Vanilla Wafer Butter Cake

Your Favorite Retro Cookie, In Cake Form

You know I love a shortcut, but I also love making it taste like I didn’t take one. This vanilla wafer butter cake starts with a box mix and gets the full bakery treatment with melted butter, milk, and a little extra flavor. Then we take it over the top with a vanilla wafer buttercream that tastes like pure nostalgia in every bite.

I’ve been doing my Counter Cake series for a while now, but it took a little break after the holidays because between Christmas and Valentine’s Day we had more than enough sweets around here. I’m finally back at it, and this time I wanted to make something inspired by one of my all time favorite cookies, vanilla wafers. I originally bought a box to make Irish potato candy and never got around to it, so naturally I turned it into a cake instead.

If you’re new here and don’t know what a Counter Cake is, it’s something I started when we moved into our new house after living in Rogers Park Chicago for 20 years where it just wasn’t easy to have people over. Now that we actually have the space, friends and family stop by more often, and I always wanted to be the kind of house where there’s a cake on the counter ready to go with a cup of coffee. If you want to browse more of my Counter Cake recipes, you can scroll through them on my site.

One Unusual Ingredient

This recipe is pretty straightforward, but one ingredient that really makes it special is the butter extract. I ordered mine off of Amazon and I’ll link it here for you. *this is an Amazon affiliate link which means Amazon pays me a small commission if you make a purchase and this comes at no extra charge to you.

There are several options out there, and this is the one I like best because it has the least chemical taste and gives that true, rich buttery flavor.

Butter extract is a concentrated flavoring that gives you that classic buttery taste without adding extra fat. This makes it perfect for baking. It’s often used in cakes, frostings, cookies, and even icings when you want that bakery-style flavor to really come through. You can also add a drop to pancake or waffle batter, sugar cookies, or even a glaze to give things that extra cozy, homemade taste.

Cake Tips From A Non Baker

One little tip that makes a big difference in how this cake turns out is using room temperature ingredients. Try not to use eggs straight from the refrigerator, as they don’t incorporate as smoothly into the batter and can affect the texture of your cake. The same goes for your butter when making the buttercream. This should be properly softened so it whips up light and fluffy instead of lumpy or dense. Taking a little extra time to let these ingredients come to room temperature will give you a smoother batter, a creamier frosting, and an overall better finished cake.

The Box

I used the Pillsbury Golden Butter Cake Mix to make this cake. You will see from the recipe that I doctored it up with melted butter and milk. If you cannot find this brand, you can use any buttery yellow cake mix.

Another Fun Dessert Option

You can simply make the icing in this recipe and then use Nilla Wafers as the scoop option. You can also take the Nilla Wafers and make little cookie sandwiches with this delicious butter vanilla icing. These are two great alternative options for this recipe!

Decorate As You Please

I decorated the top of the cake with vanilla wafers, and they did soften a bit as the cake sat, but I honestly didn’t mind. I actually kind of loved it because it reminded me of how I eat them, dipped in milk and a little soft. If you prefer some crunch, you can crush the vanilla wafers and sprinkle them over the top instead, or just leave them off entirely and add them fresh to each slice as you serve.