Vanilla 4 Inch Cake

This 3 layered vanilla 4 inch cake is the perfect size for a personal treat or small celebration and uses simple ingredients you already have at home!

If you’ve looked at my recipes at all, you might see that I have a lot of vanilla cakes. That’s because they’re all based off my favorite 6 Inch cake, so I took all the guesswork out for you and adjusted it to fit all the sizes

I now have an 8 Inch Cake, 10 Inch Cake, and even a party-sized sheet cake too!

This one is perfect for an individual serving birthday cake or even a smash cake or but if you’re looking for a slightly healthier option, I also have refined sugar free smash cake recipes.

How to make a 4 inch cake

My 4 Inch Cake is a basic vanilla cake with 3 layers & to keep things simple, I used a traditional vanilla American buttercream/

Ingredients: 

• Flour: I like to use all-purpose flour because it is a staple ingredient in most homes. The difference cake flour makes isn’t worth the extra trip to the grocery store.
  • I always recommend using a digital scale, especially when measuring flour.
• Fat: I like the combination of butter and oil. For a cake this size, using both would require measurements that are too small and kind of annoying. To keep it simple, I used oil because I prefer the texture from oil more than butter.
• Whole Egg: I like to use whole eggs for a richer flavor. It is important for your eggs to be room temperature. If you forget to take them out in time, place them in hot water for 5-10 minutes. 
• Sugar: People are always trying to cut corners with sugar. Without sugar there would be no flavor and your cake would be dry. So please, do not cut out any of the sugar!
• Liquid: I like the texture my cakes get from using sour cream and milk. If you don’t have sour cream you can substitute greek yogurt. 

How to customize the cake

If you want to make this cake a little more fun, feel free to add any kind of extracts to the base of the cake. You could also poke holes in it and soak it with a flavored simple syrup of flavor the frosting. For example:

• Espresso – can be sweetened or not and flavored with cinnamon and honey
• Strawberry – simple syrup or macerated from strawberries
• Caramel Sauce – mixed into the frosting or swirled between the layers.
• Chocolate Ganache – mixed into the frosting or used as the frosting/filling
• Cookie butter, peanut butter, Nutella, pistachio butter, etc. can be mixed into the frosting or swirled in between the layers.

Frequently asked questions

Serving & Storing

If the cake is sliced, cover the opening with plastic wrap or store in a cake dome at room temperature for 2-3 days. To refrigerate, place the cake in an airtight container for up to a week.

You can freeze it for up to 2 months by cutting into slices and placing them in an airtight container. Place the container in a freezer bag and squeeze out all the air. When you want to serve the cake, allow the slices to thaw at room temperature. 

If you have any questions just comment down below, and if you loved this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating or a review below.

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Recipes

Layer Cakes

4 Inch Vanilla Cake Recipe

4.59 from 68 votes

prep 1 hour hr

cook 20 minutes mins

Additional Time 2 hours hrs

total 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Serves 4 slices

Simple vanilla cake now comes in the perfect size for a personal treat or small celebration. This 3 layered, 4 Inch Vanilla Cake is delicious, soft, and simple to make!

Author: Bernice Baran

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Servings 4 slices

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Metric(US) Imperial

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake

• ▢ 90 grams cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 60 mL vegetable oil
• ▢ 100 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg, room temperature
• ▢ 56 grams sour cream, room temperature
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 60 mL milk, room temperature

Vanilla Buttercream

• ▢ 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 240 grams powdered sugar, spooned and leveled
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 15-30 mL heavy whipping cream, room temperature

Method

Vanilla 4 inch cake

1. Preheat the oven on convection to 350°F (177°C) and grease and line three 4 inch cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until they're evenly distributed.
   90 grams cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
3. Place the oil and the granulated sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to beat them, until they're smooth.
   60 mL vegetable oil, 100 grams granulated sugar
4. Then add the egg and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat just until combined.
   1 large egg room temperature, 56 grams sour cream room temperature, 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 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. Mix just until the last streak of flour is combined.
   60 mL milk room temperature
6. Distribute the batter evenly among the three cake pans and bake for 20 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.
7. Flip the cakes over onto a tea towel and allow the cakes 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.
   113 grams unsalted butter room temperature
2. Add the powdered sugar and beat at low speed just until it's combined.
   240 grams powdered sugar spooned and leveled
3. Scrape the edge of the bowl and continue beating at medium-high speed until the sugar is fully dissolved and fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla and turn the mixer to low-medium speed, pour in 1 Tbsp of heavy whipping cream and mix until it's well combined.
   1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, 15-30 mL heavy whipping cream room temperature
5. If you want it softer, add the extra 1 Tbsp of heavy whipping cream and mix until it's fully combined.

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.
3. Use a piping bag with a medium sized round tip to pipe the poofs. Top with gold foil!

Notes

You can bake these cakes up in advance. To preserve the moisture, allow the cakes to cool almost to room temperature, they should still be slightly warm. Wrap them in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer bag, pressing all the air out and freeze.

Remove them from the freezer when you're ready to frost, this makes it easier to frost and they will defrost by the time you're ready to serve.

If you want extra frosting for decorating, do 1.5x or 2x the amount of frosting. This is just enough to fully frost the cake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 538kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 4gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 203mgSugar: 54g

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 4 inch cake, cake, four inch cake, mini cake, small cake, small three layer cake, three layer 4 inch cake, three layer cake, vanilla cake, yellow cake