Southern bakers swap buttermilk for heavy cream in both batter and frosting, doubling the fat for a denser, richer 1900s-style crumb.
Cream Cake
Indulge in the delightful Cream Cake, a luscious layered dessert that’s both simple and scrumptious! This fluffy vanilla cake showcases the magic of heavy cream for a rich texture—no butter needed! Perfectly frosted and ready to impress, it’s the ultimate treat for any celebration or just a cozy day at home.
Prep
50
min
Cook
40
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
The Story
This so-called American classic actually owes its soul to 1920s Southern boarding houses, where cooks stretched precious sugar rations by whipping eggs into oblivion for volume—a trick borrowed from French genoise technique that French chefs brought to New Orleans a century earlier, proving even Kentucky's beloved cream cake has a sneaky Parisian grandfather nobody talks about at church potlucks.
Regional Twist
In Nashville's home kitchens, bakers swap half the heavy cream for buttermilk and add a splash of bourbon to the frosting, turning this straightforward cream cake into something with a proper Tennessee backbone and a boozy kick your grandmother would pretend to disapprove of.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(4)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (360 ml)
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream (30-60 ml)optional
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227 g)
🫙Pantry Staples(5)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (15 ml)
- 2 1/4 cups flour (281 g)
- 6 cups powdered sugar, about 2 pounds (1.2 kg)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar (250 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 8-inch cake pans with baking spray.
- 2
Add eggs and sugar to your stand mixer on medium speed and beat for 1 minute. Raise speed to high and beat for 3 minutes.
- 3
Add in the vanilla extract and beat for 15 seconds.
- 4
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the stand mixer on the lowest speed, alternating with the heavy cream, beating until just combined.
- 5
Spread evenly into cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.
- 6
To your stand mixer on low speed cream the butter, then start adding in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments until fully combined, then raise the speed to medium-high for 2 additional minutes.
- 7
Add in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy for an additional minute.
- 8
To your cake stand add a spoonful of frosting. Level the cakes with a large serrated knife and discard the cake pieces. Brush off excess crumbs.
- 9
Add the first layer of the cake to the cake stand. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spread evenly. Top with second layer of cake. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spread evenly.
- 10
Add 1 cup of frosting, coating the outside of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow to harden.
- 11
Frost the cake with half the remaining frosting. Pipe swirly mounds onto the top of the cake.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Beat the eggs and sugar for the full 3 minutes on high speed as instructed because this mechanically incorporates air bubbles that are stabilized by egg proteins, creating the primary leavening structure for this genoise-style batter.technique3 minutes high speed
- ✓Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together before adding rather than just measuring separately, since sifting breaks up baking powder clumps and aerates the flour, preventing dense pockets and ensuring even leavening distribution.technique3 dry ingredients sifted
- ✓Alternate the flour mixture and heavy cream in at least 3 additions on the lowest mixer speed to avoid overdeveloping gluten, which would make the cake tough instead of tender; overmixing at this stage can toughen crumb structure by excessive strand formation.techniquelowest speed, 3+ additions
- ✓Let the cakes cool completely (at least 1-2 hours) before icing, since frosting butter (melting point ~90-95°F) will liquefy and slide off warm cake, ruining the structure of your crumb coat.timing1-2 hours cooling
- ✓Add powdered sugar to the creamed butter in ½ cup increments as directed rather than all at once, because gradual incorporation prevents sugar clouds from escaping the bowl and allows fat to fully coat sugar crystals for a smoother, less gritty frosting.technique½ cup increments
Share this recipe
Prep
50
min
Cook
40
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Southern bakers swap buttermilk for heavy cream in both batter and frosting, doubling the fat for a denser, richer 1900s-style crumb.
Cream Cake
Indulge in the delightful Cream Cake, a luscious layered dessert that’s both simple and scrumptious! This fluffy vanilla cake showcases the magic of heavy cream for a rich texture—no butter needed! Perfectly frosted and ready to impress, it’s the ultimate treat for any celebration or just a cozy day at home.
The Story
This so-called American classic actually owes its soul to 1920s Southern boarding houses, where cooks stretched precious sugar rations by whipping eggs into oblivion for volume—a trick borrowed from French genoise technique that French chefs brought to New Orleans a century earlier, proving even Kentucky's beloved cream cake has a sneaky Parisian grandfather nobody talks about at church potlucks.
Regional Twist
In Nashville's home kitchens, bakers swap half the heavy cream for buttermilk and add a splash of bourbon to the frosting, turning this straightforward cream cake into something with a proper Tennessee backbone and a boozy kick your grandmother would pretend to disapprove of.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(4)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (360 ml)
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream (30-60 ml)optional
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227 g)
🫙Pantry Staples(5)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (15 ml)
- 2 1/4 cups flour (281 g)
- 6 cups powdered sugar, about 2 pounds (1.2 kg)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar (250 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 8-inch cake pans with baking spray.
- 2
Add eggs and sugar to your stand mixer on medium speed and beat for 1 minute. Raise speed to high and beat for 3 minutes.
- 3
Add in the vanilla extract and beat for 15 seconds.
- 4
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the stand mixer on the lowest speed, alternating with the heavy cream, beating until just combined.
- 5
Spread evenly into cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.
- 6
To your stand mixer on low speed cream the butter, then start adding in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments until fully combined, then raise the speed to medium-high for 2 additional minutes.
- 7
Add in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy for an additional minute.
- 8
To your cake stand add a spoonful of frosting. Level the cakes with a large serrated knife and discard the cake pieces. Brush off excess crumbs.
- 9
Add the first layer of the cake to the cake stand. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spread evenly. Top with second layer of cake. Top with 1 cup of frosting, spread evenly.
- 10
Add 1 cup of frosting, coating the outside of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow to harden.
- 11
Frost the cake with half the remaining frosting. Pipe swirly mounds onto the top of the cake.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Beat the eggs and sugar for the full 3 minutes on high speed as instructed because this mechanically incorporates air bubbles that are stabilized by egg proteins, creating the primary leavening structure for this genoise-style batter.technique3 minutes high speed
- ✓Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together before adding rather than just measuring separately, since sifting breaks up baking powder clumps and aerates the flour, preventing dense pockets and ensuring even leavening distribution.technique3 dry ingredients sifted
- ✓Alternate the flour mixture and heavy cream in at least 3 additions on the lowest mixer speed to avoid overdeveloping gluten, which would make the cake tough instead of tender; overmixing at this stage can toughen crumb structure by excessive strand formation.techniquelowest speed, 3+ additions
- ✓Let the cakes cool completely (at least 1-2 hours) before icing, since frosting butter (melting point ~90-95°F) will liquefy and slide off warm cake, ruining the structure of your crumb coat.timing1-2 hours cooling
- ✓Add powdered sugar to the creamed butter in ½ cup increments as directed rather than all at once, because gradual incorporation prevents sugar clouds from escaping the bowl and allows fat to fully coat sugar crystals for a smoother, less gritty frosting.technique½ cup increments