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.
Kristi
Question. What would happen if u sift the flour? Would it make more fluffy?
Sam
Hi Kristi! I haven’t personally sifted the flour here, but the cake already is very fluffy. 🙂
Lisa
Have you ever added Almond Extract to this cake? I love the taste of that in my white cakes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lisa! We typically don’t, but you certainly can! We discuss this in detail within the post 😊
Anrie
This one’s a keeper and surely is the “best” I have tried. Perfect addition as my primary white cake recipe choice. Scratch cakes are ideal and do not require much more time than boxed mixes.
patrizia
I need to add food coloring to the mix. When is best time,before or after egg whites. I would like to make it in 2 doses in a 13X9 inch. How long do I need to bake each one
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Patrizia! If you want to use food coloring, we would recommend adding it before folding in the egg whites to reduce risk of over-mixing. The bake time will probably be about 30-35 minutes in a 9×13, but we can’t say for sure without trying it ourselves. Make sure to keep an eye on it and do the toothpick test to check for doneness 🙂
Pamela Kelly
Looking forward to trying! Wondering if shortening could be substituted for butter for the white cake aspect; I use palm shortening. Any suggestions for the egg yolks leftover?! I know of some dessert recipes that call fo them. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Pamela! You will lose a lot of flavor if you use shortening instead of butter. As far as the yolks go, you can always use them to make lemon curd, key lime pie, pound cake, or chocolate pie. Hope that helps! 🙂
Anne
This recipe turned out perfect!! I I’ll definitely be making it again. The flavor and texture was what I was hoping for.
Rick
Used a 1/1 gf flour and a 9×13 pan. Baked forever (hour) and pulled it out. Heavy and definitely not “cake” material. It IS super tasty and makes a great butter cake! I will try again and fill the pan less or use two rounds in directions.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Rick! The flour could have caused an issue or the cake may have been over-baked causing it to seem dense. 🙁
Kristen
Can you freeze the layers?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sure! Just make sure to wrap them really well beforehand. Enjoy, Kristen!
Courtney
I’m so used to using Cake Flour for cakes; am I able to substitute the AP Flour for Cake Flour?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Courtney! Yes you can, just make sure to use the proper substitute (1c +2TBSP cake flour for 1c all purpose, weight measurements do not change).
Lea
You can use ap flour but sift it first, makes it lighter. Going to try this with gluten free flour.
Best wishes.
Alicia
Love it! I actually was looking for a recipe that didn’t require beating egg whites but I just sucked it up and made it anyways. Super flavorful even without the frosting and it smells super good. I was careful to not overmix anything! 11/10. Thank you for the recipe :-]
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you decided to make our recipe, Alicia! Sounds like it turned out perfectly for you 😊
Maddy
Unfortunately I found this cake recipe to be hard to work with. It was sunken in the middle even though it was fully baked through and yes it was light and fluffy, but way too fragile to make layers and tiers with.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re sorry the cake didn’t turn out for you, Maddy 🙁 If it was fully baked, the sinking could be caused by over-mixing or oven temperature. Over-mixing the batter can incorporate too much air and cause the cake to collapse. Or the oven temperature could be too high (even if it says it’s at the right temp; many ovens are higher!), causing the cake to rise too rapidly before collapsing. Unfortunately either of these issues can also cause the cake to be very fragile as well. We hope you’ll give the recipe another try!
Amanda
This cake tasted AMAZING!!! I was trying to find a cake with no dairy or almonds due to family allergies and this was great. I substituted the butter for vegan butter and the milk for coconut milk and it worked wonderfully. Thank you so much.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how it turned out for you, Amanda! Enjoy 😊
Nora
I baked this for my sister’s celebration and it looks fantastic so far! I overbeat the egg whites at first, then added a seventh to compensate. It baked well, but there was too much batter for just two layers, and I ended up having to bake a third. Not complaining, of course: more cake! Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! Hopefully it turned out okay for you 🙁
Megan
If using a 9×13 baking pan, how long would I need to bake the cake for? Thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Megan! We’d estimate 30-35 minutes.
DH
Can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk in this recipe?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
The buttermilk will work, but it will make the cake slightly more moist. The whole milk allows this cake to be just a little bit fluffier, so that’s why we use it here 🙂
MaryJo
I had 6 egg whites left over after making lemon curd this morning. I found this recipe and decided to make a dozen jumbo cupcakes. I lined the 6 wells of two jumbo muffin pans and preheated the oven to 335°F.
I used Gold Medal bleached all-purpose flour, and the only other changes I made to the recipe were to add 1/4 teaspoon of pure almond extract and cut the amount of salt in half because I always bake with salted butter.
I used a # 8 disher/scoop to portion the batter into the muffin cups, which filled them a little more than they should have been. I baked them for 23 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through.
The cupcakes came out light and fluffy and delicious! Because I over-filled the cups, the cupcakes came out flat instead of domed, but the tops have a tasty and pleasant crunch taht contrasts nicely with the tender cake.
I’ll frost them with vanilla & almond buttercream and possiblyadd a drizzle of chocolate ganache.
Thanks for posting this recipe, will certainly use it many times in the future.
Sam
Sounds like you’ve had a busy day baking, MaryJo! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Tina
Hi sam! I messaged under chantilly cake recipe about adding sprinkles. If I use this recipe when do I fold them in? How much do I add?
Sam
Hi Tina! You can definitely add sprinkles, I recommend avoiding nonpareils (which will bleed) but traditional sprinkles or quins will work. Add them in at the end after folding in the egg whites. Enjoy!
Regan
I baked this cake for a birthday and everyone loved it! It was fluffy and delicious. I paired it with chocolate whipped buttercream and a raspberry jam for the filling with whipped cream icing on the outside. Topped with fresh berries, this was a perfect summer cake!