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Vanilla Custard Cake

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This Custard Cake consists of ridiculously fluffy vanilla sponge cake layered with custard buttercream and a homemade custard filling.

slice of vanilla cake with custard filling and custard buttercream

This is a magical 'proposal-inducing' custard cake it seems. I brought Chris a slice of it to try last week and the next morning - boom! An engagement ring.
Clearly, it was the cake.

I went through a few iterations of this vanilla custard cake and wasn't happy with it - so I broke it down and analyzed every step of the recipe until it was PERFECT. I switched to a reverse creaming method to make the sponge extra light and fluffy, and I changed the frosting recipe to make it even more custardy.

The cake uses custard (vanilla pastry cream, or creme patissier) in two ways, in the frosting to make a custard buttercream, and as a filling inside and on top of the cake. This is the same custard filling recipe I use in my Custard Donuts and it's always a winner!

Jump to:

Ingredients

  • Milk - For best results, use full-fat milk. Milk is the foundation of the custard and if you don't use a full-fat milk you will not get that gorgeous, thick, creamy texture that makes custard custard. And you really can't have a custard cake with mediocre custard!
  • Butter - The quality of the butter is important in this recipe, try to use something with a high fat percentage. Also, make sure the butter is at room temperature before beginning.
  • Sugar - Superfine white sugar is best (caster sugar in the UK). Regular white sugar will also work fine if you can find superfine.
  • Eggs - You will need egg yolks for the custard and whole eggs for the vanilla sponge. Save your leftover egg whites for another recipe, like my Strawberry Angel Food Cake.
  • Vanilla - Of course, vanilla is an important ingredient as the cake, buttercream, and custard filling all revolve around it! Try to use a high-quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, or if you like you can even use whole vanilla pods. The quality of the vanilla you use will really shine through in this recipe.
  • Corn Starch - The cornstarch helps to thicken the pastry cream.
  • Flour - This vanilla sponge works best with cake flour, but you can also use all-purpose flour if you don't have cake flour.
  • Vegetable Oil - This helps to keep the cake moist, you can also use any flavorless oil you like.
  • Powdered Sugar - This is optional to sweeten the custard buttercream, you can leave it out or add less of it if you prefer a less sweet frosting.

It's worth noting that as always it is crucial that your 'cold ingredients' (i.e. butter, milk, eggs) are brought to room temperature before starting this bake. There are a number of components that could curdle or go wrong easily, so make it easier on yourself and keep everything at the same temperature!

See the recipe card for the full recipe.

Make the Custard Filling

The first step for making this cake is to make the pastry cream - also known as creme patissier or custard. You can make the custard a day or two in advance if you want to break the recipe into easier steps.

We will make a double batch of pastry cream - half will be used in the custard buttercream and the other half will be filling and topping for the cake.

  1. Take two tablespoons of the sugar and put it into a bowl along with the egg yolks, flour, and cornflour - whisk to combine.
  2. Put the remaining sugar into a saucepan with the milk and vanilla, and slowly warm over medium-low heat.
Whisking egg yolks with flour, corn starch and sugar to make custard filling for cake.
Milk and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan, ready to make custard.
  1. When it begins to get warm, drizzle a small amount of warm milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk, then add a little more, repeat until everything is together in the bowl, then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.

    It's important to do this slowly and gradually so you don't scramble the eggs.
Drizzling warm milk into egg yolk mixture to make vanilla pastry cream.
Pouring creme patissier mixture back into saucepan.
  1. Keep heating the mixture, whisking constantly until it begins to boil. Boil for one minute or until you see thick bubbles bursting on the surface. Remove from the heat. It should be thick enough that you can draw a line in it on the back of a spoon. If it isn't, keep boiling for a little longer until it reaches this stage.
Whisking vanilla pastry cream (custard) in a saucepan.
Testing if custard filling is ready by drawing a line in it on the back of a spoon.
  1. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve into a bowl to make sure there are no lumps.
  2. Whisk in the butter one small piece at a time, making sure it melts into the mixture completely before adding the next piece.
Whisking butter into pastry cream, one small chunk at a time.
Finished creme patissier/ pastry cream/ custard being whisked to show thick and glossy.
  1. Cover with plastic wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin forming) and refrigerate for at least two hours. I like to make this the day before and let it sit overnight, but it can be used after 2 hours.

Make the Vanilla Sponge Cake

This is my go-to Vanilla Cake recipe - I use it as a base for lots of other cakes and cupcakes.

  1. Preheat oven to 335°F / 170°C (or 150°C for a fan-assisted oven) and grease two 8-inch cake pans.
  2. Split the milk into two containers, one with ½ cup of milk (118g) and one with ¾ cup of milk (177g).
  3. Mix the ½ cup of milk with the vegetable oil and set aside. Mix the ¾ cup of milk with the eggs and vanilla. Whisk together lightly and set aside.
Process shot of making vanilla cupcakes - separating milk into two portions.
Mixing milk with other ingredients to make vanilla cupcakes.
  1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of your mixer and turn on low with your paddle attachment.
  2. Slowly add the butter, one small chunk at a time, letting it mix for a few seconds in between additions. Once it's all in it should look kind of like chunky breadcrumbs.
Sifting dry ingredients to make vanilla cupcakes for valentines day.
Adding butter one chunk at a time to dry ingredients to make vanilla cupcakes.
  1. Add the milk/oil mixture and slowly turn your mixer up to a medium speed, just so it doesn't splash. Beat for exactly two minutes.
Process shot of making vanilla cupcakes - mixture looks like chunky breadcrumbs.
Adding milk and oil to dry ingredients to make vanilla cupcakes.
  1. Scrape the sides of your bowl to make sure there are no lumps, then turn the mixer back on low.
  2. Add the milk/egg mixture slowly and mix on low until just combined.
Process shot of making vanilla cupcakes - showing cupcake batter.
Process shot of making vanilla cupcakes - showing cupcake batter.
  1. Divide the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
  2. Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing and putting on a wire rack to cool.

Tip: I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale, rather than using measuring cups. It's very difficult to measure accurately with cups and this can mess up your bakes.

Make the Custard Buttercream

This Custard buttercream, or 'German Buttercream' is silky smooth and full of rich, creamy, vanilla flavor.

  1. Before you start, move roughly ⅓ of the pastry cream into a separate bowl and place it back in the fridge. Put the remaining ⅔ of the pastry cream in a covered bowl on the counter to come to room temperature. At the same time, remove your butter from the fridge so it can also come to room temperature.
  2. Once it's at room temperature, you can start making the frosting. Place all the butter in your stand mixer and beat with a whisk attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes)
  3. Add the pastry cream one tablespoon at a time until it is all added, whipping in between additions.
  4. Add the vanilla and salt and mix in.
  5. At this stage, taste-test the buttercream to see how much sweetness you would like to add. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, whipping after every addition, until the desired sweetness is reached.
  6. The custard buttercream should be lovely and silky smooth - if it curdles it's usually just a sign that the ingredients were not the same temperature - to fix it just take the bowl and very gently heat the bottom of it over a bain marie and whisk until it comes together again (it shouldn't take long), then return to the stand mixer and it should be beautifully silky again!

Assemble the Custard Cake

  1. Once completely cooled, cut each of the cakes in half so you should have four thin cake layers. I use this cake leveler, but you can also use a serrated knife.
  2. Start building your layers, first with cake, then a layer of custard buttercream, smoothing it out as you go. Add your second layer of cake on top and put on a slightly thinner layer of custard buttercream.
  3. On top of the thinner layer of custard buttercream, pipe a border of buttercream around the outside of the middle layer, and fill the middle with half of the cold custard you reserved in the fridge. Add the next layer of cake on top
  4. Add another generous layer of buttercream, followed by your final cake layer. Decorate the cake however you like - smooth, naked, semi-naked or messy. Pipe some rosettes around the top of the cake and then pour the remaining custard on top of the cake, in the middle of the rosettes.

What is the Reverse Creaming Method?

The reverse creaming method basically takes everything you know about mixing cake ingredients together and flips it on its head! The result is a beautifully tender crumb that just succumbs to your fork as you go to take a bite. I knew I needed this cake to be soft as clouds so that you could really appreciate the texture of the custard inside it.

Reverse creaming involves mixing your dry ingredients first, then slowly adding the butter into them to coat the flour in butter - this stops the gluten from forming, making the end result beautifully soft.

Then you add the wet ingredients and beat the mixture to develop a little gluten - just enough so the cake slices will have some structure! It's a completely different approach to mixing ingredients but it gives an incredible result!

Reader Review:

I made this cake for my birthday last month and I have to say it’s the best cake that I’ve ever made! I’ve used the reverse creaming method a lot but there’s something about this recipe that is just perfect. The cake was so soft and moist. The German buttercream (my first time making it) was absolutely delicious and my new favorite buttercream! Add to that the pastry cream? It’s the perfect cake! Thank you so much for this recipe!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Brianna M

What makes this Custard Cake Custardy?

There are three main components to this custard cake: the vanilla sponge, the creme patissiere filling, and the custard buttercream.

Vanilla Cake - Firstly, the sponge is flavored with vanilla - which many people mistake as being a 'plain' flavor - but it's not! Vanilla is actually an exotic and complicated flavor profile and is the foundation for a really good custard.

Creme Patissiere - Creme patissiere or pastry cream is basically custard. But it's made properly, not out of the custard powder you can buy in a can. It is the foundation for many French pastries and can be used to fill tarts, pastries, and desserts. I also use it in my Strawberry Custard Tarts, and those are ALWAYS a huge hit!

Custard Buttercream - Custard Buttercream or German Buttercream is mostly comprised of whipped butter and custard. It's a traditional frosting for many German goodies and makes for a frosting which is sweet, creamy, and silky. I highly recommend it for any custard lovers.

Equipment

Storage

The custard needs to be stored in the fridge as it contains dairy, so you'll want to keep your custard cake refrigerated in an airtight container. It will be good like this for up to 4 days.

More Custard Desserts

If you are a custard lover, you may enjoy some of these custard recipes!

Recipe

slice of vanilla cake with custard filling.

Vanilla Custard Cake

Soft and fluffy vanilla cake sandwiched with custard buttercream and creme patissier
Recipe Author: Jules Grasekamp
Print Recipe
Servings 16 slices
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Equipment

Ingredients
 

For the Vanilla Pastry Cream

  • 3 cups Whole Milk 720ml
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 7 Egg Yolks
  • ¾ cup White Sugar 150g
  • 6 tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 1 ½ sticks Unsalted Butter 170g

For the Vanilla Cake

  • 1.25 cup Whole Milk 300ml
  • ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil 80ml
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 2 ¾ cups Cake Flour 312g
  • 1 ¾ cups White Sugar 350g
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 sticks Butter 227g

For the Custard Buttercream

  • Vanilla Pastry Cream (⅔ of the pastry cream prepared for the filling)
  • 4 sticks Unsalted Butter 452g
  • ⅓ cup Powdered Sugar 38g
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt

Instructions
 

Make the Pastry Cream (Custard)

  • Make the pastry cream 2 - 24 hours ahead of time as it needs time to cool and thicken. Use the steps below or see my Vanilla Pastry Cream post for more detailed instructions and process pictures.
  • Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar and cornstarch- whisk to combine until pale and thick.
    7 Egg Yolks, ¾ cup White Sugar, 6 tablespoon Cornstarch
  • Put the milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until it is scalding hot. This means you can see steam rising from it and tiny bubbles appearing on the surface. Don't let it boil.
    3 cups Whole Milk, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • Drizzle a small amount of hot milk into the egg yolk mixture and whisk, then add a little more, and repeat until everything is together in the bowl, It's important to do this slowly and gradually so you don't scramble the eggs
    Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan.
  • Return to the heat, whisking constantly until it begins to boil.
    Boil for 1-2 minutes or until you see thick bubbles bursting on the surface. It should be thick enough that you can draw a line in it on the back of a spoon - if it isn't, keep boiling until you reach that stage. Remove from the heat.
  • If done gradually, there shouldn't be any lumps in the custard, but if there are you can pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove them.
  • Whisk in the butter one small piece at a time, making sure it melts into the mixture completely before adding the next piece
    1 ½ sticks Unsalted Butter
  • Cover with plastic wrap (make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin forming) and refrigerate for at least two hours. I like to make this the day before and let it sit overnight, but it can be used after 2 hours.

Make the Vanilla Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C (160°C for fan-assisted) and grease two 8-inch cake pans. Ensure the butter, eggs, and milk are at room temperature before beginning.
  • Split the milk into two containers, one with ½ cup of milk (118g) and one with ¾ cup of milk (177g).
    1.25 cup Whole Milk
  • Mix the ½ cup of milk with the vegetable oil and set aside.
    ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
  • Mix the remaining milk with the eggs and vanilla. Whisk together lightly and set aside.
    3 Large Eggs, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of your mixer and turn on low with your paddle attachment
    2 ¾ cups Cake Flour, 1 ¾ cups White Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
  • Slowly add the butter, one small chunk at a time. Once it's all in it should look kind of like chunky breadcrumbs
    2 sticks Butter
  • Add the milk/oil mixture and slowly turn your mixer up to a medium speed. Beat for exactly two minutes
  • Scrape the sides of your bowl to make sure there are no lumps, then turn the mixer back on low.
  • Add the milk/egg mixture slowly and mix on low until just combined.
  • Divide into cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes - check to see if a toothpick comes out clean before removing from the oven.
    Let the cakes cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing them.

Make the Custard Buttercream

  • About an hour before you start, move roughly ⅓ of the pastry cream into a separate bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge.
    Put the remaining ⅔ of the pastry cream in a covered bowl on the counter to come to room temperature.
    At the same time, remove your butter from the fridge so it can also come to room temperature.
  • Once it's at room temperature, you can start making the frosting. Place all the butter in your stand mixer and beat with a whisk attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes)
    4 sticks Unsalted Butter
  • Add the room temperature pastry cream one tablespoon at a time until it is all added, whipping in between additions.
    Vanilla Pastry Cream
  • Add the vanilla and salt and mix in.
    1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • At this stage, taste-test the buttercream to see how much sweetness you would like to add. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, whipping after every addition, until the desired sweetness is reached.
    ⅓ cup Powdered Sugar
  • The custard buttercream should be lovely and silky smooth - if it curdles it's usually just a sign that the ingredients were not the same temperature (see notes for how to fix it).

Assemble the Cake

  • Once completely cooled, cut each of the cakes in half so you should have four thin cake layers. I use this cake leveler, but you can also use a serrated knife
  • Start building your layers, first with cake, then a layer of custard buttercream, smoothing it out as you go. Add your second layer of cake on top and put on a slightly thinner layer of custard buttercream.
  • On top of the thinner layer of custard buttercream, pipe a border of buttercream around the outside of the middle layer, and fill the middle with half of the cold custard you reserved in the fridge. Add the next layer of cake on top
  • Add another generous layer of buttercream, followed by your final cake layer. Decorate the cake however you like - smooth, naked, semi-naked or messy.
    Pipe some rosettes around the top of the cake and then pour the remaining custard on top of the cake, in the middle of the rosettes.

Notes

Pastry Cream
The vanilla pastry cream will be used for both the custard buttercream and as a filling. Make one batch of it and then divide it as per the instructions above. 
It's best to make the pastry cream in advance so it has time to cool for at least 2 hours, but you can also make it the day before. 
*If your buttercream curdles - take the bowl and very gently heat the bottom of it over a bain marie and whisk until it comes together again (it shouldn't take long), then return to the stand mixer and it should be beautifully silky again!
Tried this recipe?Would you do me a huge favor and leave a rating and review?

It really helps and I love hearing all your feedback!

Nutrition

Calories: 733kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 7gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 37gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 226mgSodium: 274mgPotassium: 196mgFiber: 1gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 1448IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 2mg

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    4.42 from 63 votes (45 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Stephanie

    4 stars
    I'm making this cake for my husband's st. Patrick's Day birthday. My only confusion is that it says to put a pool of the cold custard that I reserved in the fridge for the middle and top, however my custard is solid and not a liquid that would pool and leak out of or off the cake at all. Did I do something wrong?

    Reply

  2. tayyba

    5 stars
    Dude recently I came across your post, and was really impressed by the quality of the content.
    to boost your blog and website development services touch your thumb to this link http://www.digicellsinternational.com

    Reply

  3. Rea

    5 stars
    I've been scouring the comments looking to see if this cake can be made and frozen a week prior to the event. I'm creating 4 9" hearts to make a huge 4 leaf clover cake. I don't want to leave it to the last minute. I want to frost all the cakes and the stem piece, box, wrap in plastic, freeze, and then placement and decorating will be the day of the party. The finished cake will sit on a 24x28 board.

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Rea,
      Ooh I love the idea of making it a 4 leaf clover cake!
      I have never frozen this cake frosted before, but I know it's good if you bake the cake and freeze it and then you can also freeze the frosting and just let it come to room temp and whip it up again when you're ready to frost. I imagine it could work to frost it all and then freeze it, but I wouldn't want to guarantee it as I haven't tested it for myself before. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but I hope you love the cake!

      Jules

      Reply

    • Shireen

      Hi Rea, were you able to freeze the whole frosted and filled cake(s) in advance? How did it all turn out? I am hoping to serve a 3-tier heart-shaped version this weekend, but unsure how the custard filling will hold up inside w the whole cake frozen then thawed. Jules, if i try this, i will post results so other bakers hoping to "get 'er dun" can know too! Wish me luck!

      Reply

      • Jules

        Hi Shireen, definitely let me know how it turns out! Happy baking 🙂

  4. Lee

    I'd love to make this cake as a 6 inch version since I'm the only one who will eat it and it won't freeze. I'm not sure what size cake pans you are using here so I'll know how to adjust the recipe. Is it 10" or 9"? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Lee ,I’m so happy you’re going to try my custard cake!
      I used 8 inch pans for the recipe. You could probably get away with halving the recipe for your 6 inch pans, or you could keep it the same and just have very tall layers! I hope you love the cake.
      Happy baking!

      Jules

      Reply

  5. Sarah C

    Thanks so much for your quick reply! Now it makes perfect sense. I will make a note so I know which is which. I am making this cake with my 10-year old granddaughter who loves to bake. I think this recipe is a little more difficult than what we're used to, but we're both excited to take on the challenge. It should be fun!

    Reply

    • Jules

      It's definitely got a few more steps than a standard cake recipe, but it's well worth the extra effort! I hope you two have a wonderful time baking together and if you have any more questions just let me know! 🙂

      Reply

  6. Sarah C

    I will be making this cake this weekend. In reading steps 8 and 10 under Make the Vanilla Cake, it seems #8 and #10 are the same. Could you please clarify? Thank you,

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Sarah,
      There are two separate milk mixtures, one with oil and one with egg (see steps 4 and 5). Step 8 refers to the oil mixture and step 10 refers to the egg mixture. I hope that clears it up and I hope you love the cake! Happy baking! 🙂

      Reply

  7. LavDev

    I made this for my daughter's 6th birthday as she loves a good Vanilla pudding and she wanted a vanilla cake. I used an 8inch and 2 6 inch pans for the given recipe. It was a 2 tier castle cake. If only I could share the pic. It came our brilliant! She and her friends LOVED the cake and the pastry inside. I used normal plain flour. The cake was dense. Different from airy sponge cakes I made before. But went very well with the cream and custard. So a million thanks for this recipe

    Reply

  8. Jade

    Hi, is this recipe written for 8 inch pans, or 9 inch? Which do you think would be best? Also, if using vanilla beans for the cake and the creme patissiere, how much would you recommend for each recipe? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Jade,
      I used 8 inch pans, but you could also make it in 9 inch pans, the layers will just be a little thinner.
      If you're using vanilla pods, I'd recommend 1/2 a pod for the cake and 1 pod for each batch of custard (so that would be 2 pods in the custard if doing the double batch). I hope that makes sense?
      Jules

      Reply

  9. Narva

    Hi I haven’t made the cake yet but I plan to real soon. I’m confused about the wording of icing sugar. Is that powdered sugar or granulated sugar. Thank you

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Narva, icing sugar is powdered sugar (or sometimes called confectioners sugar). Hope this helps and I hope you love the recipe. Happy baking! 🙂

      Reply

  10. Breanne

    3 stars
    This was one of the hardest recipes to follow. Too much information that didn’t flow together. I made the cake and it flopped. I saved the cake and will make into cake pops. The cake recipe it great, just not the icing part. It tasted good though.

    Reply

    • Jules

      Hi Breanne,

      Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it. Would you mind sharing more detail about what was difficult to follow or what improvements could be made? That way i can update the recipe to help future bakers!

      Thank you

      Jules

      Reply

    • Jamie

      What size cake pans do you use for this recipe?

      Reply

  11. Hayley

    Hey Jules,
    I made a small trial batch of the cake and it was so awesome.
    I am planning on making it for my daughter’s birthday but I’ll be covering it with fondant.
    How long do you think it will stay fresh if covered with the fondant ?
    And can I store it in the fridge once I’ve covered it with the fondant ?
    Any suggestions as to how far in advance I can make and cover it ?
    Thanks

    Reply

    • jules

      Hi Hayley, so glad you like the taste of the cake!
      The cake will be at its best eaten within three days of making it. You could technically store it in the fridge but you might have some condensation or 'sweating' forming on the cake from the temperature change when you take it out again, and that might ruin your lovely decoration.
      I would read some articles online about how to best prepare fondant cakes for going into the fridge to prevent this from happening.
      Alternatively, you could make the cake 2 or 3 days in advance and then just fondant it on the day of the birthday, but that may not work with your schedule,.
      However you do it, I hope it turns out beautifully and your daughter has a fantastic birthday!

      Reply

  12. Zaky

    Hey how much is 2 sticks of butter?

    Reply

    • jules

      Hi Zaky, 2 sticks is 227g. If you click on the little toggle at the top of the recipe card it will swtich between showing you the measurements in cups to grams. Hope this helps!

      Reply

      • Sonja Davis

        4 stars
        Oh no, when I clicked it the buttercream recipe said 454g butter....it felt it was to much....am trying to save it.

      • Jules Grasekamp

        Hi Sonja,
        No don't worry, that is correct for the buttercream! The buttercream takes 2 cups of butter, which is 454g. Zaky above was referring to the 2 sticks in the cake itself.
        I know it seems like a lot of butter but it does produce a lot of buttercream as it's for filling AND frosting the cake. Keep going and let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
        Jules

  13. Kathy

    When you refer to 2 batches of custard, do you mean to double the recipe or divide the original in half to create 2 batches?

    Reply

    • jules

      HI Kathy, Yes I mean make a double batch. One batch is to go into the frosting itself, and the other is to put in the middle and on top of the cake. If you don'rt want extra custard in the middle and on top you can just make a single batch for the frosting. TheI will update the recipe to make this more clear. Thank you!

      Reply

  14. Sharon C.

    I’ve been scouring the internet for a vanilla cake recipe that isn’t boring and I think I struck gold when I found you and this recipe!!! I have a question about the pastry crème….The cake requires two batches so can I double the recipe and make it once or does it turn out better if I make it twice??

    I’m making it for my nephew who only likes vanilla cake. I don’t think he will appreciate the work involved in this recipe but I know the adults will love it. Wish me luck!!!

    (I’ll return to rate & let you know how it turns out!)

    Reply

    • jules

      Hi Sharon, thank you for your lovely comments! Yes, absolutely you can just double all the ingredients and just follow the recipe as normal. Really hope you and your nephew enjoy the cake! Please do let me know how it turns out! Happy baking!

      Reply

      • Sharon C.

        5 stars
        Jules, it was a labor of love and well worth the effort!! It is the most delicious vanilla cake. My husband, who is all about chocolate and not particularly fond of cake, said it was amazing. He loved the density of the cake, the not overly sweet frosting, and the added surprise of pastry cream. I feel I may have let the butter get a bit to warm for the buttercream frosting. Presentation wasn’t up to my standards but to my guests who make cakes from a box it was amazing. Lol. I look forward to making it again with greater confidence! Now on to one of your chocolate recipes 😉

      • jules

        HI Sharon, thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out - I'm so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed the cake! It helps to make sure the butter is well beaten before adding the custard. For absolute best results I always say to take the butter out of the fridge about an hour before you need to use it. Hope this helps!

      • Christie W

        Does this need stored in the fridge? And is this a white buttercream or off white?

      • jules

        HI Christie, Normally I would say not to store cake in the fridge, but for this one it's definitely necessary because of the custard. And yes the buttercream is a creamy off white colour because of the custard and butter in it 🙂

      • Edgar Payne

        1 star
        You need to do more than grease the pans....mine stuck!
        You should grease, put in parchment, grease again and flour...then you might get the cake to release from the pans.
        Disaster.....now I have to see what I can piece together.

      • Stephanie

        4 stars
        My cakes didn't stick at all and came out perfectly with a simple greasing of the pans. I hope you were able to make your cake work.

      • Susan

        Any one make this wonderful cake,,,, Gluten Free. ?

    • Natasha

      Hi Jules
      I am planning on making your lovely cake for my daughter’s birthday party on the weekend and have a question about the frosting. I have to take the cake out of the fridge to come to room temperature before I can put some edible wafers on it, do you think the frosting will hold if it is out of the fridge for a few hours? Thank you!

      Reply

      • Jules

        Hi Natasha,
        Yes the cake will hold out of the fridge. As long as the frosting has been whipped enough it should hould nice and firm. I hope your daughter has a wonderful birthday party! Let me know how the cake turns out :). Happy baking!

      • Mary Leuer

        4 stars
        What do I do if I want custard in the middle layer of two cakes, but want to frost the rest. Would I have enough frosting if I just make one batch?

  15. Layna Bennett

    I'm going to make this this weekend! I'm assuming two 9inch cake pans?

    Reply

    • jules

      Yay! I hope you love it! Yes two 9 inch pans will work great, or deep 8 inches will work too but add 10 mins to the baking time. Let me know how it turns out - happy baking! 🙂

      Reply

      • Sonja Davis

        hmmm...I used two 8 in tins and did the additional 10mins but they have come out very crumbly and soft. I can't imagine I could cut them in half. What do you think went wrong?

      • Pat

        I do not have a stand mixer. Will a hand mixer work for this recipe?

      • Jules Grasekamp

        Hi Pat, you don't necessarily need a stand mixer for this recipe, but it might be difficult to get the best results by hand. If you have a handheld electric mixer that would definitely work too! Or if doing by hand you'll just have to make sure you mix it thoroughly enough - it may give you a sore arm though! Happy baking 🙂

    • Kathy Errico

      5 stars
      When making the buttercream frosting you state underneath to start adding pastry cream by the spoonfuls, but down below it says 2 batches. I thought the frosting had 1 batch and the second batch was the one in the fridge for the filling ? Is it me, or is this an error ?

      Reply

      • Jules

        HI Kathy,
        Thank you for your message. No that's correct! The first instruction in the 'buttercream' section is to take the two batches and put one in the fridge (to use for the filling) and keep one on the counter to come to room temperature to use for the frosting. The batch on the counter is the one you add in spoonfuls to the buttercream. Hope that clears it up! 🙂

      • Cynthia Caldwell Flacco

        Would this filling work if cake is made 2-3 days ahead and refrigerated?

      • Alexandra Powell

        Hi!
        This cake looks delicious! Could I I make it in to a half slab cake?

      • Elaine Burroughs

        This seem to be a little extra trouble to me

      • Kylie

        Can the frosting be frozen?