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.
Lynn Radake
can butter milk be used.
can cake flour be used
Sam
Hi Lynn! Buttermilk will work here. You can use cake flour as long as it is substituted properly. 🙂
Shauna O Hicks
This cake is so moist and flavorrful. My guests lovied it!
Katherine
After reading the comments, I was afraid I’d over mix or under-beat; however, the cake turned out moist and fluffy. It was delicious, and the birthday party guests raved over it. The recipe made three 8″ rounds (a wee shorter bake time). I used a fresh unsweetened crushed pineapple filling and topped it with an Italian Meringue Boiled Frosting (7-minute Boiled Frosting) adding coconut to the sides only. It occurred to me that I could have put rum flavoring in something and called it a Pina Colada Cake
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Katherine! 🙂
Jan Knoll
Hi
Can this batter be colored?
Thanks
Jan
Sam
Hi Jan! You can color it, but you will want to be careful to not deflate your egg whites while doing it. 🙂
Becky
How long should I bake this in a 13×9 glass pan?
Sam
Hi Becky! I haven’t personally tried baking this in a 13 x 9 glass dish. I would just be sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes. 🙂
Elaine Bernier
absolutely 1st rate! thank you for sharing. Btw, I use only a scant tsp of almond extract.
Nanne
A very tasty cake and goes well with all fillings.
Heidi Richard
Can I do 1 cup of sugar instead of 2? Or would it change the consistency?
Sam
Hi Heidi! I haven’t personally tried it, but it could change the moisture in the cake a bit.
Michelle
Hi! Just a quick question! Can unused batter be refrigerated while waiting for the first half to bake? Long story short, I’m working with 1 pan here. 😅 What is the best way to store the unused batter while it waits for the oven?? (Perhaps it’s worth noting that the bake time on mine will be shorter as I’m making a mini stacked cake using 4” cake layers.) Thank you in advance!
Sam
Hi Michelle! I think it could work, but the egg whites will start deflating so the longer it sits the more the batter is going to deflate. I’m not sure exactly how long you can let it sit.
Amanda
Hey there! I have used this recipe before on a three-layer cake and loved it! I want to use it again, but this time for a wedding cake I am making. The cake is 3-tier, with 6 in., 8 in., and 12 in. rounds, with 3 tiers in each. Can you lead me into how I would need to cater this recipe to meet that? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Amanda! That’s a very large cake. You’d likely need some supports in there, but I am not familiar with making cakes quite that large. A single batch will make enough for 3 6 inch layers. You would need to increase it by 50% for the 3rd 8 inch layer and 1 bath will fill one 12 inch pan so you’d need 3 batches of cake there. Good luck! 🙂
Julia
Just in case anyone is wondering since I didn’t see it me tioned, this makes 30 normal sized cupcakes. Very good recipe!
Jenn
Hello! I have not tried this recipe yet, looking to use it for a birthday day. Is it possible to use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jenn! Yes you can. If you use weights you will want to use the same amount of cake flour. Measuring this one with cups will get tricky as you typically need 1c + 2 TBSP of cake flour for every cup of flour you use.
Ashley
will this batter be enough for a 16×12 half sheet pan? or would I need to double it?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ashley! If you increase the recipe by 50%, you will have enough batter for your pan 😊
Rhonda Neswald
Liked the recipe and flavor and texture was great. Unfortunately, it sunk in the center one a bit more than the other layer. Could this be due to the egg whites?
Sam
Hi Rhonda! I’m so sorry to hear that this happened! The most likely causes of a sunken cake here are the egg whites not quite being whipped to stiff peaks, or under baking, or even over baking. Did you use the tooth pick test? One of them may have been cooked slightly differently if your oven doesn’t heat quite evenly. 🙁 I’m glad you were still able to enjoy the cake and I hope it turns out better next time. 🙂
Katie
Hi Sam! I have a kind of strange question about this recipe. I’m trying to make a strawberry pop cake and tried the box mix/soda trick and found it to taste too…..box mixy lol! Is there a way you’d suggest to add strawberry Fanta to this recipe? Could I maybe replace the eggs and oil with the soda? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Unfortunately we can’t advise without trying this ourselves 😞 We do have a tasty strawberry cake though!
Mary OHara
Hi, I usually make a white cake from pillsbury box cake but wanted to make it from scratch this time . The recipe I usually make calls for some melted white chocolate in the batter, do you think I could add this ? BTW I love your recipes .
Sam
Hi Mary! Without having tried it I’m not sure what alterations would need to be made to accommodate the melted white chocolate.
Joyce Harper
can I make a 3 9in. layer cake with this recipe and how long would I need to bake it?
Sam
Hi Joyce! You could split the batter into 3 pans you will just have thinner layers. I’m not sure what the bake time would be. If you wanted taller layers for the 3 pans you’d need to increase the recipe by 50%. 🙂