creamed Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 cup) Sugar
- 1 stick (4 oz) Salted Butter (at room temperature)
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1 large Egg(s)
Whipped Ingredients
- 2 Egg Whites
- ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
Instructions
Make the Vanilla Cake
Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Line ¼ Sheet pan with parchment paper, and then spray bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the sheet pan with cooking spray.
Sift Dry Ingredients in a bowl and then whisk until well blended. Combine and stir Wet Ingredients in a separate bowl or pitcher.
With a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer, cream sugar and salted butter together until creamy and fluffy. Add oil and corn syrup and beat until incorporated. Add 1 egg(s) and cream until well blended, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.
On low speed, alternate adding Dry ingredients and Wet ingredients to the Creamed Ingredients, a little at a time. I do ⅓ Dry, ⅓ Wet, and so on, adding one-third at a time and blending on low after each addition. Continue to mix just until the batter looks well blended and smooth (avoid overbeating). Scrape sides of the bowl as needed.
Using a whip attachment and a clean bowl, whip the 2 egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. (Make sure your bowl and beaters are clean and free from grease so that the whites will whip).
Carefully fold the Whipped Whites into the cake batter, one half of the whites at a time. The batter is ready when no egg white streaks remain and it should look smooth and uniform.
Spread into prepared pan and make sure the batter is evenly distributed. An offset spatula works well for this.
Bake on the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of preheated 325-degree oven for 18 minutes, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees. Set the timer for an additional 6-8 minutes. Check the cake at this point. If it is jiggly at all when lightly touching the top of the cake, continue baking for 1-6 more minutes. The cake is done when a paring knife or toothpick comes out mostly clean when stuck quickly in the cake. A couple moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn’t look wet. Some ovens may require a longer baking time, and 2x batches usually take a few more minutes in the oven. Allow to cool completely.
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