Class 2026 Vanilla Graduation (Printable)

Light, fluffy vanilla cake with creamy buttercream and festive graduation-themed decorations.

# What You'll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 2 cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
09 - 1½ cups whole milk, room temperature

→ Vanilla Buttercream

10 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
11 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
12 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
13 - ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
14 - Pinch of salt

→ Decoration

15 - Graduation-themed sprinkles or edible decorations
16 - Gel food coloring, optional for school colors

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12x18-inch half-sheet baking pan and line with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
05 - Add half the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed. Pour in half the milk and mix gently. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and milk, mixing just until combined.
06 - Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
07 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Allow cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
09 - Beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing on low speed. Add vanilla, milk, and salt. Beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Add food coloring if desired.
10 - Spread buttercream evenly over cooled cake. Decorate with graduation-themed sprinkles or edible decorations.
11 - Slice and serve to guests.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It feeds a crowd without requiring you to own three pans and dirty half your kitchen.
  • The crumb is impossibly tender because the milk and butter ratio creates something between a tender cake and a delicate sponge.
  • Vanilla buttercream tastes like the frosting from your childhood dreams, but it's actually stable enough to hold decorations for hours.
  • You can bake it in the morning and frost it an hour before guests arrive, leaving your afternoon free.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not optional—cold eggs and milk will cause the batter to look broken and separated, and no amount of mixing will fix it.
  • Overmixing after the dry ingredients enter the bowl is the enemy; mix just until combined, because every extra turn of the mixer develops gluten and makes the cake dense and tough.
  • The cake must cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt into pools and slide off the sides like it's surrendering.
03 -
  • If you want extra depth of flavor without changing the recipe dramatically, add ½ teaspoon of almond extract to the batter—it's subtle but makes people ask what's different.
  • For a gluten-free version that actually works, substitute the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend and follow everything else exactly; the texture is nearly identical.
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