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    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cake / The Best White Cake Recipe

    The Best White Cake Recipe

    April 11, 2018 By Sam 2,198 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    The Best, Fluffiest, White cake recipe

    Today I’m so excited to be sharing the very best white cake recipe! This recipe yields a fluffy, snow-white cake that’s light and soft but still sturdy enough to stack or cover with fondant. Read on for plenty of tips for making the perfect white cake, completely from scratch!

    white cake on a white plate

    We’ve covered chocolate cake, vanilla cake (one of my most popular recipes, thanks to you guys!), and even pineapple upside-down cake, but up until today we’ve been missing a critical flavor: a classic, delicious, white cake!

    This is a classic cake flavor and a personal favorite of mine, so when I say up in the intro that I’m excited to share this recipe with you, I really, really mean it. This cake is delicious, and honestly so easy to make… even if you’ve never beaten egg whites before I’m going to walk you through that below so you too can enjoy a perfect, from-scratch white cake.

    In case this white cake recipe seems familiar to you, I should probably mention that it is essentially my Funfetti cake recipe, only scaled down to be just two layers (so if you want a 3 layer white cake recipe, just head over to my Funfetti recipe and leave out the sprinkles!).

    Let’s dig in to what makes this cake so incredible.

    a thick slice of white cake

    As I mentioned, this cake is fairly simple, but there is an important technique that I want to discuss regarding the egg whites.  To keep this cake pure white, we’re not using any egg yolks and instead we are going to beat our egg whites to stiff peaks (if you’ve made my meringue cookies, you’ve beaten egg whites to stiff peaks before). Let me explain how:

    How to Beat Eggs Whites to Stiff Peaks for White Cake

    • Place your egg whites in a completely clean and grease free bowl. It’s best to separate your whites and yolks in a separate bowl first, that way if a small bit of yolk escapes you don’t have to start over. Even the smallest bit of grease or yolk can ruin your egg whites and keep them from reaching stiff peaks.
    • Reaching stiff peaks will take several minutes, just keep beating and you will see them start to take shape!
    • Stiff peaks are formed when the whites have increased in volume (see visual below) and, if you pull a beater straight out of the mixture, a peak forms that does not recede back into itself — its holds its shape.  Once you reach this point, stop beating, as it is totally possible to over-beat your egg whites.

    Whipping egg whites to stiff peaks for white cake

    Fold your egg whites gently into the rest of your white cake batter. I always recommend doing this part by hand. Make sure that you stir enough so that the egg whites are well-incorporated into the batter, but use a light hand so that you don’t deflate the egg whites, or you’ll end up with a dense cake.

    While the cake is baking, don’t be alarmed if it seems that the surface is turning too dark.  The outside of the cake will actually bake up to a golden brown in the oven, but don’t worry, the cake will be pure white inside once you go to actually slice into it.

    The golden brown exterior of a cooling white cake

    What Kind of Extract Should I Use for My White Cake?

    I use clear vanilla. Regular (caramel-colored) vanilla extract will work just fine and your cake will still come out mostly white (check out my above-mentioned Funfetti cake, that one was made with standard vanilla extract), but for this white cake recipe I opted for clear extract for a cake with a pure white interior.

    Many white cake reicpes also call for almond extract. None of my family members are huge fans of almond extract, so I leave it out, but if you like the taste you can substitute some of the vanilla extract for almond… since almond extract is quite potent I wouldn’t personally recommend using more than 1 ½-2 teaspoons for this recipe, but feel free to experiment!

    Slice of white cake on a white plate

    Can I use 9″ Cake Pans Instead of 8″

    Yes! The baking time will be reduced, though. Start checking your cake at 30 minutes.

    Can I Make This Recipe Into Cupcakes?

    Yes! Fill each cupcake liner about ¾ full (don’t over-fill) and bake on 350F for about 18 minutes (for mini cupcakes, bake for 14-15 minutes).  This recipe will yield approximately 30 standard sized cupcakes.

    Enjoy!

    How to Make White Cake

    Slice of white cake with white icing and blue icing decorations on plate

    The Best White Cake Recipe

    This BEST white cake recipe yields a fluffy, snow-white cake that's light and soft but still sturdy enough to stack or cover with fondant.
    4.91 from 528 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cake, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 35 minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 12 slices
    Calories: 415kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature (85g)
    • ⅔ cup canola oil or vegetable oil (160ml)
    • 2 cup sugar (400g)
    • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
    • 2 ⅔ cup + 2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (345g)
    • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup milk room temperature preferred (235ml)
    • 6 large egg whites room temperature
    • Double batch Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (click link for recipe)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F and prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by lining the bottoms with a round of parchment paper and generously greasing and flouring the sides. Be sure to shake out excess flour.
    • In a stand mixer (or using an electric mixer), beat butter on medium-low speed until creamy.
    • Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.
    • Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla extract.
    • In separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
    • Measure out your milk.
    • With mixer on medium speed, gradually alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until each one is almost completely combined before adding the next.
    • Pause occasionally to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl.
    • In separate bowl combine your egg whites and using a hand-mixer on high-speed beat until stiff peaks form.
    • Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites into your batter. Take care to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that ingredients are well-combined, and take care not to over-mix.
    • Evenly divide cake batter into prepared pans.
    • Bake on 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake layer comes out clean or with few crumbs (should not be wet). For best results, rotate your cake pans halfway through baking to ensure even baking.
    • Cakes will be a light golden brown when done baking.
    • Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the inside rim of each pan and invert each onto a cooling rack.
    • Allow to cool completely before covering with buttercream frosting*.  I used a double batch of my recipe (linked above) to thoroughly cover and decorate this cake.  

    Notes

    If you don't like buttercream frosting, try one of these:
    • Cream cheese frosting
    • Swiss Meringue Buttercream
    • Peanut Butter Frosting
    • My favorite chocolate frosting 
    • Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice | Calories: 415kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 230mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 208IU | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shelby

      March 15, 2023 at 2:35 pm

      Hi, can you double the recipe safely?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 15, 2023 at 5:46 pm

        Hi Shelby! We haven’t tried doubling, but it should work. The only thing that could cause you some issues is mixing in the egg whites; you want to make sure to not over-mix the batter at this point, and it may be a little difficult to do with all of the batter you will have. Good luck! 🙂

        Reply
    2. susan

      March 09, 2023 at 7:14 pm

      Can I replace the egg whites for the egg whites in the carton?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 09, 2023 at 8:20 pm

        Hi Susan! I don’t recommend the egg whites in a carton as they can be difficult to whip to stiff peaks, which is a very important step here. 🙁

        Reply
    3. Stephanie

      March 03, 2023 at 6:04 am

      Do the cake layers freeze well if made ahead of time.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 03, 2023 at 9:29 am

        Yes! Just make sure to wrap them well. Enjoy 😊

        Reply
        • Cristina Marsal

          March 17, 2023 at 12:22 pm

          Why do you use a neutral oil?

        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          March 17, 2023 at 2:51 pm

          Hi Cristina! We use a neutral oil to avoid having the oil flavor overpower the cake 😊

    4. Josee

      March 02, 2023 at 2:30 pm

      Is it better to use grams or cups? My measurements are significantly different than what you have listed. 400g is closer to 1 1/3 cup sugar, and flour is about 1/3cup less than weight measurement.

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 02, 2023 at 3:37 pm

        Hi Josee! Definitely use grams, it is the more accurate way to measure and is the measurement that I use myself.

        Reply
    5. Shoko

      March 02, 2023 at 7:26 am

      I made this recipe years ago with great success and it was absolutely delicious. I was wondering if I can make it into a rainbow cake by dividing the batter and mixing in food colouring or will that deflate the egg whites? I’d like to make it for my daughter’s birthday party. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 02, 2023 at 9:22 am

        Hi Shoko! You can definitely color this cake. Just stir the color in when the ingredients are almost completely combined to reduce risk of over-mixing 😊

        Reply
        • Shoko

          March 02, 2023 at 2:27 pm

          Thank you so much for your quick reply! I am so excited to try this recipe out as a rainbow cake.

        • Barbara Hurford

          March 14, 2023 at 2:21 pm

          I am allergic to vanilla and usually use light maple syrup in place of it. It doesn’t make it taste like maple syrup since it is real syrup. Is there anything else I could try?

        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          March 14, 2023 at 4:45 pm

          Hi Barbara! Is artificial vanilla an option for you? If not, you can always use another extract you like instead. The amount you need will vary depending on what you use (for example, almond is more potent!). Hope this helps 😊

    6. Shetera Vela

      February 28, 2023 at 11:01 am

      Greetings,

      Can I use cake flour as n place of APF and powdered sugar to in place of granulated sugar?
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 01, 2023 at 9:10 pm

        Hi Shetera! Cake flour should work if substituted appropriately, but powdered sugar will not work in place of granulate sugar.

        Reply
    7. Mindy

      February 28, 2023 at 10:01 am

      This recipe looks amazing! Can it be used to make cupcakes that hold up to mounds of frosting?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 01, 2023 at 9:19 pm

        Hi Mindy! It will hold up nicely as cupcakes. I actually have instructions on doing so right above the recipe. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Elizabeth

      February 27, 2023 at 9:00 am

      Hi Sam!
      This cake looks AMAZING and I am so excited to try it 🙂 Is it possible to put strawberries or some other fruit in the filling in the center? If so, what would you recommend to accomplish this? Thanks! Your recipes are the best!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 27, 2023 at 9:14 pm

        Hi Elizabeth! My strawberry sauce or my raspberry cake filling would work well here. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Andrea - Cooking with Mamma C

      February 16, 2023 at 9:12 am

      5 stars
      I made this as a 9×13, and it was delicious! I used whipped cream instead of frosting. This is the best white cake recipe I’ve tried.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        February 16, 2023 at 9:34 am

        Thanks for letting us know how it went for you, Andrea! 🥰

        Reply
      • Angie

        February 18, 2023 at 9:48 am

        Hi Andrea. How long did you bake it for?

        Reply
        • Andrea

          February 20, 2023 at 7:13 am

          It took 40 minutes in a metal pan on the center rack of my oven. I did check it earlier just to keep an eye on it.

      • Jessica

        February 27, 2023 at 6:37 am

        Can you replace the all purpose flour with cake flour; If so how much? 😊

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          February 27, 2023 at 10:29 am

          Hi Jessica! Yes you can, just make sure to use the proper substitute (1c +2TBSP cake flour for 1c all purpose, weight measurements do not change).

    10. Kandi

      February 12, 2023 at 12:40 pm

      5 stars
      I made this cake as a request for a white cake. Wow , what a delicious MOIST CAKE. I iced it and filled it with fudge frosting , drizzled with white chocolate ganache. Thanks for the great recipe.

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 12, 2023 at 4:05 pm

        Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Kandi!!

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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