Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe (A Doctored Cake Mix Recipe)
This Vanilla Bean Cake recipe is delicious, moist and so versatile. The recipe works beautifully for a simple layer cake or a multi-tiered elegant wedding cake and can be paired with so many fillings and frosting. This is a doctored cake mix recipe.
Over the past few years, my White Almond Sour Cream Cake has evolved a little bit … I’ve made changes due to smaller cake mixes and wanting to have some variety in my recipes.
One of those changes led to me omitting the almond altogether and replacing it with vanilla bean paste, making this Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe.
It still starts with a boxed cake mix, as it always has and the results are a win with all of my clients. I know there’s a lot of controversy over using boxed mixes but my clients really love the box cake mix taste! So much so that for the most part, I replaced this vanilla cake recipe (that I used to use) with the Vanilla Bean Paste Cake Recipe you’re seeing here.
Granted, I still use the White Almond Sour Cream Recipe (as is) for a traditional “wedding cake” flavor, but for those who don’t like almond, I also enjoy mixing it up and making this doctored cake mix recipe into just a simple, classic Vanilla Cake recipe.
Simple Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe Ingredients
- White cake mix – I prefer Pillsbury brand, but when it’s not available, I’ll use Duncan Hines. To change it up a bit, you could also substitute French Vanilla Cake Mix.
- All-purpose flour – this adds extra volume to the cake batter but also contributes to the fine texture of the cake.
- Granulated sugar
- Sour cream – you can substitute plain or vanilla yogurt here. Greek yogurt works as well. Any of these ingredients keep the cake super moist.
- Vegetable oil
- Water – this is the primary liquid in this cake.
- Large eggs – I use whole eggs for a rich flavor but if you want a more “white” cake batter, you can use 4 egg whites in place of 3 whole eggs.
- Vanilla Bean Paste – if you don’t have this, you can use vanilla extract, but the vanilla bean paste adds a depth of vanilla flavor that makes it stand out!
Equipment & Tools
- Mixing Bowls and Hand Mixer
- or Stand Mixer, such as my favorite Bosch Mixer
- Round Cake Pans
- Silicone Spatula
Serving Suggestions
There are so many great frostings and fillings to pair with this vanilla cake. Here are my top choices:
You can find the almond version of this recipe here AND my post on how to deal with the smaller cake mixes that manufacturers are pushing out these days.
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Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
Description
simple layer cake or a multi-tiered elegant wedding cake and can be paired with so many fillings and frosting. This is a doctored cake mix recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of white boxed cake mix (approximately 20 ounces by weight, I prefer Pillsbury)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 3 large whole eggs (use 4 egg whites if you prefer a super white cake, but I find the whole eggs still yield a very pretty white cake)
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Mix together all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and beat on low speed for 2-3 minutes, until well combined. I use a hand-mixer for this step or I double it and put it in my Bosch mixer when I’m doing big orders!
- This recipe will not rise as much as other cake recipes, so fill your pans about 3/4 full. Bake at 325°F (time depends on the size pans used*). Generally, I bake 8-inch round pans for 38-45 minutes or cupcakes for 19 minutes.
- This recipe yields enough batter for (2) 8″ round pans that are 2″ deep. I used less batter per pan and made a 3-layer cake for these pictures!
- Test for doneness with a toothpick in the center. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip them out on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Layer, frost & enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Granulated Sugar- can you weigh in on the beet vs. cane sugar debate. Which is better to use when baking cakes?
Is this cake recipe a dense recipe for stacking over 2 tiers?
I’ve done a 6 tiered wedding cake with it – it works beautifully!
This is the only recipe I use and I do stacked cakes. No worries there, but it is NOT good for carving.
I have been searching years for the perfect sour cream white cake. I tried this today and it is absolutely delicious. Moist, perfect texture…really fantastic. I followed the recipe exactly as is. A big thank you for posting this.
As a side note…we taste tested cake still warm and we were not sure we had found one like we used to have, but then we had some later when it was completely cool and WOW what a difference in flavor. So…wait to taste test.
If anyone knows why the flavor came out so much better when it was cooled I would love to know….curious.
Awww – I’m so glad to hear that you love this recipe as much as we do! I love it warm out of the oven but you’re right, it does taste a little different after it’s cooled. Not sure why, though 🙂
When you say 4 cups of white cake mix, do you mean a box cake mix from the store?
Yep!
Can I use cake flour instead of a box mix?
No, not in this recipe.
I have made this great recipe for cupcakes in the past. Any idea what I need to do to the recipe to make 2-9×13 cakes for layering? Thank you! 🙂
I use it for cakes all the time! I think probably a double batch would be enough, but I never really measure because I’m always baking so much at once. You might need 2 1/2 batches to get the pans filled to the right level.
Thank you for your response! I’ll be using this recipe tonight to make a farm cake for my nephew!
Hi Rose, What a beautiful cake! Interesting that you use a cake mix base and add to it. Thanks for sharing this unusual recipe. Blessings, Janet
Why Boxed mix? Every recipe I find is with boxed cake mix. Is there a special reason for this? Genuinely curious and cannot find an answer anywhere. Thanks!
For me, it’s convenient, easy, and my customers love it!
I understand it can be convenient. I have made a similar recipe to this (with vanilla bean) with boxed mix and it’s great but I cannot find a recipe for white cake that doesn’t use boxed mix. So I really wanted to know if it’s possible to make this cake completely from scratch simply because sometimes it’s nice not to have to run to the store to buy mix. Thanks for your reply.
I have NOT baked these, but here are some scratch cake recipes that I’ve heard raves about from my cake decorating friends: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vanilla-bean-cake OR this one: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/COOKS-ILLUSTRATED-WHITE-LAYER-CAKE-50017374.
Thank you! I will check these out!
Good afternoon,
I really love the recipe and was wondering can I use this for cake pops?
I’ve actually found that I don’t like the texture when using it for cake pops. I much prefer this vanilla cake recipe.
If I want to add chocolate chips to this cake, would I just need to combine the chips with the flour before I add them into the rest of the mix so that they do not sink to the bottom?
I’ve never tried adding chocolate chips to this recipe, but that should work. I’d also recommend mini chips.
I am the only person I bake for, and when cake mixes are on sale I buy them. How can I make some out of the package for one person. I do not want to make the whole cake and freeze what is left. I was never good at math so this is a challenge to figure out. Can you help? Thanks in advance.
Can I use a strawberry cake mix instead of a white cake mix and still get as good of a cake
Maybe? I haven’t tried it but I imagine it would be good!
I made the cake using the strawberry cake mix and it turned out great. The texture and height were the same as the sour cream cake. The flavor of course was a nice strawberry flavor.
Thanks for responding to my question
Do you have a good frosting recipe to use with this?
I usually use vanilla buttercream, sometimes with a little almond extract added.
White velvet cake , I’m not a baker , but I’m thinking what about buttermilk or white chocolate to make a white velvet
I made this cake this evening to test it out – boy was I impressed! It came out delicious and moist and raised into a beautiful even texture – and it is sturdy! AND it was so easy to make. I used whole eggs. I am so glad I tried it.
I love this cake! just made it for mother day last week and it turned out great I was so proud of it! Thank you for sharing!
Is this recipe enough for a 9 inch two layer cake? Or should I do one and a half batch? I’m making this with almond bc for a baby shower cake. Yum!
Eeeh… it’ll probably do 9″ layers, but they may be a little on the thin side.
Would this work ok as cupcakes? Im trying to bake cupcakes and I’m having issues with them coming out dry. Thank you, I’m knew to baking cakes and love your recipes and tips.
Yes!
Should I double this recipe to fill a half sheet pan? I’d like to make a letter cake and am on the search for a very moist vanilla cake!
I’ve never baked this on a sheet pan but you’d probably need to double it, yes.
can I add food coloring to frosting?
also can it be baked in an
12 × 2 inch cake mold?
I made this cake for Easter this year and it was absolutely delicious! I love doctored cake mix recipes also.
can you substitute milk for the water and add a pudding pack to this recipe- or would those throw off the outcome? i’m always trying to find a doctored recipe for white cake because i cannot for the life of me bake one from scratch lol.
You can absolutely use milk for water but I don’t think the pudding would be a good addition to this recipe. You can certainly try it though and I’d love to hear if it turns out!
Hi! I was wondering on the flavor and texture difference when you use whole eggs vs egg whites? I’m guessing it changed a little? Do you prefer one over the other? Thanks!’
Other than a slight color difference, there was no noticeable flavor/texture difference for me. I usually do whole eggs because I always have them on hand.
So is it 4 cups or 20 oz of the cake mix? Just trying to clarify.
4 cups equals about 20 oz by weight.
Is there someplace I can buy bulk cake mixes ?
I’m not sure!