Homemade Vanilla Naked Cake Recipe

Vanilla Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease three six-inch round stainless-steel pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Soak cake strips for 10-minutes in water and then fit them to the cake pans. This prevents uneven cake layers.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, sour cream and vanilla extract for 2 minutes until fluffy.
5. Add the eggs to the wet ingredients and combine. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and reduce mixer speed to low. Mix until just combined.
6. Divide the mixture even into the three prepared pans.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top and springy to the touch.
8. Allow layers to cool for 90 minutes and then carefully remove them from the pan and peel off the parchment paper layer. Cake should feel cool to the touch before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. Add butter to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Cream until fluffy, about a minute.
2. Reduce speed and slowly add the powdered sugar, extract, milk and salt.
3. Whip until fluffy and fully combined scraping down the bowl sides as needed.
4. To frost, add a small amount of frosting to a cake pad followed by the base cake layer. Wipe away any loose cake crumbs.
5. Add one cup of frosting on the layer and spread using an offset cake spatula. Spread evenly and then add the next cake layer; repeat until all layers are added.
6. Add a small amount of frosting to the cake icing smoother. Use this to fill any gaps in the layers. Carefully rotate cake to fill in any gaps. Smooth as you go to achieve the naked cake look.
7. Add toppings such as dried or edible flowers, candies, etc.
8. Store cake in cake server until ready to enjoy