Vanilla Wafer Cake

Densely loaded with soft vanilla wafers, sweetened coconut flakes, and chopped pecans, it’s no wonder this old-fashioned vanilla wafer cake has been a popular Southern dessert for decades.

Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake Recipe

Today y’all I’m adding Mama Reed’s vanilla wafer cake recipe to the list of recipes I worry about what your life will be like without! This cake is the kissing cousin of my apple dapple cake. They come from a different branch of the family but chances are if you have the good sense to like one of them, you’ll like the other as well.

My mother got this vanilla wafer cake recipe from her grandmother, Mama Reed. Mama Reed had an expansive array of recipes but this cake was my mother’s favorite by far. When she married my father, this was the first recipe she asked to use in her own kitchen. It’s an old-fashioned classic cake recipe that’s been baked in the South for decades. It’s great on its own with coffee or with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for dessert.

If you like pound cake, this vanilla wafer cake has the same delicious moistness and density. However, we use crushed soft vanilla wafers instead of flour and combine them with milk, shredded coconut, eggs, sugar, and chopped pecans. Can you imagine it? The flavor and texture are just out of this world. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make as well, so let’s get baking!

Ingredients for Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

  • Eggs
  • Coconut
  • Milk
  • Nilla vanilla wafers
  • Sugar
  • Nuts (I’m using pecans but walnuts work too)

How to Make Vanilla Wafer Cake

Crush vanilla wafers with rolling pin.

Place vanilla wafer cookies in a large sealable bag and crush them with the rolling pin or any other stress-relieving device (you can also use a food processor).

Crushed wafers.

Once crushed, your Nilla wafers should look a little bit like this.

Beat eggs well in mixing bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat up your eggs well and coarsely chop your pecans.

Mix all remaining ingredients in mixing bowl.

Then toss all remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until well blended (about two minutes should be more than enough).

It will look like this. You can do this with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon.

Now if y’all don’t dip a spoon in that and take a bite then something is wrong with you!

Pour cake batter into greased bundt pan.

Pour cake batter into a greased and floured tube pan or bundt cake pan.

To grease my bundt pan, I dip a paper towel in shortening and smear it all over the insides of my pan. Then I put a few tablespoons of flour in and turn my pan while patting it a bit until the flour has coated the inside. Then I hold it over the trash can upside down and pat it until the excess falls out.

Bake at 350 for one hour. Cool cake for at least 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake Recipe Baked up!

Oh my goodness gracious, don’t we all just love Mama Reed now?

A Slice Of Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake Recipe

Serve your vanilla wafer cake with a dollop of whipped cream and extra chopped pecans to happy people (if they weren’t happy before, they will be now).

Storage

Covered cake leftovers will last at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Recipe Notes

  • The old-fashioned recipe often called for frozen coconut. You can use whatever you have on hand or prefer, whether that’s canned coconut flakes or bagged coconut.
  • If you don’t like coconut and/or pecans, you can leave them out.

Recipe FAQs

How do you serve vanilla wafer cake?

You can serve your vanilla cake on its own, dusted with powdered sugar, or with whipped cream (here’s my homemade whipped cream recipe). For a more decadent dessert, add a drizzle of caramel sauce or a serving of fresh berries. Another option is to butter the cake and toast it quickly in the air fryer. That’s a Paula Deen recommendation. YUM.

You might also enjoy these delectable cake recipes:

Caramel Apple Cake from Mama Reed

Old-Fashioned Crispy Tea Cake Cookies

Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze

Apple Dapple Cake

Lemon Icebox Cake

Apple Pound Cake

Vanilla Wafer Cake

Loaded with vanilla wafers, coconut, and pecans, this old-fashioned vanilla wafer cake has been a popular Southern dessert for decades.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, vanilla, wafer
Servings: 8
Calories: 587kcal

Ingredients

  • 6 whole eggs
  • 1 can sweetened coconut flakes equals 1 cup of bagged coconut
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 box vanilla wafers 12-ounce
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup chopped nuts we use pecans

Instructions

  • Crush vanilla wafers in a large sealable bag with a rolling pin.
    1 box vanilla wafers
  • Beat eggs well in a medium bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Mix for a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until blended.
    6 whole eggs, 1 can sweetened coconut flakes, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup chopped nuts
  • Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured tube or bundt cake pan. Bake at 350 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 587kcal
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This recipe featured on Meal Plan Monday

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349 Comments

  1. Hi, Christy! I’ve known of your website for awhile now, but as a busy wife and mom to three, I don’t have much time to sit and look around as much as I’d like. I’ve been recovering from surgery these past 2 weeks and have had LOTS of down time. Your writings and recipes are a delight! Thank you for letting your light shine. 🙂 This cake sounds delicious! Just wanted you to know I’m making it to take to a Super Bowl party tomorrow, and I can’t wait to try it. May God continue to bless you and your family.

  2. Can’t say I have ever heard of a Vanilla Wafer cake, but now that I have….I will definitely be baking one soon! Christie, your stories of your Mama, Grandmama, and all the others….well, they just bless my heart so much! I’m not sure if I cry more than I laugh, but I can surely say that you thoroughly entertain me with every story, every recipe, just your zeal for life in general…you are one amazing woman, and I thank God I get to know you just a little bit more each day! Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours!!!!❤

  3. I can’t wait to try this.

    PS: I’m reading this recipe while watching Steel Magnolias…lol. Guess I’m feeling super Southern this evening…haha.

  4. Don’t know where you live, here in east TN vanilla wafers come in an 11 oz box. First time I ever made this–and right now–that batter looks nasty. So we’ll see what happens.

  5. Thanks for the recipe. My husband asked for a Vanilla Wafer cake for work. His Momma used to make these. I’d never heard of them till I met him. So delicious. His momma passed away in July of this year at the blessed age of 96! The cake I made turned out beautiful. I did add 2 sticks of butter and it turned out perfect! Thanks again!

  6. i love this cake but when I made it, the bottom of it doesn’t look like it gets done. It is more like it jelled or something. Kind of hard to explain. The top cooks so pretty but then when you turn it out it is like the bottom is still raw, but it stays in place. I followed the recipe exactly. Do you have any idea why it would do this.

    1. Made this cake and the same thing happened, looked like the eggs & sugar settled together in the bottom. Any idea what went wrong?

      1. We’ve been making this for years and that’s never happened to us so I’m afraid I can’t speak from experience. I believe I would try mixing longer. Maybe let the batter sit for several minutes after mixing and mix again before pouring in the pan to allow the sugar to dissolve.

        1. I have had the same problem EVERYTIME i try to make this cake not done even with toothpick coming out clean!! Sticking EVERYTIME

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