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.
Pav
This cake is amazing, usually make it in two 9″ rounds!
Want to try these as cupcakes, will probably need to bake 12 at a time, will the batter be ok sitting while the first batch bake?
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
Andrew
Thanks for the recipe! Sounds amazing! Do you think this would be good for making a princess cake? The recipe I’m looking at for that says to use a boxed mix 15.25 oz cake mix, or making your own.
Sam
Hi Andrew! I’m not quite sure what you mean by princess cake?
Andrew
I hadn’t heard of it either until someone asked me about it hahaha. It’s just a white cake with a bunch of stuff on top. I guess the question I should have asked is if this recipe makes about the same as a 15 oz box? Thanks again!
Sam
Ahhh sounds interesting. Yes this cake will make about the same as the 15 oz box. 🙂
Andrew
Perfect…thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Evelyn
Hi Sam! 🙂
Can I bake this cake in a 13×9 pan? If so how long would I have to bake it for?
Sam
Hi Evelyn! It will fit in a 13 x 9 but I am not sure how long you would need to bake it for. I hope you love it! 🙂
Evelyn
Thank you!
Lynda Cole
Can this be made a lemon cake
Sam
Hi Lynda! I actually have a lemon cake I would recommend instead of altering this one. 🙂
Sandra
I made the cake yesterday for my mom’s birthday. Not sure what I did wrong but it fell in the middle and was very dense. I use a 9×12 pan. Wasn’t very tasty. Had about 15 guests and not one person liked it.
Sam
Hi Sandra! I’m so sorry this happened. The most common cause of this is over-mixing the batter. If your egg whites get deflated here your cake will become dense. 🙁
delaila
can i use self rising flour?
Sam
Unfortunately it would not work properly.
Anna
Will this make cupcakes? If so, how many? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Anna! It will make about 30 cupcakes. There are instructions for baking just above the recipe in the post. 🙂
Nadia
How many batches should I make for three 10” rounds
Sam
I believe you would need a little more than double the recipe. I would probably just double it and make each layer slightly thinner. 🙂
Julie
Hi! Is this cake too delicate to carve for a sculpted shape? And does it take to gel coloring well? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Julie! This is a pretty sturdy cake and you can dye it with food gel. When adding food gel make sure not to over-mix the batter. 🙂
Melissa
Delicious and very delicate. Used this recipe for cupcakes. I’ll make sure to line to wells with paper next time. They are very delicate and I had trouble getting them out. Looked like a soufflé when baking and they sunk a little which was fine because they had icing piped on top of them. Glad I could use all purpose flour instead of cake flour because that was all I had. This recipe is a keeper.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Melissa! 🙂
Jazz
Hi there!
Can we use egg whites from a carton rather than having to separate and if so how many cups would I use in place?
Sam
Hi Jazz! I really don’t recommend egg whites from the carton. They can be very hard, if not impossible to whip to stiff peaks and you really need stiff peaks for the best outcome here. If you need a way to use up just the egg yolks my pound cake needs 6 egg yolks. 🙂
Paula Kraus
This is an ama-ZING recipe! We are so excited to have found it because we often make Stromboli which calls for 6 egg yolk. We would freeze the whites and once we had 12 whites we would make Angel Food Cake. But now we have discovered this recipe wonderful recipe, we can use up the 6 egg whites right away! Also, we frosted with a Whipped Cream Frosting (whipped cream, vanilla and powdered sugar) — goes so well with this cake!!! Tonight we made a simple raspberry sauce from frozen raspberries and drizzled it over the cake! To DIE for!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Paula! I love the sound of a raspberry sauce drizzled on top. 🙂
Hope
Will it work with just two egg whites. that’s all I have right now and really want to make this cake.
Sam
Hi Hope! I don’t recommend it. I would either cut the recipe down by 2/3 or just wait until you have more egg whites available. 🙂
Elizabeth
Can Cake flour be used in place of all purpose flour?
Sam
Hi Elizabeth! Other people have used cake flour with success. 🙂
Noel Watkins
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
Sam
Hi Noel! It should make about 24-30 cupcakes. 🙂
Melanie
Hi, I’ve been looking for a white cake recipe that uses oil in addition to flavorful butter to retain moisture. Thank you for this! Do you know if it is possible to use oil in place of the butter in other cakes for moisture?
Sam
Hi Melanie! It really depends on how the recipe is written as to whether or not it will work. I can’t give you a blanket answer for whether this will work or not.
Linda
can these layers be made ahead and frozen for approximately a week
Sam
Hi Linda! That will work just fine. 🙂
Ann
Can you make this into a 9×13 instead of the two round??
Sam
Hi Ann! That will work fine. 🙂