Two-Tier Vanilla Cake (Printable)

Moist vanilla sponge with smooth buttercream frosting and festive balloon toppers, perfect for celebrations.

# What You Need:

→ Vanilla Sponge Cakes

01 - 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 3.5 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 0.5 teaspoon salt
04 - 2.5 cups granulated sugar
05 - 1.5 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 8 large eggs, room temperature
07 - 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
08 - 2 cups whole milk, room temperature

→ Buttercream Frosting

09 - 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
10 - 8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 0.5 cup whole milk or heavy cream
12 - 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
13 - Pinch of salt
14 - Gel food coloring, optional

→ Decoration

15 - Balloon cake toppers
16 - Edible confetti or sprinkles, optional

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans and two 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
05 - With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and milk in three additions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
06 - Divide batter evenly between 8-inch and 6-inch pans. Tap pans gently on counter to release air bubbles.
07 - Bake 8-inch cakes for 35 to 40 minutes and 6-inch cakes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center emerges clean.
08 - Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
09 - Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar while beating. Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and milk or cream one tablespoon at a time until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food coloring if desired.
10 - Level cake tops if needed. Place one 8-inch layer on cake board, spread buttercream layer, top with second 8-inch cake. Repeat process for 6-inch cakes.
11 - Apply thin crumb coat of buttercream to each cake tier. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
12 - Frost cakes smoothly with remaining buttercream. Stack 6-inch tier centered on top of 8-inch tier, using dowels or straws for structural support if needed.
13 - Decorate with balloon toppers and edible confetti or sprinkles as desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The vanilla sponge stays impossibly moist for days, which means you can actually bake ahead without stress.
  • Buttercream that spreads like silk makes you feel like a professional baker, even if this is your first time.
  • Two tiers feel impressive but the method is straightforward—no special tricks or intimidating techniques required.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion—cold eggs and butter will split your batter and give you a heavier cake texture, which I discovered when I rushed and grabbed ingredients straight from the fridge.
  • Overmixing after adding flour transforms your beautiful batter into tough, dense cake, so stop mixing the moment you stop seeing flour streaks.
  • Cakes continue cooking slightly after coming out of the oven, so pull them when a toothpick has just a few moist crumbs, not when it comes out perfectly clean.
03 -
  • Invest in a cake turntable even though it feels unnecessary—it makes frosting smooth and even so much easier that you'll wonder how you ever lived without one.
  • Dowels are your secret weapon for stacked cakes; wooden ones work fine and cost almost nothing, preventing the structural disaster of a leaning or collapsing top tier.
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