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.
Other tutorials that might be helpful for you
How to get sharp buttercream edges
How to cover a cake in fondant
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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8 cups
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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.
Christine kelly says
I just made my daughters cupcakes using this recipe! The taste, and texture of these cupcakes are amazing! You would never know the base of it was box cupcake they taste like they r made from scratch! Can’t wait to try chocolate Wasc recipe!
Emily S. says
Do you use all of the other ingredients that the boxed cake mix calls for (eg. Oil, water, 3 eggs) in Addition to the ingredients above, or just the cake mix out of the box only, then just the items above?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Only use the ingredients that the recipe calls for, ignore the box
Toni D says
Well... shoot. I guess I didn't bake it long enough. Takes a minimum of an hour for me. This was 45 minutes... other than that, its delicious!
The Sugar Geek Show says
You must have had it in a very big pan 😀
Minerva Moser says
I put this in two 8-inch round aluminum cake pans (from Wilton), and they didn't even BEGIN to be baked until at least 45 minutes, and that was after I got frustrated and raised the temperature to 350 degrees, where it probably should have been in the first place. Who on earth bakes cakes at 335 degrees?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I bake all my cakes at 335 and that is quite normal. Perhaps your oven temps are off.
Carly says
Will this be okay to layer and use a fruit purée/filling between?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes definitely
Limpy says
The melted butter in recipe. Is it 1/2 a cup that is then melted or melt butter & measure out 1/2 cup? Thanks.
The Sugar Geek Show says
4oz of butter that is melted
Heike Wiegand says
What is white cake mix? I am in Germany and don't know to buy?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's an American pre-made boxed cake mix
TaQueeta says
Can't find the link to your Chocolate WAS cake or the updated video. Was it removed? Love your cakes by the way!
The Sugar Geek Show says
No it wasnt removed. It's under cake recipes https://sugargeekshow.com/chocolate-wasc/
Lori says
Love your whole site! Just one question since I think I made a mistake mixing the batter. I added the dry ingredients then the melted butter and the rest of the liquid ingredients. After mixing there were lumps all through the batter I think it is because I added the melted butter to the dry before I added the rest of the liquid. Any thoughts on if that was the issue?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hmm that is odd. Adding butter to the dry should not result in lumps. Perhaps your cake mix was just really lumpy. You can always sift beforehand if you notice lumps.
D says
Hi, I’m new here.
If using the 6” pans, is it the same temperature and same baking time?
Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
It just depends, I would start with 25 minutes and check to see how done they are. Better to be safe than sorry.
Linda says
What is AP Flour
The Sugar Geek Show says
Regular plain flour (not self-rising)
bunny says
AP Flour stands for All-Purpose flour.
Tami says
Hi, Can you use the Cake Flour like in the other cake recipe or do you have to use the AP?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would use the ingredients that the recipe calls for 🙂
Alejandro Vargas says
Hi, can this recipe be used for cupcakes? If so how many and for how long in the oven? Thank you:)
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes, it's basically a box mix. I don't know exactly how many but usually cupcakes bake up in about 18-21 minutes
Crystal C says
If you are using this recipe for a vanilla cake do you use whole eggs
The Sugar Geek Show says
If the box calls for whole eggs then yes use whole eggs
Nen says
Hi, love all your recipes. Just want some clarity since confused by this. Your recipe calls for egg whites. But if the box calls for whole eggs, we follow the box instead of following your recipe to a tee?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Don't follow the directions on the box, just add in the ingredients that are listed in the recipe 🙂
Drizzled In Love says
If using whole eggs in this same scenario, would we use the number of eggs the box calls for (3) or would we still use 4 per your recipe? Thank you.
The Sugar Geek Show says
A whole egg is not the same as an egg white. 1 whole (large egg) weighs 1.67 ounces and an egg white weighs 1 ounce. So if you are going to replace 4 ounces of egg whites with whole eggs, you'd need the weight to be equal to the whole eggs. So roughly two whole eggs plus an egg white.
Jocelyn says
I used this recipe to make cupcakes and they were AMAZING!! Wonderful texture and flavor! Thank you, Liz!!
Amy says
I recently made this cake for my church's linger longer. The people who tried it loved it. I brought the leftovers home and my family loved it. I frosted it with a simple buttercream frosting. A brother at my church said he'd give it 4.75 stars. I give it 5 stars. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
The Sugar Geek Show says
It's a winner in this house too! So easy to put together too 🙂
Melinda Mincey says
I am sooo happy to find this site. I love all of your ideas using box mixes. Going to enjoy trying it for a yellow cake because I haven't found a scratch yellow cake recipe that I liked yet. Always go to my sour cream pound cake .