This is the perfect classic white cake recipe. Light and fluffy, moist and full of flavor. There is a joke in the cake world that white is not a flavor, it's actually a vanilla cake. But a white cake is not just white. Let's dive into what makes the perfect, best white cake recipe.
Quick Glance at the Recipe: White Cake Recipe
- Recipe Name: White Cake Recipe
- Why You'll Love It: Soft, fluffy white cake with a delicate crumb and bright white color that's perfect for decorating.
- Time and Difficulty: 15 minutes - Intermediate difficulty
- Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, egg whites, butter, sugar, milk, baking powder
- Method: Traditional creaming method with egg whites added to whipped butter and sugar.
- Texture and Flavor: Light, tender crumb with a subtle vanilla flavor and moist interior.
- Quick Tip: Wrap the cakes while still warm and flash chill them to lock in moisture.
Jump to:
- Quick Glance at the Recipe: White Cake Recipe
- My Experience With White Cake
- White Cake Ingredients
- What Makes A White Cake?
- How To Make A White Cake Step-By-Step
- How to Make Easy Buttercream Step-By-Step
- Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
- Cups of Batter Needed
- Cups of Frosting Needed
- Watch: How To Decorate A Cake Step-by-Step
- Recipe
My Experience With White Cake
There's a running joke in the cake world that "white isn't a flavor." People say it's just vanilla cake without the yolks.
But professional bakers know that white cake really is its own thing.
By removing the egg yolks and using only egg whites, the cake becomes lighter in color and slightly more delicate in flavor. It also produces that bright white crumb that's perfect for wedding cakes and elegant layer cakes.
White cake, vanilla cake, and yellow cake are all closely related recipes, but the way the eggs are used changes the texture, flavor, and color.
White Cake Ingredients
This recipe uses traditional baking ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
All-purpose flour - Provides structure for the cake. I prefer all-purpose flour here because it gives the cake a slightly stronger crumb that holds up well for layered cakes. If you prefer cake flour, check out my white velvet cake recipe.
Egg whites - Egg whites keep the cake bright white while still adding structure and moisture. You can use fresh egg whites or pasteurized egg whites.
Granulated sugar - Sugar sweetens the cake and helps create a light, fluffy texture when whipped with the butter.
Unsalted butter - Butter adds flavor and richness to the cake. Make sure it's soft so it creams properly with the sugar. If you brown the butter you can make a delicious brown butter cake.
Milk - Milk adds moisture and helps create a soft crumb.
Vegetable oil - Oil keeps the cake moist even after refrigeration.
Baking powder - This gives the cake its lift and light texture.
Salt - Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor.
Vanilla extract or clear vanilla - Vanilla adds flavor. Clear vanilla can be used if you want to keep the cake extra white.
What Makes A White Cake?
Many people confuse white cake, vanilla cake, and yellow cake, but the difference mostly comes down to how the eggs are used.
- White Cake uses only egg whites, which keeps the crumb bright white and gives the cake a delicate texture.
- Vanilla cake uses whole eggs, which results in a slightly off-white color and a richer flavor.
- Yellow cake uses egg yolks, which give the cake a deep golden color and a richer, more custardy flavor. Again, people laugh and say that "white" and "yellow" is not a flavor but making an order for "all egg yolk cake" just does not have the same ring to it. It's just a way of describing the cake so we all are on the same page.
White cake and vanilla cake are both commonly used as base recipes for flavored cakes, while yellow cake is traditionally paired with chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache.
The names might sound simple, but they're just shorthand so bakers know exactly what type of cake they're working with.
How To Make A White Cake Step-By-Step
Remember to always bring your cold ingredients to room temperature and use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. I use "ounces" for my measurements because it's easier to mis en place everything out. If you prefer metric, you can switch the measurements on the recipe card below.
- Preheat your oven to 335ºF (168ºC) and prepare two 8" x 2" cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release.
- Combine the warm milk, oil, and extracts, and set them aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together: flour, baking powder, and the salt and set it aside.
- Place the soft butter into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth.
While mixing on low, Sprinkle in your sugar, and then let it whip on high until light and white (about 5 minutes) until lightened in color and very fluffy.
- While mixing on low, add the egg whites one at a time (roughly) to the butter mixture and let them fully combine after each addition before adding the next. If your egg whites aren't at room temperature, you can microwave them for a few seconds. Be careful not to cook them! Cold egg whites will curdle the batter.
Mix until smooth.
- Add ⅓ of your dry ingredients to the egg/butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.
Then add in ½ of your liquids, then dry, then liquids, and the rest of your dry.
Let mix until they are just combined.
- Add the batter into prepared cake pans and bake them at 335º F for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center.
- Let the cakes cool for fifteen minutes, then turn out the cakes onto a cooling rack. Wrap the cakes while they are still warm and place them into the freezer to flash chill. This locks in the moisture. Once the cakes are cool but not frozen, you can then trim off the brown edges of your cakes and frost them as desired.
How to Make Easy Buttercream Step-By-Step
- Combine pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the mixture on medium speed until it becomes thick and glossy.
This creates the base for the easy buttercream.
- Begin adding softened butter one piece at a time while mixing on medium speed.
At first, the mixture may look curdled or separated. This is completely normal.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and salt. Then whip on high until light, fluffy, and no longer tastes like butter.
- Optional: Switch to the paddle attachment. Mix the easy buttercream on low for several minutes to remove air bubbles and achieve the smoothest possible texture.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
Select an option below to calculate how much batter or frosting you need. Adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to change the amounts the recipe makes.
Choose a pan type
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Cupcake Tin Size
Choose number of pans
Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Watch: How To Decorate A Cake Step-by-Step
Before you start decorating, watch the video below where I show you every step of decorating a cake from start to finish. Seeing the process in action makes it much easier to follow along
- Liz Marek.
Recipe
Ingredients
White Cake Recipe Ingredients
- 10 oz milk room temp
- 2 oz vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract use clear for a whiter cake
- 14 oz AP flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter room temp
- 14 oz sugar
- 6 large egg whites fresh not boxed at room temp
Easy Buttercream Frosting
- 8 oz pasteurized egg whites room temperature
- 32 oz powdered sugar
- 32 oz unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
White Cake Recipe Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 335ºF and prepare two 8"x2" cake pans with cake goop or another preferred pan release.
- Combine milk, oil and extracts and set aside
- Combine your flour, baking powder and salt and set aside
- Place butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and cream until smooth. Sprinkle in your sugar and then let whip on high until light and white (about 5 minutes)
- Add the egg whites one at a time (roughly) to the butter mixture while mixing on low and let fully combine after each addition before adding the next. If your egg whites aren't at room temperature you can microwave them for a few seconds. Be careful not to cook them! Cold egg whites will curdle the batter.
- Add in ⅓ of your dry ingredients to the egg/butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Then add in ½ of your liquids, then dry, then liquids and the rest of your dry. Let mix until just combined.
- Add batter into prepared cake pans and bake at 335º F for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center.
- Let cool ten minutes then turn out cakes onto a cooling rack. Wrap warm and place into the freezer to flash chill. This locks in the moisture. Once cool but not frozen you can then trim off the brown edges of your cakes and frost as desired. Chill cake.
Easy Buttercream Frosting
- Combine egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine on low then whisk on high, adding in your butter in small chunks, vanilla and salt. Turn mixer up to high and whip until light, fluffy and white.
Gold Drip
- Melt chocolate and water in the microwave and whisk until smooth. Add in a couple drops of food coloring. Let cool to about 90 degrees before attempting to drip over the chilled cake. Once chocolate is set, you can combine the everclear and gold dust to make a paint and paint the drip.
*note: this is a non-toxic gold dust
Knight says
Used this recipe for Memorial Day, and added strawberry jello to make it a poke cake. It turned out wonderfully, and have used this recipe numerous times. The perfect white cake recipe!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Oh that sounds tasty!
Paula says
In your opinion, are white cakes and vanilla cakes pretty similar? Changing out clear/brown vanilla and using, or not, almond extract aside...could a "white" cake be a "vanilla" cake? Maybe the addition of whole eggs vs just whites also makes a white cake white. Am I making any sense....
Kay says
You are making sense but she did address all those points on her blog post if you read it.
Gale M says
I made this cake for Memorial Day. It turned out great and got lots of compliments.
The Sugar Geek Show says
A good white cake is hard to find! So glad this one worked out for you 🙂
Christina says
I'm going to try this recipe, but I'm wondering what the ounces equate to in cups. Also, do you grease and flour your pans or just grease? Thanks for your help!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I really recommend you use weight instead of converting to cups for a successful recipe. I use cake goop for my pans. https://sugargeekshow.com/cake-goop-recipe/
Amy B says
Most beautiful batter I've ever seen. Not sure if it was supposed to or not, but it looked like the most beautiful vanilla bean ice cream I've ever seen!! Thanks for the info. I've been using a white cake recipe that was sooooooo ? much trouble. This was a breeze and yummy to boot! ??
Cierra says
Would this cake be dense enough to hold up to carving? Looking for a nice dense cake that is still moist and yummy while being “carvable”
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it is!
Haley says
I just made your white velvet cake and it was so good! Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be dense enough to stack for a wedding cake. Would you say this recipe is denser than your white velvet cake? I’m looking for a good recipe for my wedding cake.
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's absolutely dense enough for a wedding cake. I've used it dozens of times for weddings, birthdays etc. The only cake I don't use for stacking for wedding cakes is box mix.
Alia says
Hi, have been following your recipes for a while and finally have the opportunity to bake so want to try the white cake.
When you say wrap, is that in foil or cling film? I want to make this cake this weekend but decorate next weekend, can I just leave in the freezer for a week? Do I then let it defrost or decorate it frozen?
Thanks
Jennifer Gibson says
I have a customer who has requested an almond cake. Is this the recipe you would use for an almond
cake? I don’t see an almond cake recipe on your site. ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yep! Just replace the vanilla with almond
Mylieen says
Hi, just wondering it says 6 cups of batter makes 2 8" cake rounds. So does that mean this recipe is only enough for 2 8" or there is a little more left over? I need 2 9" cake rounds.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would make a batch and a half for 9" rounds and you'll have a little leftover for some 6" which I always freeze and are great for tastings!
Abigail says
Another question related... will this be enough to make a 4 layer 6” cake??
JesusFREAK says
BEST WHITE CAKE RECIPE EVER
Mahirah says
Hi my name is mahirah, i on my way to try this receipes.can i know when should put the oil and milk?
The Sugar Geek Show says
milk and oil is part of the liquid ingredients. Please follow the written instructions for when to add this part
Tracy says
I have been searching so long for this type of recipe....
Paula says
Oh this is fabulous information. I have been struggling with white/yellow/vanilla for soooo long. I love your vanilla cake recipe, which I change up to make lemon. It is fantastic. I have been searching for a white cake that doesn't taste like a buttermilk pancake. Weird, but many vanilla cakes taste this way to me. I really want to make a great white cake to pair with my homemade raspberry puree and lemon curd. I also like to alternate chocolate/white cake layers in one tall cake. Thanks so much. Gonna give this a try!
Trish says
Sounds easy cant wait to try it!
Dama says
Hi there. Can you talk about your gold drip used in these pictures? What product is it? Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
That is just water ganache painted with truly mad plastics super gold. Search golden drip cake in the tutorials for more info 🙂
Janette Rouse says
I really appreciated the great information in this article. I recently made a white cake for Easter and was so disappointed with the texture. After reading your article, I think I understand what I did wrong. I am for sure saving this in my favorites.