Simple Cake Recipe (Easy & Delicious Vanilla Cake)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
When searching for a simple cake recipe, it doesn’t get easier than this deliciously moist vanilla cake recipe. All it needs is a few simple ingredients like cooking oil, instant pudding mix, egg, water and vanilla cake mix and you are on your way to the best simple cake recipe around.
When I think of simple things in life, I think of moments that may not amount to much from a monetary standpoint but are worth more than anything else you could own. That’s the way I feel about this simple cake recipe. It brings back memories of a time gone by. Sunday mornings sitting with my Granddaddy and watching him as he tried to teach me how to wiggle my ears! We would be laughing and eating this simple sponge cake Mama made. Life truly did seem much simpler then.
Speaking of simple things, let’s jump into making this simple cake. This easy cake recipe uses a cake mix to keep things simple. Then we add eggs, water, oil, and vanilla pudding mix to ensure it’s perfectly soft and moist, and bursting with vanilla flavor. Once you mix the ingredients together, pop the cake batter into a bundt cake pan and patiently wait for it to bake.
Then you can serve it however you like. You might want to keep things plain, whip up a simple glaze to go with the simple sponge cake, or add fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I’ll leave that choice up to you!
Recipe Ingredients
- Cooking oil
- Egg
- Vanilla instant pudding
- Water
- Yellow cake mix
How to Make a Simple Vanilla Cake
Toss all dry and wet ingredients in a bowl.
Whistle or dance a bit because this recipe isn’t complicated so you can occupy your mind with more lighthearted pursuits.
Mix it all up for about two or three minutes, until well blended.
Now you can grease and flour your cake tin but I prefer to just spray the living mess out of it with cooking spray.
I’m a role model for laziness, I know, but doing it my way gives you at least another 45 seconds with your family :). See? I’m actually just promoting family togetherness!
Pour the cake batter into your bundt cake tin and bake it at 350 for about an hour. Check it at about the 45-minute mark.
Fortunately for me, I have little oven guards.
Let it sit in your pan for 10 minutes before turning it out.
How long should I let the cake cool?
10 minutes is the magic number in cakes.
You should always let cakes cool for that amount of time and they turn out so much nicer!
At this point, you can eat the cake plain, apply a glaze, or serve it this way, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.
I love strawberry shortcake and a slice of this is the perfect foundation!
To learn how to make homemade whipped cream, see this post.
Storage
- Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. It will also last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Alternatively, freeze the cake for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- As mentioned, use this vanilla cake recipe as a base and you can top it or serve it however you like. Here are some serving suggestions:
- Ice the cooled cake with my 7-minute frosting or creamy chocolate frosting.
- Apply a vanilla glaze (find a simple recipe on my orange cake recipe post).
- Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh berries, chocolate sauce, or caramel sauce.
- Simply dust the cake with powdered sugar.
- For a , add some frosting and pop some sprinkles on top.
- To make a , split the between two pans.
- You can totally use this to make a batch too. You’ll want to reduce the time to about 20 minutes though.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this cake in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, you can make this homemade cake in any size pan you like. I just chose a bundt cake pan because I hadn’t made one in a while. But do whatever cranks your tractor. I am partial to a Texas sheet cake, as is evident here and here.
You may also like these other easy cake recipes:
Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze
Chocolate Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Super Moist)
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4 oz
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer until well blended.1 box yellow cake mix, 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup oil
- Pour the cake batter into the greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes to an hour.
- Let the bundt cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.
— Charles Mingus
Submitted by Emily. To submit your quote, please click here! Thank you!
Want to help support Southern Plate? Tell a friend about it!
Thanks for the info…this blog has never let me down..and by the way, i love your theme. Catch your next post..Bye.
Can you make other flavors – like chocolate w/ choc. pudding? or lemon w/ lemon pudding?? Just curious!
Lots of SP recipes are going to the beach with me this year. Thanks Christy!
Just had my first taste of this wonderful pound cake. This is the best, bar none!! This will be my one and only pound cake recipe from now on. Thank you so much for this moist, delicious, easy recipe.
I’m cooking crock pot B-B-Q ribs, using Cattleman’s B-B-Q sauce and with the aroma of the ribs and the pound cake, I’m in hog heaven!!
While I’m at it, have you ever posted a recipe for “Sawmill Gravy”?
I know we had it when I was growing up due to the lack of milk and I bet a lot of others did too. I bet young cooks have never heard of it.
That’s some good eating with homemade biscuits!!
I had a wonderful grandmother who passed away when I was six years old. I sincerely wish I had had her longer. After her death, my grandpa told each of the grandchildren to pick out two things out of her cabinet that we would like to have. I picked an opaque green depression glass juice glass and a small pink depression glass mixing bowl. The pink glass had always attracted me. I still treasure both, but this started a pink depression glass collection (any pattern) that still gives me a wonderful feeling of family. My sister gave me a collection of several pieces she found in an auction box of misc. She also gave me my aunt’s collection, so with only one purchase (a pitcher) I have a china cabinet full of “family” taking me back to my sweet grandmother.
The cake and strawberries look wonderful.This is the way my Mother and Grandmother did it and so do I. After you take the cake out of the oven spread butter over the top of each layer. Put the bottom layer on the cake stand and punch holes in the cake. Spread chopped strawberries and juice to which you have added sugar, over the layer. Add the top layer and do the same. (don’t scrimp on the berries). Serve with whip cream.
P.S.If you let the berries and sugar set awhile it will make more juice.
My mama and daddy got married during WWII, he was a Seabee and she was a bartender at a racetrack. He made her wedding band out of a silver quarter. The way he made it, the year it was minted is intact, on the inside of the band. It’s worn some from the 42 years mama had it on her hand, but it’s a precious reminder of them.
I am making this tonight to go along with fried pork chops, au gratin potatoes, and some green beans — My DH is going to be thrilled!!!
Mrs. J~