Double Vanilla Butter Cake with Chantilly Cream
Author Notes: Moist and buttery, this cake (adapted from Nielsen-Massey) couldn't be simpler to make. Using vanilla paste and vanilla extract gives it a depth of fragrant, sophisticated vanilla flavor that elevates the cake from everyday status. Sweetened, vanilla-flecked whipped cream tops it off.
If you can't find vanilla bean paste, substitute with an equal amount of vanilla extract. —Posie (Harwood) Brien
Makes: one 8-inch round cake
For the cake:
-
1
cup granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting the pan
-
3
eggs, warmed slightly (see step 2)
-
1
teaspoon vanilla bean paste
-
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
-
1/4
teaspoon salt
-
1
cup flour
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14
tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
For the Chantilly cream:
-
1
cup heavy cream
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1
teaspoon vanilla bean paste
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2
tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment, grease the sides and base, and dust it with granulated sugar. Set aside.
- If your eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. Having your eggs warmed will help with the next step of beating lots of air into them.
- In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand-held electric mixer), beat the eggs with the sugar for 4 to 5 minutes. Don't skimp on this step! The mixture should be pale and almost doubled in size. When you lift up your beater, the mixture should fall in thick ribbons.
- Add the vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, and salt and mix gently.
- Sift the flour over the egg mixture. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour into the batter until no streaks remain. You want to be careful not to deflate all that air you just spent time beating into the eggs and sugar.
- Add the melted butter to the batter and fold gently but thoroughly using a spatula until the batter is well-mixed.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake should start to pull away from the sides. It will puff up considerably in the oven, but will deflate a bit once you take it out, which is fine.
- Run a knife around the edges of the pan and let the cake cool for 5 minutes. Turn it out into a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the Chantilly cream, beat the cream with the vanilla bean paste and sugar until stiff peaks form. Serve the cake sliced and topped with the cream.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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Ok so I’ve made this cake twice. 1st time I accidentally put 4eggs instead of 3. It came out thick. Like cornbread(my husband said). 2nd time, I followed direction exactly. Still thicker than normal cake . Is this how it’s suppose to be (thicker than traditional cake). ???
Yes it’s definitely a thicker batter than a classic yellow cake!
The batter was amazing. It looked gorgeous in the oven, rising a lot as described, then.... at 35 minutes I checked it. It seemed to need another 5 min. After the 5 minutes I went to take it out and it had completely sunk in the middle though sides were pulling away.
Not sure what happened here. Any ideas?
This recipe has been on my list of recipes to try & finally got around to making it tonight. Cake was nice & moist & I could have eaten the entire bowl of Chantilly cream by itself. I'll definitely be making this again.
I'm not a terribly experienced cook/baker so I must ask: salted or unsalted butter?
My cake didn't rise very much- does that mean I didn't make it fluffy enough in the egg beating stage?
Wow, This looks delicious! Thanks to share your butter cake recipe.
I'm making this cake the day before my dinner party. How should I store it? Does it keep well?
Not downplaying the great vanilla flavor of this cake - which I liked, but it tasted to me like the basic sponge cake that my mom used to make. I'm not a huge fan of the texture of a sponge cake, so this wasn't a home run for me. That being said, others who do enjoy sponge cake - the vanilla scent and flavor in this is quite nice.
This was a huge hit; give it a shot! Constructing this batter from the fluffy egg base was fun.
I doubled the recipe and baked in a bundt pan. I also used half coconut oil and half butter and it worked out perfectly.
I made this about a year ago as written, and it was divine! I have a question now : Has anyone tried making this with cake flour? If so, was it a 1:1 replacement? Thanks!
I made this last night and it was incredible! I used about 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla scraped directly from the bean instead of the paste and it turned out perfectly. Taste kind of like taking a bite of vanilla bean ice cream. It has a nice texture and the granulated sugar covering the pan adds a nice crispy outside. Definitely saving and making again!
This is wonderful cake - simple to make and rich vanilla flavor. I loved the contrast of the crisp crust from the sugar lined baking pan, and the moist, delicate interior. Will certainly be making this again.
Has anyone made this cake as cupcakes? Would love to try it for this weekend!
I'm simply obsessed with the delicate texture of this cake and am desperate to find out if it would withstand the substitution of olive oil for butter. Guests are asking for olive oil cake, and all the recipes i've tried in the past were stodgy and pound-cake like. Don't want that! Could i sub a nice mild olive oil for all the butter mixed in at the end?
I substituted coconut oil for butter and it was great! The coconut was a nice subtle pairing with the vanilla.
Amelia, not sure if you ever solved this issue? I think you're better off sticking to olive oil cake—or at least oil-based cake—recipes for your quest. The texture of a butter cake rests, in large part, on the properties of butter itself: solid at room temp, liquid at higher temps. That's why coconut oil works as a substitute, and why olive oil probably wouldn't.
I think Yotam Ottolenghi has some nice olive oil cake recipes, as does Kim Boyce.
Question: Do you think it would work/bake the same if I tripled or quadrupled the recipe in a much bigger pan for a large family gathering?
This cake is fantastic! Super easy yet sooo good.
I'm taking a cake decorating course so I have to bake a cake every week for class, this has become my go-to recipe, it's so quick!
I presume plain flour is OK to use???
Definitely - should use all-purpose.
Cheers
I made this cake and my family ate the entire thing (still a little warm from oven) in about 17 minutes. It was beautiful - especially with the chantilly cream. Will definitely make again.
The photo of the cake looked so yummy & moist, I just had to try the recipe! I would have to agree with a few other comments...my cake was somewhat dry. I baked the cake for 35 minutes. Next time, I'll bake until the side pull away and the center is just a little underdone. Create recipe and super simple!
I made this cake exactly as is, but instead of accompanying it with the chantilly cream, I poured a vanilla grapefruit glaze over the top, covered the sides in flaked coconut, and decorated the top with fresh candied clementines. It was, in one word; spectacular. So light and moist it brought tears to my eyes. I'm making it again in the same week (for dinner guests, not just myself - though I would be tempted to keep this cake wrapped in parchment under my bed or something all to myself, like a freak) because my roommates and I devoured it for breakfast every morning and for dessert every night. This is the perfect cake to experiment with different accompanying flavours; roasted pears and cardamom in winter, strawberries macerated in rose syrup in summer, with the chantilly cream! And of course, on its own as a buttery, angelic little tea cake. I will never be without a dessert idea. Thank you for this immaculate recipe.
Also, for those hesitating to make this cake because they don't have a stand/hand mixer; the first time I made it I whipped the eggs with just a whisk, bowl, and willpower! Took about 15 mins, but wasn't too difficult and it was definitely worth it. In any case, you will not sacrifice texture or lift if you do it by hand!
Wow this makes me happy to read!!! I am so glad you loved it as much as I do, and I agree that it's a really fantastic canvas for all sorts of flavors. I'm looking forward to pairing it with summer stone fruits.
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