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This Buttermilk Cake is buttery, moist, and perfectly tender, baked in a simple 9×13 inch pan for an easy dessert everyone will love. Topped with a rich caramel icing that melts into every bite, it’s the kind of old-fashioned cake that disappears fast!
If you’ve got a carton of buttermilk in the fridge that’s ready to be used up (or perhaps you’re just craving a really delicious snack cake), this is the recipe you want!! You’ll love how simple it is to mix up, how soft and tender the cake is, and the brown sugar frosting that melts into the cake… just SO GOOD.
Buttermilk Brownies and Buttermilk Cookies are two of my other favorite ways to use up buttermilk!
Buttermilk Cake Key Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and amounts are in the recipe card below, but I wanted to draw attention to a few of them.
- Buttermilk – You’ll use buttermilk in the cake and in the frosting. You can use full-fat or low-fat buttermilk (I typically only see low-fat at my grocery store) OR you can make your own using milk and vinegar. See the recipe card notes for details.
- Butter and Vegetable Oil – This recipe uses both butter and oil. I love the flavor that comes from the butter but find that the addition of some oil helps the cake stay soft longer. I use salted butter; if using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the cake batter and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the frosting.
- Flour – I typically use all-purpose flour but you can opt to use cake flour for a slightly more tender cake.
Buttermilk Cake Testing
For those of you who haven’t been on Dance Around the Kitchen before, hello and welcome! I’m a trained food scientist and love trying numerous variations of a recipe before sharing it. For this recipe, I played around with the fats (butter and oil) as well as the method of mixing up the batter. Here’s what I learned!
- Using butter + oil was preferred as it had great flavor (from the butter) but stayed nice and moist longer due to the addition of the oil.
- There are different way to mix up a cake batter. For this cake, I wanted to try the creaming method (cream the butter & sugar, add eggs and vanilla, then alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk) vs the reverse creaming method (combining the dry ingredients with softened butter then adding the wet ingredients). I thought I’d prefer the reverse creaming method as it’s known for a finer crumb, but this time I actually preferred the more common creaming method.
- I questioned if I’d like having the buttermilk in the frosting, but LOVED how it turned out! I was worried it would be too tangy, but it was such a perfect balance!
How to Make Buttermilk Cake
Start with two bowls; you’ll combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and baking powder) in one bowl and the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, and vanilla) in the other bowl.
For this recipe, I find it easiest to use a stand mixer, but a large bowl with an electric hand mixer works great too!
Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine, scraping own the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Now you’re going to alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. You’ll start with about half of the flour mixture (it doesn’t need to be exact – no need to measure!), then stir in the buttermilk and finish it off with the remaining dry ingredients.
Once again, scrape down the edges of the bowl to ensure that everything is incorporated.
Spread the batter into the bottom of a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake until a toothpick pressed into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The cake should be golden brown around edges and on top.
Remove the cake from the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. Start working on the frosting right away.
Making the frosting is simple. You’ll start by melting the butter in a saucepan the stir in the brown sugar and buttermilk until the sugar granules are dissolved. Stir in the powdered sugar and stir until smooth (if you notice some powdered sugar clumps, use a whisk to vigorously stir for a few seconds). Pour the frosting on the cake as soon as the 15 minutes are up (the cake should still be pretty warm) and spread it to an even layer.
Tips for Making the Best Buttermilk Cake
- Use room temperature ingredients. When making any cake, it’s important to use room-temperature ingredients. This helps the ingredients mesh together more easily, creating a more uniform batter and a more tender cake.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. Over-mixing the batter will encourage more gluten development. Though lots of gluten development is great for yeast breads, it’s not so great for cakes as it makes them more tough.
- Spread the icing while warm. The icing really brings this recipe from really good to really great! Adding the icing while the cake is warm helps it soak into the cake ever so slightly, adding a little extra moisture and sooo much goodness!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you plan to enjoy the cake in just a day or two, it’s fine setting out at room temperature if well-covered. If you plan to keep it longer, I’ll stay good for up to 5 days in the fridge. I do recommend microwaving the cake for 15-25 seconds to warm it up before enjoying!
Yes! You absolutely can. It’ll stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months.
You can pour the batter into two 8-inch round pans instead of the 9×13-inch pan, yes. The baking time should remain about the same, though it may take a few more minutes. I do, however, recommend using a different frosting as the brown sugar caramel frosting is too runny for a stacked cake.
More Easy Cake Recipes To Try
- Moist Chocolate Cake
- Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
- Biscoff Cake
- Turtle Cake
- Carrot Cake Sheet Cake
- Wacky Cake
Buttermilk Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13-inch pan
Ingredients
Buttermilk Cake
- 2 1/4 all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
Caramel Frosting
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Buttermilk Cake
- Grease a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.2 1/4 all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla; set aside.3 eggs, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer with a large mixing bowl), cream the butter and sugar.1 cup salted butter, 1 3/4 cup sugar
- Add the mixture of eggs, oil, and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Add about half of the dry ingredients and stir.
- Add the buttermilk and stir until almost combined; finish by stirring in the remaining dry ingredients.1 1/4 cup buttermilk
- Stir until smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients.
- Pour into the prepared pan and smooth to an even layer.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Press a toothpick into the center of the cake; if you get wet batter, bake another few minutes or until a toothpick is clean or has just a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool for 15 minutes.
For the Caramel Frosting
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.1/2 cup salted butter
- Once melted, add the brown sugar and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- Remove from the heat and add the powdered sugar.1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Whisk until smooth then pour over the warm cake; spread to an even layer.
- Let cool completely then cut into slices and enjoy!
