Have you ever made a Vanilla Cake from Scratch that’s moist and delicious? This cake has three layers of perfectly moist Vanilla Cake with creamy Raspberry Mousse Filling between each layer. Deliciousness in every bite!
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I had been looking for a delicious Vanilla Cake from Scratch for a long time. Every recipe always had some type of problem. Either is was too dry, too dense or the flavor just wasn’t there. Until now!
This Vanilla Cake recipe is one that I have been making for about 5 years now and it’s perfect. A moist cake with a nice tender crumb and so much vanilla flavor!
How do you make the Best Vanilla Cake?
To make the Best Vanilla Cake from Scratch it’s important to follow the ingredients and steps in the recipe. For me…the key parts to this recipe that make the Vanilla Cake so good are the cake flour, sour cream and the amount of vanilla added.
At first it sounded like a large amount of vanilla to add but it is a Vanilla Cake after all. I was right the amount of vanilla in this recipe gives it great vanilla flavor.
The sour cream is what makes the cake so moist so you don’t want to skimp on that ingredient.
Using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour gives the cake a much nicer texture. Cake flour will produce a nice tender crumb which I absolutely love in a Vanilla Cake.
Why is the way you mix your Vanilla Cake ingredients important?
It’s important not to just throw all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix them up. Baking is definitely a science. Making cakes that have the right texture and flavor happens when the ingredients are added together in a certain order and method.
For this Vanilla Cake Recipe the dry ingredients are sifted together first. Then the wet ingredients minus the sour cream are mixed together. After that you add the dry into the wet gradually and finish by mixing in the sour cream.
Doing it this way will mix the ingredients evenly without over mixing them. The end result is the best Vanilla Cake from Scratch that I’ve ever tasted!
Tips for preparing your cake pans.
There is nothing worse than spending the time to make the most perfectly delicious cake and then have it get stuck in the pan. Preparing your cake pan with grease, flour and wax paper will insure perfect cake extraction every time.
I always start by cutting out a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to line my pan. It’s as simple as placing your cake pan on the paper and tracing around it. Then you just cut the shape out of the paper.
There are a few different ways to grease your pan. You can either use butter, shortening or cooking spray. Start by greasing the bottom and sides of the inside of your pan. Then add your cut out wax paper to the bottom. Add some grease to the wax paper once it’s inserted into the pan then you’re ready to flour your pan.
Add about 1 Tablespoon of flour to your pan and turn the pan until the flour covers all of the greased surfaces inside your pan.
If you have any excess loose flour left in the pan, tap it out into the garbage or add it to your next pan if you are preparing more than one.
Now your cake pans are ready to bake the Best Vanilla Cake from Scratch!
How do you make Raspberry Mousse Cake Filling?
This Raspberry Mousse recipe uses fresh raspberries which gives it the best raspberry flavor. However, using fresh berries means that you have to do a few things.
- Puree your raspberries to make a liquid.
- Strain the seeds out of your raspberry liquid.
- Cook the puree….this will give the raspberry mousse a nicer flavor.
After you have cooked your puree it will need time to cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap over it to prevent a skin from forming on. Then let it cool to room temperature.
While the raspberry puree is cooling, whip your heavy cream. Then you just fold in your cooled puree.
How do you put this Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Mousse Filling together?
Since this Vanilla Cake usually produces a bit of a crown you will need to cut that part off. I use a special cake level to cut my cakes but it can be done with a regular knife as well. You just have to be careful you cut through in a level manner.
Once you have your cake leveled place a few spoonfuls of raspberry mousse in the center and spread it almost to the edge of the cake. You want to have about a 1/2-1 inch height to your mousse layer.
Next pipe a bead of frosting around your mousse to create a damn. This will help prevent the mousse from seeping out of the layers once your cake is put together.
Now you can add your layer of fresh raspberries, if you are adding them. I like to crush them a bit so that the juice begins to come out of them slightly.
Add the next cake layer and repeat. Then place your final layer on top and you can begin to frost your cake.
How do you prevent your cake from slipping around on the cake plate?
This is my final tip for the day!
I always put my cakes on a cake board as you can see in the picture above. Using one isn’t always necessary but it makes it easier to frost your cake with a nice smooth coating without the edges of your cake plate getting in the way. It also creates less of a mess on the cake plate.
Once I have my cake prepared I place it on the plate I’m going to use.
The best way that I have found to prevent my cake from sliding on my plate is by placing a folded piece of packing tape on my plate. I fold the tape over so it has two sticky sides. One to stick to the cake plate and one to stick to the cake board.
Vanilla Cake from Scratch with Raspberry Mousse Filling
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 1 1/4 Cups Vegetable Oil
- 1 3/4 Cups Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs ,at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 Cups Cake Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream
For the Raspberry Mousse Filling
- 3 ,6 ounce packages Fresh raspberries ,two packages for the mousse and extra to layer in between cake layers if desired
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 packet Unflavored Gelatin
- 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream ,whipped
For the Buttercream Frosting
- 2 Sticks Unsalted butter ,softened
- 1/2 pound Shortening
- 1 ,2 pound bag Confectioner Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment cream together oil and sugar for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add eggs on at a time mixing well between each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix on low for about 1 minute.
- Add the sour cream and mix just enough to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Gently tap the bottom of the cake pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Place pans in oven on the center rack and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove cakes and place on cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes then remove cakes from pans and finish cooling cakes completely on the cooling rack.
For the Raspberry Mousse Filling
- Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of water and let bloom for about 5 minutes.
- Puree 2, 6 ounce packages of fresh raspberries in a blender or food processor. Then push the puree through a mesh sieve into a small saucepan to remove seeds.
- Add sugar to puree and mix. Cook over medium heat until it begins to bubble.
- Simmer for about 1 minute. Then stir in bloomed gelatin.
- Once the gelatin has completely dissolved and has been mixed into the puree mixture remove from the heat.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the puree so that a skin doesn't form. Let it cool to room temperature. ***If you put it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process be careful to not let it get the point that it gels up.
- Fold the cooled puree into the whipped cream then cover and place in fridge to chill until you're ready put the cake together.
For the Buttercream
- In a 5 or 6 Quart Bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and shortening on high speed for 3-5 minutes until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- While butter and shortening are mixing measure out your cream and milk. Add your vanilla extract to milk and cream. Set aside.
- Add 1 pound of confectioner sugar to your mixing bowl with butter and shortening. Top with half of the milk mixture. **(Drape a clean dish towel over the mixer and hold down against the sides of the bowl. Otherwise you'll have a white cloud of sugar everywhere!) Turn mixer on low for 1 minute. Once sugar is mixed in remove towel and scrape sides of mixer and and add remaining sugar and milk. Place towel back on mixer. Mix on low for 1 minute then once sugar is incorporated turn on high for 2 minutes. Scrape sides of mixer and mix on high for another minute.
Notes
Nutrition
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loved this cake, love all your cakes actually ! loved the raspberry mousse filling and was great that you shared a few tips . Very helpful . wonderful cake.
Is there a way to make this into an 11 by 13 rectangle cake
Hi Desiree, I’ve never actually made this in an 11×13 however the shape of the pan you use doesn’t matter. Not sure how many 11×13 pans it will fill… Just be sure to not “overfill your pan, then bake for roughly the same amount of time. Keep checking for doneness until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If you would like to fill the cake with the Raspberry mousse filling just slice your cake in half and fill.
Is there a fix if your mousse is a little soupy? I think I put the purée in before it was cool enough
Hmmm. You could try folding in a bit more whipped cream to fluff it up a bit. I would also make sure you sweeten the cream with some more confectioner sugar though. Also keep in mind that once it chills the gelatin will start to set and it will firm your mousse. It could just seem soupy because it has not set yet.
Hi,
For the mousse filling are the 2- 6 ounce raspberries both to blend and strain? Or is it 1 to blend/strain and 1 for the fresh raspberries between layers?
Thanks!
Hi Lauren, I just updated the recipe to clarify. There are 2- 6 ounce packages of raspberries in the mousse. If you want to add extra raspberries in between the cake layers you will need a total of 3 packages of raspberries. Thanks for catching that.
Thank you, that’s what I assumed but wanted to clarify! I’ll be making it tomorrow. 🙂
Can I make the raspberry mousse a day ahead and save to assemble cake next day?
Absolutely, That’s usually what I do so I’m not doing everything the same day. I like to make everything one day and then the following day is the day I assemble the cake.
Do you have a substitute for using the cake flour? I can’t find that anywhere. Can I use regular flour?
Hi Debbie, you can make your own version of cake flour in this recipe by using the following substitute. 2 1/4 Cups of all purpose flour and 1/2 cup of corn starch. You can definitely just use all purpose flour as well but it will affect the texture of the cake. It will still taste good but won’t produce as fine of a crumb.
This looks so good! I’m trying to make this for the bf’s birthday but I had a question about the buttercream frosting. How much heavy cream should I be using to make the frosting? I can’t find that in the ingredient list under the buttercream frosting. Thanks!
Hi Tina, It’s not necessary to add heavy cream. Sometimes I do…sometimes I don’t. If you want to add some cream just adjust the amount of milk added. I usually add 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream if I’m using cream.
Thank you for the clarification, Nicole! I was just wondering since the instructions in the buttercream says to mix the milk and the cream but there wasn’t cream in the ingredient list under the frosting, so this was good to know! Thank you!
How long does it take to get the mousse set for? Mine too is a little soupy like PP said.
It will take about an hour in the fridge to really start to set.
Can you tell me what altitude you are at. Higher altitudes usually need adjustments and I would love to try this recipe.
Hi Deborah, I live in Massachusetts and I googled my elevation and it says I’m at 705′. I hope that helps.
My cake fell,has this ever happened to you,? I was so careful to follow thr directions exactly
I’ve never had that problem with this recipe. More than likely if all the ingredients were correct it was just under-baked. Some ovens cook differently than others. Next time I would recommend testing the doneness by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean…with no batter stuck to it it should be done. Other signs to look for are….lightly pressing your finger on the top of the cake….It should spring back if it is fully baked. Also the edges of the cake should be slightly pulled away from the edges of the pan when the cake is cooked.
Can you make this cake a day ahead and will mousse be okay should I refrigerate it
Hi Lynn, Yes…I usually make this cake a day ahead. It will need to be refrigerated because of the mousse filling. I actually usually bake the cake and make the mousse one day, make the frosting and put the cake together the next day and store it in the fridge overnight.
Can I use raspberry jello instead of plain gelatin?
Hi Angie, I’ve never used a flavored jello to make the mousse however I believe it would work. You may need to either cut back on or completely eliminate the added sugar since the jello will be sweetened already.
Is this 1.5 cups of whipped cream, or 1.5 cups of cream, which I will then whip?
Hi Chuck, it’s 1.5 cups of heavy cream that you will then whip.