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.
Lisa
Any chance I could substitute kefir/buttermilk for milk?? I’m out of milk! 🙂
Sam
Hi Lisa! Buttermilk will work fine here. 🙂
Jen
Hi will this make enough batter for a 3 layer cake?
Sam
Hi Jen! This makes enough for a 2 layer 8 inch cake. I would increase the recipe by 50% to make a 3 layer cake. 🙂
Xiomara Rivera
Will this go well with stabilized whipped cream frosting? Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Sam
That sounds like a delicious! 🙂
Kelly Wilson
Is this 85g of butter or 6x85g
Sam
Hi Kelly! All of the gram measurements are what you would use if you are using a scale to weigh your ingredients. If you are not using a scale you would use the tablespoon measurements. 🙂
Kelli
How many standard size cupcakes does this make?
Sam
Hi Kelli! It should make approximately 24, perhaps a few more.
Bryanna
Hi! I wanted to know if I could use this cake recipe to make funfetti cake?
Sam
Yup! Just gently stir in the sprinkles at the end. Don’t use nonpareils as they bleed in the cake. Enjoy!
Heidi Hamilton
Hello! I love this recipe but the cakes sank in the center. I live at 9000ft in elevation. What do I need to do differently to take into account the high altitude. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Heidi! There are a lot of things in this cake that can go wrong. Along with the elevation, the cake could have been over-mixed. It could have been under-mixed. The egg whites may not have reached the proper consistency. The cake could have been under-baked. Unfortunately without being there and seeing it’s really hard to tell what happened. 🙁
Susan Dempsey
Sam here is a link that you can share for high altitude baking adjustments.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Sam
Thank you! 🙂
Hilda
Can I use whites from carton package? Instead of fresh whites?
Sam
Hi Hilda! I don’t recommend it as they typically don’t whip to stiff peaks very well. 🙁
Jenna
Sooo good. Not too sweet and not too buttery. Its the PERFECT in between.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jenna! 🙂
Jordan
Hello I don’t have a hand mixer, I only have a stand mixer. Will that work also ?
Sam
Hi Jordan that will work fine, just be careful to not overdo it. 🙂
Joyce
Do u have YouTube page?
Sam
I do! Here is my YouTube page, I have over 300 videos filmed there 🙂
Sheetal Chawla
Absolutely amazing !!! I made vanilla cake with so many recipes….I think this is best one so far!!! Loved the video and step by step instructions ….loved it
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sheetal! 🙂
Beverly barrron
Hi if I wanted to put a raspberry filling what would you suggest
Sam
Hi Beverly! I actually have a raspberry cake filling that I would suggest using. I just make a dam with the frosting on top of the first layer then add the raspberry filling, then add the next layer. 🙂
Marisa Peters
How many cupcakes would this make?
Sam
Hi Marisa! It will make somewhere between 24-30 cupcakes. 🙂
Robin Kester
Would this be a good cake recipe for a wedding cake?
Sam
Hi Robin! I think it will be a great wedding cake! 🙂
Jennifer
I would love to use this recipe for cake pops, how long to bake it for in a13X9 cake pan?
Sam
Hi Jennifer! I honestly haven’t made it in a 9 x 13 to know how long it would take. I would just keep a close eye on it. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Shenaya
Hi! I’d love to know if you ended up using your 9×13 pan and if so, for how long did you bake it?