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.
Breanna Tamborelli
What kind of milk do you use? Whole milk?
Sam
Yup, whole milk. 🙂
Jena Abbott
Do think a bundt pan would work okay?
Sam
A bundt pan probably wouldn’t hold all of the dough. It would work, but the baking time would be altered and I don’t know exactly what it would be.
Jacquie
What % of milk should I use.
Sam
Whole milk. Enjoy! 🙂
Robbie
I just made this cake using two 8 inch rounds. The cakes bubbled over in my oven, and made a terrible mess. I thought it seemed like a lot of batter for 8 inch pans, and I almost went with my 9-inch; but, I was following the recipe. Now, I have undone cake layers, and burnt cake drippings in my oven. Next time, I will follow my own baking instincts and use the 9-inch pans. (I have been baking for over 50 years…).
Sam
Robbie, how deep are your pans? Mine are only about 2″ deep and the cakes don’t come close to overflowing, but I’m wondering if yours are particularly shallow if they overflowed? Ugh that’s not fun though, I’m sorry to hear it.
Barbara Aylor
I read your comment and decided to have a third 8 inch pan ready if it looked like they were getting too full. Good thing. I had to devide into all 3 pans and one looked like it might overflow during baking even with 3 pans. Does it seem like one tablespoon of baking powder is a lot? Also the old fashioned way of cutting in stiffly beaten egg whites as opposed to folding them in might make a difference. I’m probably all wrong. I had to cut down cooking time a lot and almost burnt the 3 layers. We’ll see how it tastes. I’m going to freeze them till Christmas in 4 days. I’ll ice them then.
Sami
I made this cake in an oblong pan. I didn’t ask you any questions because it appears you’ve only ever made this cake once in 8″ round pans. I made the cake precisely as indicated by your recipe. I kept a close watch on it in the oven. It rose beautifully and had a very nice aroma. After 38 minutes at 350, it looked done. I put a toothpick into the center of it and it came out perfectly clean, there weren’t even any crumbs on it. I was delighted. I didn’t want to bake it any longer, for fear of making it dry and since the toothpick was perfectly clean, all systems were “Go” to take it out. I did and it fell immediately. Very disheartening.
Every posting to this recipe is either a question to which you have, a common sense question that you just wing it with the answer, or a positive comment, so I expect you won’t post this negative comment, but I want you to know I will not be using this recipe again, nor any of your others. I don’t like to waste good ingredients.
The frosting was tasty, but needed more cream than you indicated.
Sam
Hi Sami,
That’s a shame that you had this issue. I’m not sure of the exact dimensions of your pan, but my best guess is that the pan is not the problem. As I’ve said to many other people, this cake will work fine in just about any pan, but the baking time will vary (that’s not just “winging it”, that’s the truth). You are right that I do not bake my cakes in every size pan. I test my recipes extensively and repeatedly, but I simply don’t have the ability to test every shape and size pan out there so I stick to the most commonly used.
Anyway, judging from the problem you had, my best guess is that your egg whites were the issue. Since the toothpick came out clean and the cake fell right after it finished baking, I would venture a guess that your egg whites were over-beaten. This is an easy mistake to make, which is why I have an extensive section on tips for beating the egg whites in my post.
I’m disheartened to hear that you are unhappy with the previous comments on the post as well, but I post all comments that aren’t profane or outright nasty, even if I’m positive that the negative rating is a result of user error. I like for readers to be able to see what went wrong, so that they have a chance of not making the same mistake.
I stand firmly by this well-tested recipe, and the positive ratings it has received in the past.
Andree
Can I substitute a sugar alternative and almond flour to make the cake diabetic friendly?
Sam
Hi, Andree. Unfortunately I am not very familiar with that type of baking so I don’t really know how it would turn out. I don’t know that the almond flour would work well, but again I have never tried it.
Natasha
I was nervous to try a new cake recipe for my daughter’s birthday, but this did not disappoint me! I baked it in a bit smaller/deeper of a pan, so it took quite a bit longer, but it still turned out great. This cake does not taste like anything I’ve ever tried before, and it’s definitely being saved as my “go to” recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Natasha! 🙂
Miya Davis
I also would like to know if this cake freezes well?
Sam
Hi, Miya! Yes it should do well in the freezer. 🙂
Miya Davis
Hi, I was wondering if this would work in an 8×3 cake pan?
Sam
Are you referring to a circular pan? The recipe is made in an 8 inch pan. I don’t know exactly how much batter an 8 x 3 rectangular pan would hold but you would probably need two of them and the baking time would definitely vary. Hope that helps. 🙂
Rachel
For a round 8″ pan the recipe will fit nicely in 2 8×3″ pans.
Lauren
Thanks for the recipe! I have two questions. 1) Can I double this recipe and bake in 4 9″ cake pans? 2) Do you think it will work to mix in Oreo cookie crumbs at the end? I’m sure you have not done either of these things but just wanted to get your opinion.
Sam
Hi, Lauren! Yes you can double the recipe to make the 4 cakes, of course with 9 inch pans the cakes will be slightly thinner than 8 inch pans, so they won’t need to bake quite as long. I have not tried mixing in the oreo crumbs, but I don’t think that would cause and issue. 🙂
Lauren
Thanks for the feedback – it worked perfectly! The cake was very moist and tasted great with Oreo cookie crumbs 🙂
Sam
Yay! I am so glad it turned out. 🙂
Judy
After folding in the beaten egg whites can some of the streaks from the egg whites still show a little in the batter? I ask this because you said not to OVER MIX the egg whites in the batter. Thanks
Sam
If it is a very small amount, it should be ok. 🙂
Jillian
How long do you think it would take to bake this in a 9×5 loaf pan?
Sam
Hi, Jillian. Unfortunately I haven’t tried it this way so I can’t say for sure how long it would take.
Lianne
Does this cake bake flat or did I do something wrong?
Sam
It bakes flat for me! One of the perks of this recipe in my opinion — no leveling required! 🙂
Lianne
That’s Great! Thanks.
Kim Melone
How long would you bake a 6” and a 12” round cake for this batter? Also how many batches would it take to do both 6” double layer and 12” double layer cakes
Sam
I’m sorry. I am not sure. I have only baked these in 8 or 9 inch pans. I don’t know how many batches you would need to make to get those sized cakes.
Krystal Marshall
I’m making a 2 tier cake with a 6″x3″ and 10″x3″ pan. Do I need to adjust this recipe?
Sam
I’m sorry, I don’t know how to adjust for those amounts. I have only made it with 8 inch pans.