The Best White Cake Recipe
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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 1/2-2 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 3/4 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Absolutely loves this cake. Taste, texture, and moistness are all just perfect. Love the way it rises to a mile high. Whenever I made a box mix, it didn’t seem tall enough to make an impressive cake. This recipe is the one you need. Can’t wait to try it in coconut! Thank you for your excellent recipes.
Hands down the best cake ever!
I had to make a cake for my husband’s side of the family for Easter and it was my first Easter with them due to covid so I wanted to impress them and I did exactly that! Now every time there’s a gathering I’m always requested to bring this cake
We’re so happy it turned out so nicely for you (and on such a special occasion too!). Well done! ❤
This recipe is great. The texture is just right. The flavor is sweet without over powering. I used 2 10inch pans and it worked well
😒😒😞 I made this cake(9×13) just this morning,& it was looking lovely, but when I pulled it from the oven after 45 min on 350, it SUNK. My whole day is RUINED.😭😭😭 What did I do wrong?
O no! I’m so sorry this happened, Ruby! A few things can cause the cake to sink. The egg whites are one of the most likely culprits. If your egg whites didn’t reach stiff peaks it can cause this issue. They also may have been over-mixed when folding everything together, which is why I recommend doing it by hand and going slowly with it. The other potential problem would be that the cake was slightly under-baked. 🙁 I hope this works better for you next time.
Can I use this for a 12 in. square pan? If so, will the recipe be the same or will it stay the same?
Hi Tiffany! That should be fine, but keep in mind the baking time will be longer. 😊
The amount of flour in cups and grams doesn’t make sense? 220 grams is 1 cup. So I’m not sure whether to use grams or cups here.
Hi Sonia! I have standardized the measurements on my site. 1 cup of flour is 125g. You will typically see a slight variation of a few grams between sites, but they shouldn’t be that drastic. The measurements I have listed are the measurements I use and have confirmed work. 🙂
Hello! Thanks for the recipe. Can you use cake flour in this recipe?
Hi Shannon! That should be fine, just be sure to substitute properly (if measuring by volume you will need more cake flour than called for in the recipe).
can we add raspberry filling
Absolutely! Enjoy 😊
How long would you cook, for cupcakes?
Hi Kami! I think they will probably need to bake for about 17 minutes. 🙂
couldn’t find clear vanilla
is Artificialwhite vanilla ok
to use?
Yes! 😊
Hi! Can I reduce sugar to 200g or 300g for less sweet taste? And can I reduce oil to 100ml for healthy reason? Thanks!
Hi Ariel! It may still work with the sugar reduction, but I don’t recommend reducing the oil.
Can this be a 9×13 cake pan
Sure thing! I’m not sure on a bake time though so just keep an eye on it 🙂
Did you end up baking the 9×13? I tried it over the weekend and my cake came out so dense and dry. So disappointed after my 10 year old son brought this cake home from a baking course he took last week. His was perfection, and I’m assuming my baking time was off, or maybe I over mixed the egg whites into the batter.
I’m so sorry this happened, Chrissie! Over-mixing the eggs can cause this problem. 🙁
Do I have to do anything different to use this recipe as the bottom layer of a two layer ice cream cake?
Hi Chris! This is a softer, slightly more delicate cake due the egg whites being whipped in so I’m not sure how it would hold up to an ice cream layer on top, but I don’t think you would adjust anything here.
Sounds like the recipe I have been looking for!! I am wondering if I can add extra flour for high altitude?
Hi Laura! We’re not familiar with high-altitude baking, so we can’t say for sure what adjustments would be needed 🙁
What sugar do you use you haven’t said faster or granulated
Thankyou
Hi Jaci! We use granulated sugar in this recipe 😊
Can I just add yolk and white eggs together?
No. The cake will not turn out.
Can I mix all the ingredients in this recipe and not bake it until tomorrow, Even after adding the egg whites?
I would be afraid that the batter would deflate and the cake wouldn’t turn out as nicely. 🙁
If I use this recipe for cupcakes, can they be frozen for later use?
Sure thing! 🙂
Amazing! Made the cake (not the icing) and it was amazing!
What part of the oven do I put my cakes
Bake them on the center rack! Hope they turn out great for you, Jan 😊