I remember the first time I tasted a slice of Vanilla Wafer Cake. It was love at first bite! This buttery, moist cake is packed with crushed vanilla wafer cookies, pecans, and sweet coconut flakes, making this delicious vanilla wafer cake one of my all-time favorite cake recipes.
I used a bundt pan to make my vanilla wafer cake recipe, but you can also use a tube pan to create this delicious cake.
You do need a whole box of vanilla wafers to make this easy recipe. But trust me, it’s worth it. Don’t be fooled by imitators that use a boxed cake mix. My easy recipe makes the best vanilla wafer cake you’ll ever have!
The texture of this cake reminds me of my hummingbird cake but is much easier to make. The crushed vanilla wafers melt into the batter, creating a fine crumb, and the sweet coconut and chopped pecans take it to a whole new level of deliciousness.
Ingredients to make Vanilla Wafer Cake
Let’s start by gathering the simple ingredients we need to make Wings. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
I do love the added flavor the shredded coconut and pecans add to the cake, but if you’ve got a nut allergy, feel free to eliminate one or both from the recipe. For a change of pace, add your favorite chocolate chips or toffee bits to the cake batter.
How to make Vanilla Wafer Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a bundt cake pan and set aside until needed.
- Place vanilla wafers into a food processor and pulse to a fine crumb. You can also place the cookies in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to break up the cookies.
- Add the unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or an electric mixer and large bowl).
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
- Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Whisk until well blended.
- Add half the crushed vanilla wafers to the mixture.
- Mix until just combined.
- Add the milk to the mixture.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add the rest of the crushed vanilla wafers.
- Mix just enough to combine.
- Add the vanilla extract, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans to the cake batter.
- Fold the ingredients into the vanilla wafer cake batter just enough to combine.
- Pour batter into the prepared bundt cake pan. Then, place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Place a baking sheet on the rack below the cake in case there is any overflow during the baking process.
Invert the pan onto a cake stand or cake plate. Make sure to let the cake fully cool before slicing. For an extra special treat, serve this old-fashioned vanilla wafer cake with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
If you’re feeling decadent, top this amazingly delicious cake with cream cheese frosting.
Your whole family is going to love my vanilla wafer cake. And it’s the perfect cake to take to potlucks, family get-togethers, or game day.
Store the vanilla cake in an airtight container at room temperature when not serving for 4 – 5 days. Refrigerated, it will keep for up to 7 days. To freeze the cake, let it completely cool, then double-wrap it in plastic wrap and keep frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Recipe FAQ’s
A vanilla wafer cake is a dessert made from crushed vanilla wafers, butter, eggs, nuts, and coconut. It is known for its moist and dense texture, similar to a pound cake.
Overbaking is the most common reason your cake turns out dry. Make sure that you check the cake with a toothpick 5 minutes before the baking time has elapsed. A dry cake can also be due to using too few wet ingredients or substituting ingredients that can affect moisture levels.
If you’re not a fan of coconut or are allergic, you can omit it entirely or replace it with more nuts or dried fruits like raisins or cranberries. Chocolate chips also make a nice addition.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Vanilla Wafer Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Pan
Ingredients
- 8 ox unsalted butter softened (2 sticks = 16 tablespoons)
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 11 oz vanilla wafers crushed to a fine crumb
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 oz sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside until needed.
- Place the vanilla wafers into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs.
- Add the unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or an electric mixer and large bowl).
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
- Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time. Scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Add half the crushed vanilla wafers to the mixture, mixing to combine.
- Add the milk to the mixture, mixing to combine, then add the rest of the crushed vanilla wafers, mixing just enough to combine.
- Add the vanilla extract, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans to the cake batter. Fold the ingredients into the batter to combine.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place a baking sheet on the rack below the cake in case there is any overflow during the baking process.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then invert the pan onto a cake stand or cake plate. Allow to continue to fully cool before slicing.
Winn says
This Vanilla Wafer Cake came out perfect and SO delicious! Everyone enjoyed it! So far I’ve tried your Kentucky Butter Cake as well as this cake and both are truly amazing! I know that if I make a recipe of yours it’s going to end up great so thank you for your recipes Chef Dennis and I will continue to make more!
Chef Dennis Littley says
That’s what I like to hear! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed my vanilla wafer cake! That and the Kentucky butter cake are two of my favorites!
Joseph L Flores says
Wonderful recipe I found by accident. It is my now go to cake recipe for Church functions.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m very happy to hear that you found my website and that you’ve been enjoying my vanilla wafer cake! Its a family favorite.
Patsy says
What can I substitute the whole milk for?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Any other milk you would like to use.
Hayley Dhanecha says
I prepared this cake for our charity coffee morning, everyone loved it and asked for the recipe. I’ve shared this link with them.
Veronika says
I didn’t even know a wafer cake was a thing but I’m so glad I do now! It was really delicious and moist, and I loved the coconut pecan combo with the wafers.
Jacqueline Debono says
I have never made a cake with wafers before but this sounded really good and pretty easy to make and I wasn’t disappointed. It was delicious!
Tammy says
I really loved the idea of vanilla wafers crumbled up into this cake for added texture and flavor. It was delicious! It was buttery and moist and perfect with a cup of coffee!
Jessica says
I made this for a dinner party, and it was a hit! The simple combination of ingredients wowed my guests, and they couldn’t stop raving about it. I’ll be making this cake again soon.
silvia says
Wow, this is my first time making a vanilla wafer cake and I liked it a lot. The first thing that got my attention was how easy is to make and second the ingredients, I love everything with coconut and pecans.
Sean says
This recipe reminded me of my grandma, it had all of her favorite flavors in it. I topped it with butter pecan ice cream.
Giangi Townsend says
We love vanilla wafers, and when I saw your recipe, I could not resist making it. I am glad I did. Soft and rich in flavor. We loved it with some butter and jam with coffee in the morning, a must, and vanilla ice cream in the evening for dessert.
We are making it again soon. Thank you for sharing.
Bernice says
Well. I would never have thought to add crushed wafers to a cake batter but the texture was awesome! It reminds me of a hummingbird cake, which I love. This is a keeper.
Marta says
I’ve never heard of or imagined a vanilla wafer cake, but this was everything. I served mine with a scoop of banana ice cream and whipped cream and turned it into a banana pudding-esque dessert. SO good!
Caroline says
Looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it. Just one question, is there any leavening in the batter or does it rise because of the air in the beaten eggs?
Chef Dennis Littley says
No there is no extra leavening needed. The vanilla wafers help with the rise as do the eggs.
Andy says
Made this wonderful cake several times with success. I did add 1, 10oz jar of maraschino cherries drained and chopped to the batter. It seems to go a long very well with the coconut and pecans to me.
Chef Dennis Littley says
The cherries sound like a delicious addition! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the cake!