Simple Buttermilk Cake

Buttermilk cake recipe

The Spruce 

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Yield: 1 cake

Buttermilk cake is light yet flavorful. It's also a snap to make. This recipe will make a single 8 x 8-inch cake, perfect for serving as is with coffee or tea with its simple sprinkling of sugar on top. You can dress it up in a lovely way with sweet, delicate berries alongside, or frost it with vanilla or chocolate buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

For a larger sheet cake or making a layer cake of two layers, you can double the recipe. You will need to adjust the baking time for a sheet cake, with 35 to 45 minutes for a doubled single-layer cake in a 7 x 10 x 2-inch pan. If you make 8-inch round layers, no baking time adjustment is needed.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg, optional

  • 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk

  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Buttermilk cake
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  2. Preheat an oven to 400 F.

  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

    Combine flour and baking powder
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  4. If you want to add some spice, add that to the flour mixture (but know the cake is perfectly lovely without any spice). Set this dry mixture aside.

  5. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until the mixture turns much lighter in color and very fluffy.

    Beat egg and butter
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  6. Scrape down sides of the bowl to bring the mixture together again and beat in the egg and vanilla until thoroughly combined, at least 30 seconds.

    Scrape down sides of bowl
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  7. Add half of the buttermilk and stir to combine.

    Add half of the buttermilk
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  8. Add half the flour mixture and stir to combine.

    Add half the flour mixture
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  9. Repeat with the remaining buttermilk and flour mixtures until everything is in the bowl making a lovely smooth, if quite thick, batter.

    Repeat with remaining buttermilk
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  10. Scrape the batter into an 8 x 8-inch baking pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with a bit of sugar for a prettier crust.

    Scrape the batter into a baking pan
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  11. Bake until golden and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean—about 25 minutes.

    Bake until golden
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  12. Let cool on a cooling rack until the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan—10 to 15 minutes.

    Let cool
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  13. Cut pieces or slices and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

    Buttermilk cake
    The Spruce 

Buttermilk Substitute

If you are out of buttermilk but want to make this simple cake, you can make fake but serviceable buttermilk. Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar in 1/2 cup of milk and letting it sit out for 10 to 15 minutes. It won't be real buttermilk, but it will have the thickness and tang needed for this cake. Alternatively, use plain, unsweetened yogurt for a yummy yogurt cake. It will be a tad heavier but just as delicious.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
189 Calories
7g Fat
30g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 189
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 39mg 13%
Sodium 259mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 42mg 3%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 51mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)