6 Inch Cake Recipe

After extensively testing cake recipes, this is my absolute favorite 6 inch cake base.

It’s super fluffy but not too spongy, perfectly balanced vanilla and buttery flavor and simple to make!

The time has come my friends! If you’ve seen any of my previous cakes, I usually bake 6 inch cakes.

My recipes are developed for the casual home baker and most people don’t need to serve more than about 10 people at a time. 

I have tested many cake recipes over the last couple years and although some have been phenomenal they just weren’t the one.

I wanted the perfect 6 inch cake that I could use on it’s own as vanilla or as a base for other recipes. Now, we know that perfect is different to everyone so let me describe my version of perfect. 

What makes this the perfect 6 inch cake recipe?

• Texture: I wanted the texture of this cake to be pretty tight. I don’t like when there are large air tunnels throughout in my cake or when the crumb is too crumbly or too bread-y. I wanted a perfect combination of moisture, density, and fluffiness. 
  • For instance, if your cake has too much moisture, it can be kinda gummy and super dense and heavy. We obviously don’t want that. If the cake is super light and airy, it can be a little too spongy or not sturdy enough to stack three layers. Many factors play into making the perfect cake. 

• Flavor: To me, the perfect cake tastes like a combination of butter, sugar, flour, milk and vanilla. I don’t want my cake to taste super buttery, I don’t want it super sweet and I certainly don’t want it to taste like just cake flour* or buttermilk. Cake flour and buttermilk obviously have their place in cakes but there needs to be a good balance. 
  • *sometimes I find that some brands of cake flour provide a different flavor

• Simplicity: No one wants to make the BEST cake out there if the ingredient list is inaccessible or the instructions are obnoxious. Some will still say this one is way too much work but remember, you’re making a cake from scratch… not a box mix.

• Adaptability: I wanted my perfect 6 inch cake to be easily adapted to other flavors. I’ve tried many different version of this cake with different flavors and it’s very versatile.

I would not recommend adding anything that will vastly alter the wet to dry ratio but you can certainly do things like substitute ¼-½ cup of flour for graham crackers or cocoa powder, etc. 

Ingredients & Substitutions:

*full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom!

• Flour: This recipe was developed specifically to use all-purpose flour since that’s what most people have at home but cake flour also works well!
  • If you absolutely have to use cups, make sure to fluff up the flour, spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off.
• Fat: I use butter and oil in almost all my cake recipes because I like the flavor from the butter and I like the texture produced by the combination of both fats. I find that oil alone is sometimes too spongy and not quite as pleasant in a plain cake. Whereas using all butter usually results in a cake that’s a bit more stiff. 
• Whole Eggs: you simply can’t argue against the flavor and richness that egg yolks bring to the table. I use egg whites when I specifically wanted my cakes to be white (less yellow) but this cake was developed for optimal flavor and texture so whole egg all the way!
• Sugar: I mean do we need to talk about this one? YES WE DO. Sugar is not only there for sweetness. It caramelizes to provide color and flavor, creates tenderness and locks in moisture so I don’t recommend cutting any sugar out. If you want to remove sugar, use a European based buttercream instead of an American.
• Liquid: I was a firm believer in buttermilk before I did all this testing. Now I am a firm believer in sour cream. The difference in texture and flavor was mind blowing from the very first test.
  • If you really don’t have access to sour cream you can substitute it for 3/4 cup of plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.

TIP: I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as dry ingredients are almost always over measured. 

6-Inch Cake, Step-By-Step Photos

My cake is pretty straight forward but there are a couple of important steps not to skip.

TIP 1: Ingredients at a cool room temperature will emulsify properly and hold on to more air, creating a fluffier cake texture.

Tip 2: Adding the eggs one at a time and giving them each time to emulsify properly will incorporate more air and also result in a fluffier cake texture.

Vanilla Cake

1. Beat together the butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes with the whisk attachment.
2. Add the oil and continue beating for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for at least 30-60 seconds between each addition, until each one is combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix just until they’re incorporated.
4. Add in half of the dry ingredients, followed by the milk and then the other half of the dry ingredients. Mix just until the last streak of flour is combined.
5. Distribute the batter evenly between three round 6 inch cake pans, about 14 ounces of batter in each one.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, the edges released from the pan and/or the cake springs back when you press on it gently. Flip over onto a cooling rack or a tea towel and cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. Beat the butter until it lightens in color and get’s fluffy.
2. Add the powdered sugar and salt beat for about 5 minutes until it’s completely smooth.
3. Add the vanilla and stream in the heavy whipping cream until the frosting is light and fluffy.
4. *I added in some raspberry rhubarb jam to in these photos lol

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store layer cakes

Storing unfrosted cake layers (making ahead of time)

You can make the cake layers ahead of time. For best results, allow the cake layers to cool almost to room temperature. When they’re still just slightly warm, wrap them in plastic wrap and leave them on the counter overnight for one day. 

If you’re making them more than one day in advance, you’ll want to freeze them. Place the plastic wrapped layers in a freezer bag, removing the excess air, and freeze on a flat surface. 

You can remove the cakes from the freezer and frost right away or you can remove them a few hours earlier and bring them back to room temperature. If you’re frosting them frozen, make sure work quickly so the frosting doesn’t freeze while you’re working and also let the cake rest so it thaws before serving. 

How to store the finished cake

If the cake is fully frosted and unsliced, you can leave it on the counter overnight (as long it doesn’t use fresh fruit, cream cheese frosting, or anything that will go bad) unless it ever feels soft and un-sturdy, then refrigerate it. 

If the cake is partially sliced, cover any cut sections with plastic wrap or a cake dome. Place all the cut slices in an airtight container. It can stay at room temperature for a day or refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for months. 

How to freeze the cake

If the cake is fully sliced, place the slices in an airtight container or individually wrap each slice in plastic wrap if you want to freeze them and remove one at a time. Place the container in a freezer bag and squeeze out all the excess air. You can store them in the freezer for a several months.

You can also freeze the cake whole. To do this, refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm, a couple of hours. Then wrap the whole cake in plastic wrap, twice and freeze for up to two months. 

Let the cake thaw in the fridge over night. Then remove the plastic wrap and let it thaw on the counter until serving. Keep in mind, the cake is never as good as fresh but frozen is better than refrigerated. 

This cake in other sizes

I scaled this round 6 inch cake into other commonly used sizes.

• 10 Inch Cake
• 8 Inch Cake
• 4 Inch Cake

Recipes that I’ve adapted this cake into:

There’re so many recipes on my website that were adapted from this cake but here are a few of my favorites!

I’m very aware that this will not be everyone else’s favorite base cake recipe. I always welcome constructive criticism!

I’d be happy to answer any questions down below. If you make this cake, please leave me a 5-star rating or a review below.

As always, happy baking and have a blessed day!

Love, B

Recipes

Cakes

6 Inch Cake Recipe

4.59 from 210 votes

prep 10 minutes mins

cook 35 minutes mins

Additional Time 30 minutes mins

total 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Serves 10 servings

The perfect three layer, 6 inch cake recipe. The cake is moist, fluffy, sturdy for stacking and full of vanilla flavor! It can easily be adjusted to different flavors or sizes as well.

Author: Bernice Baran

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Servings 10 servings

1x2x3x

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Equipment

• ▢
  Kitchen Aid 5 qt. Stand Mixer
• ▢
  6 Inch Round Cake Pan
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale
• ▢
  Rubber Spatula

Metric(US) Imperial

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake

• ▢ 270 grams all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• ▢ 56 grams salted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 120 mL canola oil, any neutral oil works
• ▢ 300 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ▢ 170 grams sour cream, room temperature
• ▢ 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 180 mL milk , room temperature

Vanilla Buttercream

• ▢ 227 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 480 grams powdered sugar, spooned and leveled
• ▢ tiny pinch fine sea salt
• ▢ 45-60 mL heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and/or vanilla bean paste

Method

Vanilla 6 inch cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) convection and grease and line three 6 inch cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.
   270 grams all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3. Place the room temperature butter and the granulated sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to beat them for 1 minute. Add the oil and beat at full speed for another minute.
   56 grams salted butter room temperature, 300 grams granulated sugar, 120 mL canola oil any neutral oil works
4. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until each egg is fully incorporated.
   3 large eggs room temperature
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat just until combined.
   170 grams sour cream room temperature, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, turn the mixer on low speed and then pour in the milk, followed by the rest of the dry ingredients.
   180 mL milk room temperature
7. Distribute the batter evenly among the three cake pans, about 14oz in each pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. When the cake is fully baked it will release itself from the edge of the pan and it will spring back if you press on the center of it.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter at full speed until it’s pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
   227 grams unsalted butter room temperature
2. Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat at low speed just until it's combined.
   480 grams powdered sugar spooned and leveled, tiny pinch fine sea salt
3. Scrape the edge of the bowl and continue beating at medium-high speed until the sugar is fully dissolved and fluffy, a few minutes.
4. Add the vanilla and turn the mixer to medium speed, streaming in about 2 Tbsp of the heavy whipping cream, beating until it's well combined.
   45-60 mL heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and/or vanilla bean paste
5. Scrape the edge of the bowl, give it a good mix and assess the texture/flavor of the frosting. If you want it softer/more spreadable, repeat with more of the heavy cream.

Assemble

1. Use 1/2 of the buttercream to frost the first and second layer and then use 1/4 for a crumb coat.
2. Refrigerate the cake for 15-30 minutes, then use the last 1/4 of the buttercream to frost the rest of the cake.

Notes

If you want extra frosting for decorating, do 1.5x or 2x the amount of frosting. The amount in the recipe is just enough to lightly frost the cake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 787kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 6gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 127mgSodium: 316mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 1gSugar: 79gVitamin A: 981IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 133mgIron: 2mg

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 6 inch cake, cake, mini cake, six inch cake, small cake, small three layer cake, three layer 6 inch cake, three layer cake, vanilla cake, yellow cake