Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Birthday Cake and Frosting

I have used this recipe several times now and the first time I used it was for jumbo cupcakes. The cupcakes were AWESOME, but when I use it for sheet cakes, it has not ever turned out as moist and fluffy as the cupcakes. The sheet cake is more dense. Still a great flavor, but I will stick with using this recipe only for cupcakes.

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I will never buy box cake mix again! Super easy and delicious. Next time I will probably add another teaspoon of vanilla for a little extra flavor (and take out a teaspoon of milk so the consistency is right). My cupcakes didn't get a "crown" on them, which if I was making a layer cake to decorate I would definitely prefer, but for cupcakes I will add a little baking powder next time also. Great recipe!

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Outstanding! Made for my twin daughter's birthday cake and made a 2nd batch for take-away cupcake favors for their party. YUM. Didn't use this frosting; used the Sprinkles frosting also on this site, which was excellent. The cake has an almost pound cake type density and flavor and is very, very good!!! Going in my favorites folder!

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This was delicious!! It was like eating a sugar cookie in cake form! If you like sugar cookies, you will love this recipe!

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I made cupcakes with these and they were a hit. I was careful not to overmix the batter but I still found they were a bit dry. Maybe I'll try again sometime and mix it even less.

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I have bene looking for a recipe for the perfect birthday cake for my children and saw the reviews this one had so it would have bene foolish not to try it out! I actually double all the measures as I was making a cupcake cake for my daughter's 9th birthday..the cake took over one hour to cook but remained so moist but was very heavy in composition whereas I usually go for very light and airy textures nevertherless it came out perfect! the only thing was I thought it was incredibly sweet so next time I think I not put all the sugar and with buttercream on top twice as sweet but it was a crowd pleaser for sure and everyone had seconds! I strongly recommend this recipe...and this is from a true foody!!!

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I loved this recipe and so did my girl's, my family and everyone else I shared the giant cake with, unforunately I misread how much the recipe yeilded and made too much...overall love the cake and love the frosting perfect for any little girl's dream birthday cake :D xo

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OMGOODNESS!!! I just made these into cupcakes and my husband who likes sweets but can't have a lot...just ate half of batch. So i think its safe to say that these are amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!

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After reading many of the reviews, I made the cupcakes from this recipe. (Used a different homemade frosting though). I followed the directions and found them to be slightly dry, although very tasty. Next time, I think I'll use one less egg and perhaps substitute buttermilk for the milk. They were good, but I think they could be better!

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I made a two layer 9 inch cake with this recipe. There wasn't enough batter to make it a three layer cake. The cake was incredibly moist and delicious, however the icing was a tad too sweet for my taste. I'd definitely make the cake batter again but I think I'd pick another icing to pair with it.

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I made this with buttermilk and an extra tsp of vanilla as suggested by another. It was moist enough but not as light as I would have liked.The true test for me is when it is a day old.It did hold its shape in the cupcake liner. The flavor was not mindblowing. So maybe I will adapt it more?

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This recipe is ok but definitely needed some adjusting to suit my taste. The cake was almost too dense in my opinion to the point of being dry. I would add a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to make it more moist. I added another teaspoon of vanilla to give it more flavor. My hubby doesn't like real sweet frosting so it wasn't a hit in our home. If I were to make it again I would omit at least one cup on powdered suger and replace it with a cup of self rising flour and add another teaspoon of vanilla. I find that I really like the taste that the flour gives frosting.

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I like this recipe a lot. A little improv can really make it great. It really has that bakery cake flavor. This would probably be great almond flavored too. I got mine to turn out with a very soft texture by replacing the regular milk with buttermilk (which I made myself by measuring out a cup of milk & subtracting a Tbsp, then replacing that tablespoon of milk with some lemon juice & let it sit for 5-10 mins). The acid in buttermilk breaks down the gluten in flour, which results in a softer cake. Also, I put my regular granulated sugar in the food processor (I have a ninja chopper) and ground it down to make supefine sugar instead. This makes the sugar easier to absorb, and also cuts down on mixing time. Doing this really turned out a flavorful and moist cake. I only gave this 4 stars because, like others have said, the cooking time is wayyy off. my cupcakes actually burned on the bottom, but they still were awesome on the inside. just watch it more than relying on the cooking time & do a doneness test frequently. I don't know how the frosting is, because I used my own recipe.

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Not a huge fan, sadly. The cake is more of a pound cake consistency, where I want airy/spongy. The frosting, while easy to make and work with, was lacking in flavor (aside from the flavor of powdered sugar). My husband said it best, "tastes like a powdered donut." Not what I want in a cake. 3 stars because it's not bad, it's just middle of the road.

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This wasn't really what I was expecting considering all the great reviews. While the texture was ok, the taste was way too sweet yet also almost tasteless. It was like the sugar was added AFTER it had baked. Don't know how else to explain it. And the icing is way, way, way too sweet. After 4 cups I knew it would be a disaster but I had to keep adding more to get the right consistency. Then it was so yellow from the butter. One of the pictures shows white icing, but mine was very yellow. But that was ok as I was going to add green food coloring in. My 5 year (for whom the cake was made) announced it yummy, then told me that I could throw it away. I gave it a couple of stars because 1) the cake itself is easy to make a and 2) it's edible if not great. So in a pinch, I could see myself making the cake again, but definitely not the frosting.

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Best cupcakes ever! We made self-rising flour and were 1/2 cup short, so we used less milk. They are sooo good. Nothing tastes better than real butter in bakery. We had enough batter for 12 cupcakes and a small 8x8 cake. We made half the recipe for frosting and it was plenty. Wow! Thanks for the keeper!

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I had fun making these for my daughter's 1st & 2nd birthdays - both regular and mini-sized cupcakes. The second time the frosting came out a little too thin. Tinted it a pastel green, used a small amount on each cupcake, textured to look like grass, then refrigerated for about 15 minutes so the frosting would firm up (not so messy for toddlers), then topped with Annie's graham cracker bunny (photo). They turned out great. As a jumbo sized cupcake with lots of frosting, would be just like a cupcake shop I am sure!

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I have to say that I was 'on the border' about making this cake. I didn't know how good it would taste - but, after all the reviews - I said that I would try it.
As one person stated - straight out the fridge it is gross, but, once it has settled at room temp - it is great!
I do not think that it has a floury taste - and, I should also state that I did not taste it with any type of buttercream or frosting. It was just the cake. It did rise beautifully - and I did not experience troule with it at all. I made the cake to the 'T' no changes and it didn't taste like sugar cookies at all, nor, was it overly sweet. I think this is a really nice recipe.
I will try it again for a cake I have due tomorrow and see how it hold up. I will post photos when I am done decorating the cake.

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One of the best vanilla cakes I have ever had! My family loved how dense the cake turned out, and they raved about how much it tasted like a professional bakery cake. I used three round cake pans to make a cookies and cream cake with my own frosting recipe. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!

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I read through all of the reviews and I must admit the negative ones - which were scathing! - were so few and far between that I did not take them seriously. But I must agree. The recipe is off on the time, in my view - I baked cupcakes that were so dry I nearly choked eating one. I tried again with leftover batter - enough to make 2 - and cut the cooking time by 10 whole minutes. Better, but still not moist and delicious. My oven is a very expensive one and I cook and bake almost every day, so I know it is not the oven. I will keep trying with this recipe, changing mixing, liquids, etc, but as it stands it doesn't pass muster with my 3 taste testers. Good luck!!

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