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!
I made this cake for my niece’s wedding. The day I made the “test” cake it was absolutely delicious. The day I made the real cake and cupcakes (the day before the wedding) it was absolutely delicious! …but the next day they were considerably more dry than the day I baked them. They were completely iced and kept cool, but just didn’t even seem like the same cake. Any thoughts?
Were they stored in an air tight container? If you kept them in a refrigerator without being in an air tight container that will dry them. out.
Yes, they were completely covered with frosting, inside of cupcake wrappers and in a sealed container with a snap-on lid like you find cupcakes in at a bakery.
I’m sorry, I have not had that happen it sounds like you did everything right. 😟
Hi Sam,when you take the cake out of the refrigerator all the solids in it will be cold and the cake will sometimes seem dry.You might want to let it have some time to come to room temp. and it will taste better.
Hello , can this be made into a tiered wedding cake ? Or will it be too soft and cave in with other layers on top?
Hi Johanne! I have only stacked it as high as 3 high so I can’t say for sure how it would hold up higher than that without supports.
I have made this recipe in Texas and it’s the absolute best! I’m in Colorado now and I’m about to make it for my friends birthday. We are at 8500 feet. Do you have any tips for adjustments for the altitude?
Thank you! 💖
We are so happy you like it, Molly! Unfortunately we aren’t familiar with high altitude baking 😞 Hopefully someone who is can chime in and help!
Next time drizzle cake layers with water or simple syrup diluted with water. Then ice your cakes as usual.
I was a baker at Central Market and this is how they keep their scratch cakes moist for 3 days in the refrigerated cases.
I also had my own wedding cake business. This always helped keep cakes moist, longer….
I do that all the time with layer cakes, it keeps them nice and moist..
I was a baker/cake decorator for 40 years. I find people ice cupcakes leaving the edges on the top with no icing. They ice the middle. They dry out faster.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I made it for my mom’s birthday and I think it’s the best cake I have ever eaten. It is soft, fluffy, moist, and overall delicious. One thing I found was that the texture of the cake is much fluffier and lighter if the egg whites are at room temperature when whipping. I tried it once with cold egg whites, and while it still rose and was absolutely mouth-watering, it was slightly more dense than when made with warm/room temperature egg whites. Thank you again for this, it truly is the best white cake ever! 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! ☺️
Can this cake be frozen?
Sure thing! 🙂
Thank you this recipe is absolutely delicious! I used the recipe in 4 x 6inch round tins for 35 mins and they are perfect. X
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! ☺️
Can this recipe be turned into cupcakes? If yes, what temp and how long?
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!
That’s about the same as a box cake mix makes, so is it safe to assume that I can use a 9 x 13 pyrex dish? Also, brown vanilla extract (as opposed to clear), just affects the color a bit, yes? Thank you!
Yes it will work in a 9 x 13 pyrex, but being a glass dish it will take a little bit longer. You are correct on the vanilla extract. The color won’t be a really pure white, but the flavor will still be excellent! ☺️
I absolutely loved this cake. I really like that you make it so simple to make. Thank you, Shannon.
Thank you so much, Shannon! We’re so happy you loved it 😊
I love this cake recipe and get rave reviews when I make it. I use 8″ pans 2″ deep and the cake never bakes up to a full 2″ – usually about 1 1/2″ per layer. Before I increase the recipe amount to use, I want to make sure that is what you typically get. Or if there is a step that is imperative to follow that I might be skimping on?? I make sure eggs & milk are room temp, I have even decreased the oven temp for the first 20 min or so to 325 as I’ve heard that helps to bake a taller cake. Thank you for any insight you can give!
I am so glad you enjoy the recipe. 1 1/2″ is what you should get for your cake layers.
Hi
I am a novice at baking. The recipe suggests sugar(2cups). Is it granulated sugar or confectioners sugar?
Thank you
granulated 🙂
Enjoy!
How many recipe batches should I use for an 11 x 19 cake? It sounds wonderful and I can’t wait to make it.
If it’s an 11 x 14, you would need about 25% more batter. The recipe as is will fit in a 9 x 13. 🙂
What would I need to change to make this a 3 layer 6 inch cake?
Thanks!
Hi Mary! This will fill 3 6 inch pans, with maybe a little excess batter. Make sure not to over-fill your pans and watch them in the oven. I’m not sure on a bake time. Enjoy! 🙂
How many cups of batter does this make? I’m making a cake with 10″ rounds, but am going to make the layers thinner, as I’m doing a six layer rainbow cake. Thanks in advance!
I’m sorry, Sylvia. I don’t know how many cups of batter the recipe makes. 😟
Sylvia I’ve just baked this cake for a wedding, it’s got 6 cups of batter. I put 4 into a 8in tin and 2 cups into a 6in tin. Two are out of the oven cooling. Look awesome. Very level. Now 3 more batches to go to finish other layers.
can this be doubled for multiple tears?
I think that will work just fine! ☺️
Hi I want to do this recipe but I have a child is allergic to milk can I change to another liquid to do this recipe.
Hi Clary! I am not sure how a milk substitute would work, but I would be afraid it would make the cake a little dry.
Hey me too. I use a tablespoon of Apple cider vinegar in the measuring cup and fill to the one cup line with soy milk. Let it sit for at least 5 min to curdle and get a buttermilk flavor. I use this substitute for everything asking for milk so it doesn’t get that weird sweet flavor. 🙂 can even make a good white gravy like this. Also the vinegar reacts a little with baking powder and sodas so you get a fluffier rise, I think it’s nice.
I bake dairy free and gluten free all the time I use coconut milk
Have you ever tried freezing this once baked and frosting later? I would like to make it in advance so all I have to do it frost the day of my moms birthday!
That should work just fine. Just make sure when you freeze it you wrap it very well. 😃
I’ve been searching off and on for the perfect homemade white cake recipe for years. FINALLY! this is it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Sam! It’s a keeper!
Thank you so much Grace! 😃
I Love this Homemade white Cake recipe and It turned out Lovely, but I baked mine in a 9″x 13″ pan and it still turned out great, just a little more baking time and I am making vanilla cake pops with mine!!!
So Delicious!!! THANKS
can you add cocoa powder to this recipe to make a chocolate cake? I love this recipe, but my daughter is requesting a chocolate cake.
Hi Kerri! We’d actually recommend our chocolate cake instead 😊
I have just made this cake and it is superb. My hubby even loved it (and he doesn’t care for cakes much)
So easy to follow and make. Love it. Thankyou.
Hi Val! I am so glad he enjoyed it! It’s one of my favorites 😃
Is it possible to make this cake in a 9″ by 12″ oblong? Thanking you in advance.
That should work fine, but the baking time will vary so just keep an eye on it. 😃
What kind of milk is used?
We used whole milk in this recipe 😊
I tried the cake today and the results was amazing…thanks for sharing the recipe
I am so glad you enjoyed it! 😃
I have an at home baking business and I’m always testing flavors and different cake textures to please different tasting palates. I recently received a requests for white cakes with different frostings. I googled it and found you site based upon you 4/12 stars, I decided to give the recipe a try. After testing 4 cakes in all, I have found the combination of canola oil and butter to add the best moisture and the beaten egg whites to give the best lift. I am longwindedly saying that your white cake recipe Rocks!! I will never use another one. I love the versatility of using this recipe as a foundation for other cake flavors.
Thank You,
Veronica
Hi Veronica! Thank you so much for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoy it! 😃😃