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.
This cake pairs beautifully with white chocolate ganache as a frosting - the vanilla flavor of the ganache complements the delicate crumb of the cake perfectly.
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
Angel says
This blows my old go-to white cake recipe out of the water. The almond extract really bumps it up to a new level. I'll definitely be using it for all my white cakes from now on. I live in high altitude, and the only change needed was bumping the oven up to 360.
Peachy says
This made the most perfect level layers with excellent crumb. I didn’t flour my 8” anodized pans. My oven temp is correct and my layers gook the longer time. It would be wonderful to upload a photo of them backing, then one of the cakes removed from the pans. A butter knife used carefully to loosen the edges, and the parchment and oil spray were sufficient for easy removal.
For this occasion, the celebrant likes chai tea so I added cinnamon to the cake batter, and later soaked three chai tea bags for 5 minutes in the warmed milk in a standard custard filling recipe
I LOVE this cake recipe. It’s perfect!
Katelynn says
Hi. Is there an almond extract that doesn't taste like cherry? My family doesn't like that cherry taste. OR can I sub for more vanilla?
Elizabeth Marek says
You can leave out the almond if you dont like it
Katelynn says
Hi! My family doesn't care for the taste of almond extract. The kind we tried tasted like cherry. Can I substitute it for something, or do not all almond extracts taste like cherry?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can leave it out
April says
Hi in the recipe ingredient list it says milk but down below in reading in your notes it says to make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature and it says buttermilk not milk in this cake. Are we supposed to use milk or buttermilk?
Elizabeth Marek says
Use milk as instructed in the recipe. Buttermilk is just an example in the notes of something that should be brought to room temperature.
TBB says
I tried to do a white cake from scratch many years ago and it came out so dense and heavy that I became afraid to ever try again!! I do all of the other cakes I do from scratch but for some reason the white cake stumped me… that is until I decided to try again and came across your recipe! Grant it I did use the mix to make cupcake and not an actual cake … but when I say they were fabulous! Thank you so much! You’ve restored my confidence in trying white cake from scratch!
Trudy Metzger says
My second time trying to comment and rate recipe. I love the flavour but the cake caves in every time, no matter what I do. We weigh ingredients. After more than 30 years of baking, this is the best flavour white cake I’ve found, and also the only one I cannot master. Any suggestions?
Elizabeth Marek says
It sounds like you might not be baking it for long enough or mixing for long enough
Margaret says
Hi Liz, I'm making a grooms cake. Can I cover this cake with fondant icing to decorate?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can
Jesse says
Probably the best white cake I’ve made. This will be my go-to from now on. It’s tender, takes color and flavor well, and holds up to decorating. Thanks for sharing!
Kristi says
I'm new to your site. Are the ounces all in weight or just some of them, like the butter is weight but the milk is volume? Thank you.
Elizabeth Marek says
Everything is by weight except for small ingredients like teaspoons and Tablespoons
Kelly says
Made this recipe, and it was so good! Super fluffy, didn't taste any of the baking powder, and great flavor! Tasted very professional and was super easy to make! I always struggle with butter cakes being too dense, but I was really surprised by how fluffy this was. Highly recommend this white cake recipe and was super thrilled I found it since I have been trying to recreate a bakery cake I love, and this tasted spot on.
chlo says
oh my gosh this recipe is absolutely wonderful. the cake is so soft and lightly sweet, balanced by a deliciously sweet icing. the family ate this up!! this is my new go to recipe for a white cake, thank you lots!!
Pam says
Can I use box egg whites?
Sugar Geek Show says
Definitely
lisa says
The ingredients say, "fresh not boxed". So, can we get this confirmed one way or the other?
Elizabeth Marek says
I have tested it with both and either will work
Dahrah says
I love all your recipes!! I am also looking for a vanilla cake recipe that uses all purpose flour like this one. Have you tried this recipe with 4 whole eggs perhaps? Will that give it more flavor aside from the vanilla? Will it affect the texture?
Elizabeth Marek says
If you use whole eggs instead of just egg whites (by weight) then this will be a vanilla cake
Hatch Castillo says
I used your recipe in December of 2020 for a friend's bday. Hands down, the best white cake I've ever made. Probably one of the best cakes I've ever made. This recipe is a Keeper! Thanks for passing it on 🙂
Shaelee says
Great recipe, it came out perfect and it was a beautiful color and was done perfectly. Thank you for the recipe