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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
The Best White Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) avocado oil, canola oil or vegetable oil
- 2 cup (400 g) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cup (345 g) + 2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (235 ml) milk room temperature preferred
- 6 large egg whites room temperature
- Double batch Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (click link for recipe)
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.6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- Add sugar and oil and beat until all ingredients are well-combined and creamy.⅔ cup (160 ml) avocado oil, canola oil or vegetable oil, 2 cup (400 g) sugar
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then stir in your vanilla extract.1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- In separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.2 ⅔ cup (345 g) + 2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Measure out your milk.1 cup (235 ml) 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.6 large egg whites
- 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.Double batch Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Linda Laird
I want to use this recipe for 4 staggered wedding cakes in varying sizes, 6″ to 10″, each two layers. Do I make this recipe several times or can I just triple everything and mix one time?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Linda! I have had others double the recipe with success, yet no one has tripled it. Since I have not done it personally, I am not certain. Let me know how it works for you if you try. I hope the wedding cake turns out beautifully! 🙂
Tracy
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! I’ve never been able to find a good white cake recipe but now I dont have to search anymore! Made this cake in 2 9″ pans and then cut them each in half. Iced (with your buttercream recipe) between each layer and then did a crumb coat, froze it a bit and then iced with the rest of the buttercream, which i made half purple and half blue. Turned into a beautiful mermaid color, for lack of a better description. Lol. It was a hit for my grandma and sisters birthday party. I plan on making it again this coming weekend for my other grandma (whom used to make cakes for occasions) and my dads birthdays.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with everyone!
I wish i could share a pic of my cake. 🙂
Sam
Thank you so much Tracy! I am so glad you enjoy the cake so much. Unfortunately I don’t have a great way to share pictures here, but if you have a Facebook account, you could join my Facebook group and add it in there. 🙂
Tanya
I’ve made the cake and cupcakes 4 times with your recipe, it’s fantastic and leaves everyone wanting more. It’s my grandsons 1st birthday and I want to add some color to the mix. Do I need to do something besides add food coloring to the batter, can I use jello to color the batter, any suggestions on the best way without changing the integrity of the cake????
Sam
Hi Tanya! The best way to color it would be to just add a little bit of food coloring before stirring in your egg whites to prevent over-beating your egg whites. 🙂
Dee Garner-Hunter
Is it ok to substitute the All-Purpose Flour for Cake Flour? I am hoping I can make enough to fill to sheet pans to make a electric guitar cake…. trying to calculate how much batter I will need?
Sam
Hi Dee! Other people have successfully substituted cake flour for the all purpose flour. I am not sure how much batter you would need. This recipe makes enough for 2 8 inch round cakes, or one 9 x 13. 🙂
Alexes
How would I bake this in a 10in square pan?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Alexes! You can most certainly bake it in a 10″ pan. I haven’t tried it so I am not sure how long it would need to bake. I would just keep an eye on it. I hope that you enjoy the white cake! 🙂
Cynthia
I love to make the 6″ cakes. Can I half the recipe? Will it come out right? as I only have one pan.
I love your recipes! Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Cynthia! Yes, if you half the recipe that should be fine. I hope that you enjoy the cake. 🙂
Erin
Hello, I was also hoping to use 6in pans for this recipe. Would the bake time be shortened and would the temp remain the same?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Erin! You can most certainly use 6″ pans. Since I haven’t tried it myself, I can’t provide you with an exact bake time. The oven temperature will remain the same, however, I would just keep an eye on it. I hope that you enjoy your white cake. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Kathy
Why do you use AP Flour instead of cake flour??
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Kathy! All-purpose flour is what most people have on hand and what I usually have stocked. Others have used cake flour instead and have had success. I hope you enjoy this white cake recipe! 🙂
Melissa
Delicious and easy. I wasn’t disappointed
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for your comment, Melissa! I am so happy that you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Delia Crocco
Hi
This
White cake I made the other day and it was delicious!
But when I looked at the recipe it called for an extra 2 tablespoons of flour which I omitted by mistake… thank goodness the cake still tasted good ..was that supposed to be used to flour the pans? or was it supposed to go inside the cake????
Thank You!
Sam
Hi Delia! It does go in the cake, but I’m glad to hear it still turned out for you!
Kathie
Could you tell me approximately how long to bake the cake in a 9×13” glass pan and should the oven be 325 instead of 350?
Sam
Hi Kathie! The oven temperature will remain the same, but I haven’t tried it so I am not sure how long it would need to bake. I would just keep an eye on it as it bakes. 🙂
Kris Nash
I’m hoping to use this recipe to make a layer cake for my daughter’s birthday. But the cake pans I have are the very small Wilton ones that are 5 in a pack. Will this cake hold up well to adding food coloring? I have gel food coloring. I just don’t want to overmix and make the cake too dense.
Sam
Hi Kris! If you want to add food coloring I would probably do it before folding in the egg whites to reduce risk of over-mixing. 🙂
Kelly
Approximately, how many cups of batter does this recipe make? This cake was chosen by my son and his fiancé for their wedding cake which I am making. The bottom tier I was using 10” pans 3” deep. I’m trying to figure out if I need to double or triple the recipe. 😅. Thanks in advance!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Kelly! Congrats to your son on his upcoming wedding. This recipe should be enough to fill one 10″ pan. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Laura
Great question! Im doing a babyshower cake! Thanks for the answer!
Tanya
This was great, I used this recipe for cupcakes and they turned out moist and flavorful without being too sweet, I am going to use this recipe for my grandsons 1st Birthday cake and add some color.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cupcakes, Tanya! I hope that they are enjoyed by all at your grandsons’ birthday as well. 🙂
Brooke
Hello! I am wondering what would be the baking time period if I use a 9 by 13? Or any sheet pan? I do not have any of the circle or square ones and only sheets pans! Thanks in advanced!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Brooke! It will be fine in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan, but you will want to keep an eye on it, as the bake time will vary. Here is a baking guide that others have found helpful. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Amy Olson
What kind of milk do you use? I am going to make this tomorrow for my mom’s 54th birthday! Super excited!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Amy! Any type of milk will do. I typically use whole milk. I hope that your mom enjoys her birthday cake! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Natalie
Could you use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Natalie! Yes, you can use buttermilk instead. I can’t wait to hear how your cake turns out! 🙂