One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake
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I have been meaning to post this birthday cake recipe for years. These photos, in fact, are from October 2016. I retrieved them from an external hard drive, edited them, then found another folder containing all the photos I had already edited but long forgotten about… good use of time. Argh!
What is a good use of time is that spent making this cake, which comes together very quickly, is very forgiving, and is always well received by adults and children alike.
It’s identical to a recipe I made years ago with the exception of oil substituted for butter, which allows for easy mixing and keeps it moist, and vanilla substituted for the lemon juice/zest/extract. A simple cream cheese-butter frosting + sprinkles completes the job.
Two Notes:
- I make a half recipe of the original, which still makes a cake large enough to feed a crowd. I like doing this because I hate having leftover cake on hand, which sits in the fridge, tempting me all day long, and eventually goes in the trash when I tire of eating cake for lunch. With this half recipe, very little is leftover/wasted.
- Because I make a half recipe, I use two smaller pans: 6×2-inch cake pans. If you don’t feel like investing in yet another set of pans, which I totally get, you can simply use one 9-inch cake pan. Your cake will not be as tall, but it will still be delicious.
Somehow Ella turns 9 this month. Hard to believe:
This is a great cake to have little people help with. It can be mixed by hand (as opposed to with an electric mixer) and, as noted above, it’s very forgiving — little attention is ever paid to the mixing order of ingredients, and it still always turns out well.
These are those two 6-inch round pans mentioned above:
Let cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, gather your ingredients: heavy cream, sugar, cream cheese (cold), salt, vanilla.
First, place cold cream cheese, sugar, and a pinch of sea salt in a stand mixer.
Beat until light and creamy:
Then add the cold heavy cream and vanilla:
Beat until thick and creamy:
Sprinkle hunters:
Birthday boy (two years ago).
Love these candles!
You can also use the recipe to make cupcakes. The batter will give you 13-14 cupcakes. You can also make snowy owl cupcakes if the Halloween spirit is moving you: Separate two Oreos and stick two, icing sides up, on a frosted cupcake facing up. Insert an orange M&M or jelly bean in between as a nose, and affix chocolate M&M onto the Oreos for eyeballs.
One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 servings
Description
Notes:
This is a small cake. I bake the cake in two small cake pans: 6×2-inch round cake pans. You could also use one 9-inch cake pan. Or if you want to make a larger cake, you can double the recipe and use two 9-inch pans. See the notes below the recipe for the larger yield. That said, I can’t say enough good things about investing in those two small cake pans. This recipe makes the perfect size cake with very few leftovers.
To make cupcakes: Be sure only to fill the cupcake holes halfway up with batter—they will overflow/not bake properly.
There are two frosting recipes below. I prefer the whipped cream-cream cheese frosting recipe, which I adapted from this Stella Park’s recipe. I use Stella’s proportions but use a different method. Find the more traditional cream cheese frosting recipe in the notes below.
Ingredients
for the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups (192 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup (115 g) neutral oil, such as grapeseed or avocado
- 1 cup (215 g) sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (158 g) buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
for the whipped cream – cream cheese frosting (see notes below for a butter-cream cheese frosting recipe):
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 2/3 cup (140 g) heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
for presenting:
- sprinkles (I like the tiny dots) and candles. These candles are fun.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. Add the oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and stir to combine.
- Coat two 6-inch cake pans (or one 9-inch pan) with nonstick spray (or butter liberally). I like to cut a round of parchment paper and fit it into the bottom of each pan. Pour half of the batter into each pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- To make the whipped cream – cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla. Beat again until light and fluffy.
- To assemble: cut each cake in half crosswise, layer as follows: cake, frosting, cake, frosting, until all four layers are stacked. Frost the entire outside of the cake with the remaining frosting. Shower sprinkles over top.
Notes
for the cream cheese – butter frosting:
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons | 8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- confectioners’ sugar to taste (about ¾ cup)
- flaky sea salt to taste
- Beat cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar to taste. Add a pinch of salt. Mix again. Taste. Adjust taste as desired.
for a large cake (two 9-inch pans):
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, whisked lightly
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- Follow the instructions above, but bake in two buttered 9-inch pans for roughly 35-40 minutes.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
109 Comments on “One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake”
Ali, I find you hilarious. Theo’s first birthday is coming up and I’m not sure what cake to make….. maybe this one? Good timing!
It’s easy! Happy Birthday Theo!! How has a year passed?
Looks lovely! Just a note – the pan size in the second (full-size) recipe should be updated.
THANK YOU for catching that! Just updated it 🙂
Will this recipe work just as well as cupcakes?
Yes, absolutely!
Once you go to oil-based cakes, the butter ones just don’t seem as moist anymore, right?
That has generally been my experience!
Can you bake this with Agave Syrup instead of sugar?
Hi Carol,
I’m sure it could, but I can’t advise how. I would google: how to substitute agave syrup for sugar in a cake. Good luck.
Ali, the cookbook made great Christmas gifts. The pizza made with the baking steel has revolutionized pizza night at our house!!
A great dessert recipe I turn to over and over is the Guinness chocolate cake found in the Wall St Journal. I’ve lost count of the number I’ve made. It’s made in a spring form pan so easy that way. I skip the frosting and use whipped cream. Yum!!
Thx for your inspirational blog.
So happy to hear this, Donna! And thank you for the guinness chocolate cake recommendation … I’m eager to try! I couldn’t fine one on the WSJ’s site. Is this one similar? https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1875-chocolate-guinness-cake Thank you!!
Your timing and the recipe for the smaller proportions couldn’t be more apropro – its my father’s birthday this weekend, and we need a cake for three. I can’t wait to give it a go! Thank you!
Using a half recipe was kind of a revelation for me — hope you like it, too! Happy Birthday to your father 🙂
I have just invested in 6 inch cake pans for this reason exactly. So helpful to have “adusted and tested by Ali” – very grateful!
Awwww, Amy, so happy to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂 Hope you approve!
AH! I just missed this! I made an 8″ squared buttermilk cake from SKED, with easy cream cheese frosting from Stella Parks – the frosting was so much less sweet than any other cc frosting I’ve ever made, and was a huge hit. Now I’ll have to try your cake – I love oil-based cakes!
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/08/cream-cheese-frosting-recipe.html
Next time! I’m absolutely going to try this new frosting on Ella’s birthday. Thanks so much for sending! Love Stella Parks recipes, and I too love frostings that are less sweet these days … I actually almost always over do it on the Maldon sea salt because I like the salty contrast for the cake.
I promised to bring cupcakes for a shower tomorrow so you posted this recipe just in time for me to use it for this event. The cake is delicious. The only issue for cupcakes is that the batter has such a great rise that filling the cupcake liners 2/3 full is way too much. The batter overflowed onto the top of the cupcake tin. We called this the family batch. [They are already half gone with no frosting on them.] This recipe is so easy to make that it was no problem to make another batch, this time filling the liners half full. The recipe is a keeper. Thank you, Ali.
Oh bummer re overflow! Going to make a note in the recipe now. Thanks for the head’s up. Glad they didn’t all go to waste!
Hi…how long do the cupcakes take to bake? Thanks!
Hi Sonia, I would start checking at 20 minutes. Happy Baking!
I am so excited to make this cake for my hubby’s birthday. I want to make one today, but don’t have buttermilk. If I make the buttermilk (adding vinegar or lemon to milk) will it work?
I so enjoy your blog and recipes. Your photos reminded me of the birthday cakes I made for my sweet babies and the joy the cakes brought to their celebrations. Who could remember the obsessive fascination with confetti sprinkles? Your photos caught that moment perfectly.
Thank you Deborah 🙂 🙂 🙂 Sprinkles are magical, right?
I don’t think I caught you in time, but yes, you can “make” your own buttermilk and it will work just fine. Happy Baking! Happy Birthday Hubby!
In the description it says to keep scrolling for the full recipe. Any hints as to where to find that? Planning to make this cake for my daughter, Beatrice’s first birthday next week!
Andrea, thank you for writing! I have no idea why the second recipe disappeared … it’s back up!
Thanks for posting this recipe for a 6″ cake. I have a small family and the usual recipes for 9″ layer cakes are way too big for us and we wind up eating increasingly stale birthday cake for days. The usual small cake recipes available are microwave mug cakes, which always has a weird texture and doesn’t work for celebration cakes.
Do you have any more 6″ layer cake recipes? (chocolate?) Thanks.
So happy this can be of use! Here’s a chocolate cake recipe I use the pans for: Gourmet’s double chocolate cake, revisited.
I’m a little intimidated of the layered cake- cutting the 2 rounds in half. Can I just throw the full recipe in a 9 x 13 rectangular pan?
Yes, go for it!
I just made this. I used cake flour instead of AP flour. It was so easy and the cake tastes delicious. It’s light and fluffy.
So happy to hear this, Stephie!
I prepared Buttermilk Cake. My son loved it. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
So happy to hear this!
Can you make this cake with egg substitutes?
I would imagine. Have’t tried, so I can’t advise, but if you are familiar with these sorts of substitutions, go for it.
Hi Alex,
If I don’t have vegetable oil, can I use butter instead?
Thank you!
Sarah Janik
Indiana
I’ve never tried, but go for it! The cake will likely be a little lighter/airier in the crumb with the butter … the oil makes for a moister/denser cake. Totally your preference! The cake will be delicious with butter, just a different texture.
Thank you Ali! I just read your post about using oil for cakes, and realized that I do have olive oil on hand! I prefer the moister/denser texture you described. Thank you so much for the feedback! I have loved all of the recipes I have made of yours. They call home to mind because my sister-in-law also uses many of your recipes regularly.
Thanks, Alexandra!
Sarah
Oh yay! So happy to hear all of this Sarah. Glad you found the oil as well as the post about olive oil cakes. I love the flavor and texture of oil cakes. Hope you do too!
This was a wonderful cake without frosting! Today I sliced it and toasted it with just a smidge of butter. SOOOO lovely. I will make it next time in a loaf pan. Thank you
So happy to hear this, Cathy!
Hi, I’d like to make the cake using one 9″ pan, should I make less frosting ( having 2 layers instead of 4)?
Thank you, Alexandra!
Since I discovered your blog I became a huge fan! I already made the focaccia, the buttermilk rolls and another bread, the squash pie and the rhubarb galette, all came out perfect!
Hi Ginka! So nice to hear all of this. Thank you 😍 I think you could make half (or maybe 3/4?) a recipe of cream cheese frosting and be fine. Also, I’ve been meaning to update this post, this is my new favorite cream cheese frosting recipe, though if you make the one here, it will still be delicious. In sum: if you make the one here, I think halving will be fine; if you make the Stella Parks recipe, I wouldn’t halve it. Hope I haven’t confused things further!
Your recipes are all so amazing, I have tried quite a few. My question is whether I can substitute the oil for softened butter in this recipe as well as your other cake recipes. I love the richness and flavor butter adds.
Absolutely! With some recipes, the general rule of thumb is to use a little bit more butter than oil. So if a recipe calls for 3/4 cup oil, you might want to use 1 cup butter … this isn’t an exact science, so please use that info as a guide and experiment and make adjustments based on your results.
Hi Ali,
Funny story. About 5 minutes before my cake was done in the oven, I remembered that I didn’t add sugar in the batter — down side of baking late at night! I thought I lost the cake but it turned out to be a yummy biscuit-cake 🙂 Highly recommend it 🙂
I made another one with sugar and it was awesome. It was just a bit crumbly and made it difficult for me to decorate my daughter’s birthday cake but taste was great.
Thank you!
Oh my goodness, Heidi! I do these things all the time … I, too, am a late-night baker 🙂 🙂 🙂
So great to hear the cake was a success! If it was too crumbly, it might be because of the high amount of liquid, in which case, next time, you could cut the oil or buttermilk back just slightly. Just a thought!
My blender broke and I needed a quick and easy recipe without the task of creaming the butter and the sugar.
Love how it turned out. I added raisins and used soft brown sugar. It really can take any add ons. I used a much larger pan and it still gave such a wonderful rise. Moist, fluffy, easy go to recipe for any kind of baker.
A recipe worth keeping.
Wonderful to hear this!
This is an incredibly forgiving cake. I’ve made this many times now, with different variations!
For a chocolate cake that is incredibly moist, light to eat yet dense enough to be stacked ( I doubled the recipe, baked 2 cakes in 8 inch round containers, and then halved each to make a 4 layer cake), I added in an additional 3.5tsp of cocoa powder. NOTE: this still works well and is sweet enough even with cutting down on the sugar content (I cut down by a half cup).
For a matcha/green tea cake, I added in an additional 3tsp to the dry ingredients and it turned out beautifully.
It’s an excellent base cake, guaranteed to please! Thank you for sharing Ali!
So great to hear all of this Liz! Thanks so much for writing and for sharing your variations. I find this cake to be incredibly forgiving as well … when my little ones help me make it, there is no order in the assembly…. everything gets thrown into the bowl and mixed at once, and it always turns out 🙂 🙂 🙂 A matcha cake sounds soooo pretty!
We are trying to coordinate a zoom party for 2 NYE babies. I’m so excited to try this recipe, as my 4 yo wants to do “every step of every recipe” with me. I wonder if these will be delicious 2 days from now, because all of the curbside pick ups will make for a busy day before the party. My instinct says it will work great. Thanks for the amazing recipes!
This is the sweetest birthday cake ever. I bought the tiny 6 in pans and glad I did. I love the small size – you can gobble it up and make another fresh one. Perfect for gifts too. The icing is wonderful – not overly sweet, just delicious. I added a little espresso powder.
So nice to hear this, Christine! I LOVE those 6-inch pans. February is a big birthday month in our family, and even with the 6-inch size pans, we have leftover cake. Thanks for writing!
Perfect for Easter cupcakes! I only had pastry flour, so made that substitution but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Moist and fluffy, even one day leftover. I doubled the recipe, filled the tins halfway, and had enough batter for about 27 regular-size cupcakes. Used the frosting recipe as-is (without doubling), as we just smear it on. Would double if going for fancy, piped cupcakes. Thank you for this recipe that will become an easy staple for our family!
So nice to hear this, Kristin! I bet pastry flour makes them even fluffier. I almost always smear frosting as well … one year, my youngest requested a unicorn cake, and I did my best with a few piping bags, but it wasn’t pretty 😂
ITS SO GOOD
Yay! Great to hear!
I wanted to bake a cake for a friend’s birthday and told my husband I was making this little four layer cake early to try it out. He said “I’m not a big fan of cake except your rum cake” but I baked this anyway, including splitting the layers and making the cream cheese frosting. My only mod was to add a little schmear of blueberry compote to the center layer along with the frosting.
He announced it is his favorite dessert now, and requested I make it again! Wonderful recipe!
Wonderful to hear this, Nancy! Blueberry compote sounds so complementary here and SO good this time of year. So glad your husband approved! This is the only birthday cake I make anymore. Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Love! This has become our go to birthday cake recipe – everyone in our family loves it! My son likes vanilla icing and my daughter likes chocolate – this cake complements both flavors perfectly. Thank you!
So nice to hear this Irene! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Instructions on cake prep are missing
Stephe, hi! The instructions are there … maybe you’re looking at the notes at the very bottom of the recipe that includes the amounts for the double recipe? Please let me know if you still can’t find the instructions.