Best Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Recipe (Soft & Moist Sour Cream Cake)
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A great vanilla cake is a baker’s benchmark. Get it right and you’re a hero. Get it wrong and… well… even frosting can’t save it.
Good news: this cake wears a cape.
We built this recipe specifically for Steiner’s Baking Co. Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, using real butter for rich flavor and sour cream for that soft, bakery-style crumb. The result is a vanilla cake that’s light, moist, and sturdy enough for layer cakes, birthday cakes, and any celebration that calls for a proper slice of cake.
And yes — it’s gluten-free.
Because gluten-free baking doesn’t need a pity party.
It just needs the right flour.
At Steiner’s we believe everyone deserves great cake.
So grab your whisk, channel your inner baking superhero, and let’s make something delicious.
No strange ingredients.
No complicated tricks.
Just great flour and great baking. 🦸🍰
⭐ Steiner’s Pro Tip: The Cake Soak
Professional pastry chefs use a simple trick to keep cakes incredibly moist.
When the cake comes out of the oven, brush the warm layers lightly with:
- warm milk
- a splash of vanilla (pure vanilla extraxt)
- a pinch of sugar
This is called a cake soak.
It keeps cakes incredibly moist — especially useful for:
- layer cakes
- birthday cakes
- bakery display cakes
🍰 Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Steiner’s Baking Co. Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (395 g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (318 g)
- 2 tsp baking powder (8 g)
- ½ tsp baking soda (3 g)
- ¼ tsp kosher salt (1.5 g)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened (227 g)
- 4 large eggs + 1 egg yolk (218 g)
- ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature (180 g)
- ¾ cup pure sour cream (180 g) (be sure to check the ingredients no added fillers or gums)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (13 g)
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Prepare the pans
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grease and line:
- Two 9-inch round cake pans, or
- One 9×13 cake pan
2. Cream butter and sugar
In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy. This step builds structure and helps create a soft crumb.
3. Add eggs
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the extra egg yolk and vanilla extract. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Combine dry ingredients
In a separate bowl whisk together:
- Steiner’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
5. Combine milk and sour cream
Whisk the milk and sour cream together until smooth.
6. Alternate wet and dry ingredients
Add ingredients to the butter mixture in this order:
- ⅓ dry ingredients
- ½ milk mixture
- ⅓ dry ingredients
- remaining milk mixture
- final dry ingredients
Mix just until smooth. Avoid overmixing.
7. Rest the batter
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. This allows the gluten-free flour to fully hydrate and produces a softer crumb.
8. Bake
- 9-inch cake layers: 28–32 minutes
- 9×13 cake: 35–40 minutes
The cake is ready when the center springs back and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool
Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
🧁 Baker’s Notes
- Room temperature ingredients produce the best texture.
- Let the batter rest before baking for the best gluten-free crumb.
- Salted butter enhances the vanilla flavor and eliminates the need for additional salt.
Baker’s Note: 1 cup of Steiner’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour weighs 158 g. For the most consistent results, we recommend weighing ingredients whenever possible.
❤️ The Steiner’s Philosophy
At Steiner’s Baking Co., we spent decades perfecting our flour so great baking could stay simple.
No complicated substitutions. No strange additives. Just real ingredients and recipes that work.
Because everyone deserves great cake.