French Vanilla Cake Recipe

A soft, moist French Vanilla Cake recipe made from scratch with rich vanilla flavor, creamy texture, and simple ingredients — perfect for birthdays, holidays, or any sweet occasion.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French-inspired

Keyword: French Vanilla Cake

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 380kcal

Equipment

Two 8-inch round cake pans or one 9×13 pan
Mixing bowls
Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Measuring cups & spoons
Rubber spatula
Cooling rack
Parchment paper (optional, for lining pans)

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups whole milk 300ml, room temperature
⅓ cup vegetable oil 80ml
3 large eggs room temperature
2 ¾ cups cake flour 312g
2 sticks unsalted butter 227g, room temperature
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar 350g
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract use pure extract for best flavor
1 small box 3.4 oz dry instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 cup French vanilla coffee creamer

Instructions

Prep the Pans – Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour your pans or line with parchment.
Mix Wet Ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and coffee creamer. Set aside.
Cream Butter & Sugar – In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add Dry Ingredients – Sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix. Add half of this dry mix to the butter mixture and beat on low until just combined.
Alternate Mixing – Add half the wet mixture, then the rest of the dry mix, then the rest of the wet mixture — mixing gently each time. This helps prevent overmixing and keeps the cake soft.
Pour & Bake – Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool – Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack before frosting.

Notes

For the best texture, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you start mixing. This helps everything blend smoothly and evenly.

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