High-Altitude Vanilla Cake

I’m sharing something super simple today that hits every time for me- this is a little single layer high-altitude vanilla cake with a creamy sour cream buttercream. It’s super easy to make, and you can easily multiple the recipe if you want something bigger or with more layers.

Sour cream buttercream is a new obsession for me- it has a similar quality to cream cheese frosting, but it’s a bit easier to pull together since sour cream is softer and doesn’t need to be brought to room temp over a few hours first. This is super easy to pull together- let’s get to it!

How to Make High-Altitude Vanilla Cake

If you’ve made my cake recipes before, you might have come across a few where I use this mixing method which is essentially just throwing everything together at once and mixing it until just combined. We’re using some pretty basic ingredients for this one, and you’ll need sour cream for both the cake and the frosting.

Like I mentioned, we’re adding all of the cake ingredients into the bowl at one time. Instead of worrying about creaming the butter and sugar and then adding ingredients in stages, this method works by ensuring that nothing gets over-mixed.

I’m baking this cake in a square 8-inch cake pan. You can also use a round cake pan here, or you can even go for a loaf pan with this amount of cake batter.

When it comes to multiplying this recipe, you can easily double the recipe for two cake layers or for enough batter to fill a 9×13 inch cake pan. Your bake time for larger pans may take a little longer.

Once the cake is fully baked, you want to let everything cool completely before you frost the cake. Since we’re adding in sour cream here, the additional fat will make for a softer buttercream that will easily melt if you try to put it onto a warm cake!

I’m using sour cream in the buttercream to help balance the sweetness of an American buttercream and I find that it’s super easy to work with and tastes amazing.

From there, frost your cake however you’d like- top it with sprinkles because it’s cake, and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for High-Altitude Vanilla Cake

Here are my tips to help you through this recipe and end up with a super fluffy high-altitude vanilla cake!

• Why does this recipe use butter and oil? I like to use a combination of both in some cake recipes to help balance the flavor you get from butter along with the moisture and texture you get from having oil in the cake batter.
• Do I really add in all the ingredients at once? Yes, this cake recipe uses an odd mixing method that I love to use when possible. It prevents over-mixing the cake batter, but still works to keep everything well combined as long as you use room-temp ingredients!
• Can I double or triple this recipe? Yes, you can double the recipe for two layers, or for enough batter to fill a 9×13 inch cake pan, or triple the recipe for three layers. Your cake may take longer to bake in a larger pan.
• How do I know when the batter is fully mixed? The cake batter will be thick and you should have no dry pockets of flour remaining throughout the batter. You want to stop mixing once everything is combined and then give the batter a couple of turns with a spatula.
• How do I know when the cake is finished baking? The cake should look set with no wet spots or jiggle when you gently shake the pan. Use a toothpick to check doneness and it should come out of the center of the cake with just a few dry crumbs clinging to it.
• Do I have to cool my cake completely? You do not want to put frosting on top of the cake while it’s still even a little bit warm. This frosting is soft and super creamy, but it will melt quickly on a warm cake!
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

High-Altitude Vanilla Cake

Servings 9 slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 tbs oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3 tbs. sour cream
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease an 8-inch square cake pan. Optionally, line the pan with parchment paper with overhanging edges for easy removal. In a large bowl, beat together the room-temp butter, oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, flour, baking powder, and salt. This is a bit of an odd mixing method, but trust the process- you want to just beat everything together at once until just combined. The batter will be thick.
2. Evenly spread the batter into your prepared cake pan. Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Let the cake cool completely before frosting, slicing, and serving.

For the frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, sour cream, and powdered sugar until the mixture is thick. Add in the salt and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and well combined. Frost your cake as desired and enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!