
Also today I’m sharing a recipe for a classic vanilla bean cake with vanilla bean frosting! It’s super easy and simple, and is a great really basic cake recipe. I like to think of it as a blank canvas that’s perfect to dress up however you like. It’s a good one to have saved in your recipe box!

- I promise to be openminded.
- I will not stand for hatred.
- I *WILL* lose the weight I keep telling myself I’m going to lose, but then procrastinate and never actually lose.
- I will focus more on self-love and having positive inward thoughts towards myself, instead of being negative and hard on myself all the time.
- I will continue striving to live a minimalistic lifestyle. (Currently doing some major closet/cabinet/prop purging!)
- I will continue bullet journaling in order to keep my life organized and help with my complete lack of time management skills.
- I will make time to practice my guitar multiple times a week because I *AM* going to learn how to play this thing, dang it.
- I will take the time during the weekends to plan out my meals for the coming week.
- I will keep a gym/fitness schedule, but I will not beat myself up if I miss a day or fall off the wagon.
- As someone who has never cared about politics until now (and is deeply worried about the incoming administration), I will continue to educate myself and form my own opinions based on factual information from reliable sources.
- I will be an advocate for women, the LGBT community, and all citizens of this country who are treated unfairly.
- I will write everyday, whether it’s for my novel, the blog, poems, or scribbles just for fun.
- I WILL BECOME A MORNING PERSON AND GO TO SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT. YES I WILL.
- I will kick my soft drink addiction. Sorry, diet coke. (I still love you.)
- I have GOT to find a way to make myself eat vegetables. It’s a serious problem, people.

VANILLA BEAN CAKE
Ingredients
vanilla bean cake
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup milk
vanilla bean frosting
- 1 8-oz pkg crisco shortening
- 1 cup butter softened and cut into slices
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
for the cake
- Preheat oven to 350*F and spray 2 (8-inch) cake pans or 3 (6-inch) cake pans with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper and spray again.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine sugar, oil, egg, egg whites, and vanilla bean paste. Mix on medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.
- Add half of flour mixture and half of milk. Mix until smooth. Repeat with flour and milk.
- Divide cake batter evenly among cake pans. Bake 20-23 minutes or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
for the frosting
- Beat shortening on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. With mixer running, add butter a few slices at a time until incorporated.
- Add vanilla bean paste and half of powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until mostly combined and medium-high speed until completely combined. Repeat with remaining powdered sugar. (Add 1-2 tbsp milk if frosting is too thick.)
- Spread frosting between cake layers and around the outside of the cake. Decorated with swirls of frosting and fresh fruit, if desired!
Notes
Recipe from bethcakes. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

The cake looks amazing, can’t wait to try this recipe! Your resolutions could be mine, good to know I am not alone.
Pretty cake and I’ll bet it taste great. Good luck on all your goals!
So beautiful! And it sounds delicious!
Would this cake last if I made it today and be fresh for Saturday?