This WASC cake recipe is a tender and moist cake that is perfect for white wedding cakes. It's firm enough to stack and cover in fondant but if you're looking for something to carve, you might want to try my white cake recipe.
What does WASC stand for?
WASC stands for white almond sour cream cake. WASC cake recipe has been used for years and adapted many times. I made this recipe many years ago back after reading a thread on Cake Central before I knew how to bake a cake from scratch. The funny thing is by adding all these ingredients, you're basically making a cake from scratch! The only thing you don't have to worry about is the mixing method which can be tricky at first but is easy enough to learn with a couple of tries.
The good thing about WASC is that it's easy to make, is fairly mistake-proof and tastes pretty good and is an easy way to make a boxed cake taste more like a scratch cake recipe.
WASC cake is a tender cake and needs to be fully cooled before you ice it with buttercream.
What is the best box mix to use for WASC?
I prefer Duncan Hines classic white cake mix. Duncan Hines, in my opinion, has the best tasting box mix to start with.
If you need more information on how to make your first cake, check out my full tutorial. In this tutorial, I show you not only how to make this WASC cake recipe, I also show you how to trim your cake layers, fill your cake evenly with buttercream and create a smooth finish.
Because this doctored mix bakes up sturdy, it works great as the base for my Oreo layer cake when you want to fold chopped cookies right into the batter.
Other tutorials that might be helpful for you
How to get sharp buttercream edges
How to cover a cake in fondant
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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.
Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix I like duncan hines
- 5 oz AP flour 1 cup (spooned into cup, not scooped)
- 7 oz granulated sugar 1 cup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 9 oz sour cream 1 cup room temp
- 4 oz melted butter ½ cup
- 8 oz milk 1 cup room temperature
- 4 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
WASC CAKE INSTRUCTIONS
- The instructions for this cake are super easy. Basically, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix it on medium speed for 2 minutes! Voila! Cake batter is ready. Pour batter into two prepared 8" pans and bake at 350ºF for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. It's ok to bake your cakes for longer if you're using larger pans.
Hannah says
How does this recipe fair for making cupcake? And how many cupcakes do think this recipe would produce?
Susan says
Hi, looking for a moist vanilla cake for my sons birthday. This one looks great. My question is can I make this recipe in a 9 x 13 pan or would a larger half a sheet pan be better? Seems like a lot of batter for a 9 x 13 since you add the flour and sugar to the mix. Any idea on how long I might bake in the 9x 13 or half sheet?
Thanks
Susan
The Sugar Geek Show says
9x13 serves 25 and should be plenty. Two boxes will be plenty. Time to bake varies depending on your oven but I would start with 40 mins
Henrietta Jones says
Hi Liz! (1) You're amazing and I'm probably a bit toooooooo obsessed with your work/site and mad skillz 😛 (2) I've just had a crack at making your no fail cake and (I'm embarassed to say) have failed (!!!) - the recipe is rad, but my technique must be incorrect - when you say "mix for 2 minutes", are you mixing on high speed or medium speed (say, kitchenaid setting 4?) and are you using the whisk or the paddle? (3) thank you again!
The Sugar Geek Show says
What seems to be the problem? It doesn't matter if it's a whisk or a paddle with box mix 🙂
JR says
Use a paddle, and mix at medium low setting, the setting 4 is perfect.
Monika kothari says
What will be the substitute for egg.. As many of Indians don't eat egg
The Sugar Geek Show says
I'm sorry I don't have a substitution for an egg for this recipe. Perhaps you know of a typical egg substitute that you could try?
Adriene says
I saw on a show they used aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of garbanzo beans) I think it was 2 tablespoons of aquafaba equals one egg white. Totally blew my mind they used it to make meringue!!
Pauline Mcconnell says
Cake mixes use to be a larger weight. Can you tell me is this recipe done with the 18+ size or the 15+ weight cake mix?
Jocelyn says
I used the 15+ weight box and it turned out perfect.
Smith says
Any reason why it has to be fresh egg whites vs the box kind? Does the 100% liquid egg whites in a carton not whip as well?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Correct, you can use box but it may affect the texture
Tina says
I often use (cartoned) pasteurized egg whites for a lot of recipes, but I use half real whites and half carton whites when I need foamy/frothy whites. Foam from cartoned whites break down too easily when you try to fold it into anything. When it really counts, I stick with real whites. Hope this helps!
Julie MS says
Can clear vanilla extract be used to substitute for the Almond extract?
The Sugar Geek Show says
yes you can use any flavoring you like
Tim Cook says
Do you think I'd be able to sub the white cake mix for a different flavor (such as yellow, butter pecan or funfetti)?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you totally can
Ash says
Would you add anything extra if trying it with a chocolate base? Or would you recommend a different recipe?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I have a chocolate WASC recipe that tastes really great
Darlene hutson says
This is the perfect recipe for wedding cakes.
jasmine says
can i use yogurt instead of sour cream
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes and that would be so yummy
Toya says
Can I use milk instead of water in this recipe
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can
Minerva Moser says
The recipe doesn't say anything about water.
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can use water or milk.
Olga says
You use melted butter that wasnt in original recipe. Is it a typo or thats was your tried addition?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I added melted butter because it adds more stability to the cake
Hyacinth Rodrigues says
Your cakes and recipes are really great and secondly they are so easy to follow.
Have a question- can you please advise if WASC Cake Recipe- good for stacking cake - will it be sturdy.
Thanking in advance.
Hyacinth
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it is great!
Hyacinth Rodrigues says
Love your site and the cakes and recipes are all yum. Can you please advise if I could use this cake recipe (WASC Cake Recipe) for stacking cakes. Will it be sturdy .
Sue says
I'm thinking you've revised your recipe and didn't change your intro. It says it's not good for large stacked cakes because it doesn't have butter in it. Your recipe actually has a 1/2 cup of butter. I use this recipe a lot and mix it a little differently; mix cake mix, flour, sugar, salt; set aside; mix eggs (I use 3 whole eggs), sour cream, flavoring, and water (1 1/3 cup) for a few seconds: add in dry ingredients for 30 seconds; then add melted butter for 2 minutes. And, it takes more like 40-50 minutes to bake at 325.
Thanks for all you do for us struggling bakers. You're the bomb!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes I updated the recipe 🙂
m says
Hi,
I would like to know why you choose to mix it differently?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Because I prefer the texture of the reverse mixing method for this particular cake.