When I first started my food blogging journey, so many old recipes were shared with me by friends and family. One of them came from a friend’s mum in the UK, and this Classic Buttermilk Butter Cake has stayed with me ever since. It’s simple, reliable, and one of those recipes you come back to again and again.
This kind of cake feels universal to me. I grew up eating something just like it — Mum simply called it “cake.” Hers was always vanilla, made with milk rather than buttermilk, which was never an ingredient she used growing up. That said, there’s something about this style of cake that everyone seems to love, no matter whose kitchen it comes from.
I love this Classic Buttermilk Butter Cake because it’s soft, moist, and full of flavour without needing anything fancy. It’s the kind of vanilla tea cake that works any time of day. Whether it’s with your morning coffee or served on a quiet afternoon, you really can’t go wrong with a good butter cake.
If you enjoy simple tea cakes like this, you’ll also love my Cinnamon Tea Cake — super fluffy, oh-so-easy, and perfect with coffee or tea. My Orange Tea Cake is another favourite, quick to make and ideal when you need a last-minute bake. And if you’re after something a bit extra, there’s my Lemon and Blueberry Bundt Cake, filled with cream cheese and pineapple — easy to make and guaranteed to turn heads at gatherings.
Step 1. Cream the butter and sugar
Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced) (180°C conventional) (320°F) and grease and line a 23 cm square cake tin.
Place the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl and beat until pale and fluffy.
Step 2. Add the eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. As you add each egg, sprinkle in 1–2 tablespoons of the flour to help prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Step 3. Fold in the flour and buttermilk
With the mixer on low speed add the remaining flour, the pinch of salt and the buttermilk. Mix until just combined, then finish folding through with a spatula by hand to make sure you don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before taking it out.
A FEW THINGS YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW
Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk?
Yes, you can. Buttermilk gives a softer crumb, but full-cream milk will still work well.
Why do you bake this cake at 160°C?
I find a lower temperature helps the cake bake more evenly, prevents cracking, and stops it from rising too fast.
Why don't you garnish or ice this cake?
This is a simple tea cake. It's meant to be plain, soft, and buttery — perfect just as it is.
Why should everything be at room temperature?
Room temperature ingredients blend better, which gives you a smoother batter and a lighter cake.
Can I make this in a round tin?
Yes, a 23 cm round tin works just as well. The baking time should stay about the same, but start checking with a skewer from the 50 minute mark just in case.
Why don't I need baking powder in this recipe?
Self-raising flour already has raising agent mixed through it, so there's no need to add baking powder separately. It's what gives the cake its lift without any extra steps.
Crispy schnitzel, rosé sauce, buffalo cheese and pesto — all piled into a toasted roll
This classic buttermilk butter cake is soft, simple, and full of flavour. A no-fuss vanilla tea cake you’ll bake again and again.
