Vanilla Wafer Cake
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Densely loaded with soft vanilla wafers, sweetened coconut flakes, and chopped pecans, it’s no wonder this old-fashioned vanilla wafer cake has been a popular Southern dessert for decades.
Today y’all I’m adding Mama Reed’s vanilla wafer cake recipe to the list of recipes I worry about what your life will be like without! This cake is the kissing cousin of my apple dapple cake. They come from a different branch of the family but chances are if you have the good sense to like one of them, you’ll like the other as well.
My mother got this vanilla wafer cake recipe from her grandmother, Mama Reed. Mama Reed had an expansive array of recipes but this cake was my mother’s favorite by far. When she married my father, this was the first recipe she asked to use in her own kitchen. It’s an old-fashioned classic cake recipe that’s been baked in the South for decades. It’s great on its own with coffee or with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for dessert.
If you like pound cake, this vanilla wafer cake has the same delicious moistness and density. However, we use crushed soft vanilla wafers instead of flour and combine them with milk, shredded coconut, eggs, sugar, and chopped pecans. Can you imagine it? The flavor and texture are just out of this world. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make as well, so let’s get baking!
Recipe Ingredients
- Eggs
- Coconut
- Milk
- Nilla vanilla wafers
- Sugar
- Nuts (I’m using pecans but walnuts work too)
How to Make Vanilla Wafer Cake
Place vanilla wafer cookies in a large sealable bag and crush them with the rolling pin or any other stress-relieving device (you can also use a food processor).
Once crushed, your Nilla wafers should look a little bit like this.
In a medium bowl, beat up your eggs well and coarsely chop your pecans.
Then toss all remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until well blended (about two minutes should be more than enough).
It will look like this. You can do this with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon.
Now if y’all don’t dip a spoon in that and take a bite then something is wrong with you!
Pour cake batter into a greased and floured tube pan or bundt cake pan.
To grease my bundt pan, I dip a paper towel in shortening and smear it all over the insides of my pan. Then I put a few tablespoons of flour in and turn my pan while patting it a bit until the flour has coated the inside. Then I hold it over the trash can upside down and pat it until the excess falls out.
Bake at 350 for one hour. Cool cake for at least 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Oh my goodness gracious, don’t we all just love Mama Reed now?
Serve your vanilla wafer cake with a dollop of whipped cream and extra chopped pecans to happy people (if they weren’t happy before, they will be now).
Storage
Covered cake leftovers will last at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- The old-fashioned recipe often called for frozen coconut. You can use whatever you have on hand or prefer, whether that’s canned coconut flakes or bagged coconut.
- If you don’t like coconut and/or pecans, you can leave them out.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve vanilla wafer cake?
You can serve your vanilla cake on its own, dusted with powdered sugar, or with whipped cream (here’s my homemade whipped cream recipe). For a more decadent dessert, add a drizzle of caramel sauce or a serving of fresh berries. Another option is to butter the cake and toast it quickly in the air fryer. That’s a Paula Deen recommendation. YUM.
You might also enjoy these delectable cake recipes:
Caramel Apple Cake from Mama Reed
Old-Fashioned Crispy Tea Cake Cookies
Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze
Ingredients
- 6 whole eggs
- 1 can sweetened coconut flakes equals 1 cup of bagged coconut
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 box vanilla wafers 12-ounce
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup chopped nuts we use pecans
Instructions
- Crush vanilla wafers in a large sealable bag with a rolling pin.1 box vanilla wafers
- Beat eggs well in a medium bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Mix for a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until blended.6 whole eggs, 1 can sweetened coconut flakes, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup chopped nuts
- Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured tube or bundt cake pan. Bake at 350 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Nutrition
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This recipe featured on Meal Plan Monday
WOW – this sounds awesome! I can’t wait to try it.
Holy cow, my husband is going to love this one. Thanks for sharing. Ever tried adding some crushed pineapple to it. The only thing my husband loves more than coconut is pineapple and coconut together.
Thanks again!!
I made this cake today and it is absolutely wonderful. Just glad I don’t know the calorie count on this baby!!!!!
I get a little snobbish sometimes about home cooking but down deep I love it. This cake looks like a keeper.
By the way, does anyone know what parts of the South they pronounce it “peeee-cans” and what part “p’kahns?” I’ve heard Southerners say it both ways.
The cake is very good! I have a question about covering the cake once it is done. Do I cover it in a cake cover immediately or am I supposed to let it cool?
Currently I have a steamed up glass cake cover! 🙂
We always let ours cool first but it’ll be fine, just take the lid off for a bit 🙂
Enjoy!
I never knew any of this until I read your post. How funny. Of course, I am sure I have the real one, as Lela gave it to me along with one of her dishtowels (flour sacks) and a quilt (also made of flour sacks, which I passed on to your mom, because she loves quilts!)
Isn’t this funny. Maybe Lela also bought an “extr-ee” and gave us each one. I wouldn’t have put it past her to keep the peace.
I’m sure she didn’t have many “extr-ee” dishtowels, though. She didn’t believe in “dirtying another one when this one is clean enough.”
I think about Lela when I get the rolling pin out to make dumplings. I’m sure your mom thinks of her when she cooks with her’s. I guess that’s what is important anyway!
omg…….I thought Mama had told you, I thought Grandmama had told you.
Umm, I guess they didn’t.
~hides~
That kind of makes it even funnier though!
Just called Grandmama, she says she still has Lela’s pin…or another one she must have bought just like it!
I told her to send that one to me and we’d have everyone take photos of “their” Lela’s rolling pin for SouthernPlate!
This is hilarious
our family is so messed up
and I sure am glad!
Most vanilla wafer cakes call for some sort of butter, oil, etc. I am just checking with you to be sure that this was not left out of your list of ingredients. Also, vanilla flavoring?? Thanks for all your recipes and for taking time to answer all our questions
Hey Peggy!
Thanks for checking. I’ve had two people email me about this, too! lol
Honest, that’s it! Mama took the photos for this tutorial and she got every single one of the ingredients in there, honest!
It doesn’t need vanilla flavoring but you could certainly add it in there if you’d like, no worries! This is an extremely flavorful cake on its own.
I try to answer all comments (okay, that’s my goal) but with the kids and house and weekend and work they do tend to get away from me (I also have FABULOUS readers who are kind enough to comment often!).
Usually, when I get a question or something like this, I either hop right on and answer or send them an email directly. I’m so thrilled to have you at Southern Plate!
Gratefully,
Christy
Off to cook more brownies! I’ve been cooking brownies all weekend so I can bring you some FUN stuff next week!
I was wondering about butter. I cooked it just like “Grandma Reed” said. Never mess with someone’s Grandma.
Me and my brother tried to make my grandmothers pound cake year after year. It always fell and we had the best Blonde Brownies ever!!
Have a great day!
A couple of other recipes for this online added a stick of butter. That taste would have made this cake great! And I already love it!