White velvet cake is a soft, delicate cake with a hint of buttermilk and vanilla
White velvet cake is red velvet cake's pretty little sister. Red velvet cake has been around for ages and probably one of the most popular cake flavors of all time. But not everyone want's to eat red food coloring or maybe they have special dietary requirements that don't allow them to eat red food dye. Whatever the reason, options are always good.
A lot of people wonder if you can just leave out the red food color and get white velvet and the answer is yes, kinda. You also need to leave out the cocoa powder. All the things that make red velvet cake delicious can be left in.
sidenote... the more I spell the word "velvet" the weirder it looks... velvet. velvet VELVET. Starts to look wrong.
But anyway...
What is white velvet cake?
White velvet cake is basically red velvet without the red. It's a buttermilk cake base that results in a VERY soft, fluffy and moist cake. If you leave out all the color and the cocoa powder you have yourself a nice white velvet cake. Neat huh. The buttermilk gives this southern inspired cake it's rich and velvety texture.
Traditional red velvet cake has a little bit of cocoa powder in it. Some will tell you that red velvet is actually chocolate cake (wrong) or that it's just white cake with red food color added (so wrong). The cocoa powder does add a little bit of flavor to the cake but not enough to call it chocolate so when you leave it out, it doesn't affect the flavor that much.
This same light, fluffy batter technique is what inspired my baked donut recipe - if you love this cake you will love those too.
What's so great about white velvet?
So one of the BEST things about this recipe, in my opinion, is the texture. The crumb is soooo soft and well... velvety! I love how it looks when you cut it. Soft and pillowy. It's like magic!
What Is Buttermilk?
Buttermilk is basically fermented milk that has gone sour. I know it sounds weird but it actually tastes amazing in baked goods. The tanginess in buttermilk adds a great flavor and the acidity in buttermilk actually breaks down gluten so baked goods are more tender than if you used regular milk.
I mean, there's a reason recipes like "buttermilk pancakes" and "buttermilk" biscuits always seem better than just... pancakes. Ya know?
Don't have any buttermilk? You can make it! Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk, stir and let it sit for about 10 minutes. You'll see the milk begin to thicken and curdle. Voila. Homemade buttermilk.
How does white velvet cake taste like?
White velvet cake tastes so amazing BECAUSE of the buttermilk! It just adds a little tang and zip that for some reason your tastebuds just love.
The crumb is super fine like my white cake recipe or my vanilla cake recipe and is definitely a great cake for flavor to just bake up for a special occasion.
What frosting goes with white velvet cake?
The traditional frosting that goes with velvet cake is ermine frosting. Ermine frosting is made by cooking sugar with a bit of flour and then whipping it into softened butter.
Ermine frosting is super creamy, not too sweet and tastes amazing with white velvet cake. In my opinion it tastes very similar to a swiss-meringue buttercream but without the eggs so it's a nice alternative if you have an egg allergy.
How do you make blue velvet cake?
To make blue velvet cake, simply add in 1 oz of electric blue food color (for a light blue cake) or royal blue food color (for darker blue) to the base white velvet recipe.
For a more natural blue, add 1-2 teaspoon of natural cocoa powder ( not dutched. I like Hershey's special dark) The cocoa powder will tone down the bright blue just a little so it's not so VIVID and make a nice natural blue. Or if you want a really bright blue you can leave the cocoa powder out.
Blue velvet is a great cake for gender reveals, birthday cakes or just because blue velvet is awesome.
Can you can make velvet cake with different colors?
Yes! If you want a different color of velvet cake then simply replace the food color with any other color you like. You can do a white velvet rainbow, ombre or go with neon. The color possibilities are endless!
I made this lovely green velvet cake for st patricks day! I added in the cocoa powder for a more natural shade of green and used 1 oz of leaf green americolor food color gel.
What about black velvet cake?
Ok so TECHNICALLY I have another recipe called black velvet cake that does not use this velvet cake base. Why? Because it's really a chocolate cake. It doesn't have any buttermilk in it, vinegar or food coloring! So why even bother calling it black velvet?
Well it's got a nice velvet-y texture. In the future I may experiment further with a true black velvet recipe working from the base velvet recipe but upping the cocoa powder. Too many cake ideas, so little time.
Try my vanilla cupcakes that have the same velvet texture as this white velvet cake, thanks to the reverse creaming method.
Related Recipes
Rainbow Cake
Green Velvet Cake
Pink Velvet Cake
Black Velvet Cake
Red Velvet Cake
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Cups of Batter Needed
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
- Stand Mixer
- Whisk Attachment
- Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
White Velvet Cake Ingredients
- 14 oz cake flour
- 13 oz granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 5 oz egg whites room temperature
- 4 oz vegetable oil
- 10 oz buttermilk room temperature or slightly warm
- 6 oz butter unsalted and softened
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
Ermine Frosting Ingredients
- 14 oz granulated sugar
- 3 oz flour
- 16 oz whole milk
- 16 oz unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the room temperature ingredients listed above are room temperature and measured by weight so that the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly. Heat oven to 335º F/168º C — 350º F/177º C. I tend to use lower setting to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking.
- Prepare two 8"x2" (or three 6") cake pans (with a little leftover batter) with cake goop or preferred pan spray. Fill your pans about ¾ of the way full of batter.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of .a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix 10 seconds to combine.
- Combine ½ cup of the milk and the oil together and set aside.
- Combine the remaining milk, egg whites and vanilla together, whisk to break up the eggs and set aside.
- Add your softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until mixture resembles a coarse sand (about 30 seconds). Add in your milk/oil mixture and let mix until dry ingredients are moistened and then bump up to med (setting 4 on my kitchenaid) and let mix for 2 minutes to develop the cakes structure. If you don't let your cake mix on this step your cake could collapse.
- Scrape your bowl and then reduce speed to low. Add in your egg white mixture in three batches, letting the batter mix for 15 seconds between additions.
- Scrape down the sides again to make sure everything has incorporated then pour into prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly but the cake has not begun to shrink yet from the sides of the pan. IMMEDIATELY TAP PAN FIRMLY on countertop once to release the steam from the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking.
- Let cakes cool for 10 minutes inside the pan before flipping them out. The cake will shrink a bit and that is normal. Flip onto a cooling rack and let cool fully. I chill my cakes before handling or you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them to trap moisture in the cake. Thaw on the countertop while still wrapped before frosting.
Ermine Frosting Instructions
- Whisk together your flour and sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes to toast the flour.
- Slowly add in your milk, whisk to combine and bring your heat to medium-high. Whisk continuously until mixture is thickened and pudding like. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool.
- Add your butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on high until light and fluffy. Slowly add in your cooled flour mixture one spoon at a time as you whip. Incorporating slowly insures a smooth buttercream.
- Add in your vanilla and salt until everything is creamy and then you can frost your cooled cake.
Mary says
We made this cake and it was wonderful! Have never tried this type of icing and it is now our new favourite. Thanks for posting:)
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you! I love it too!
Margo says
Hi, I would like to flavor this cake with coconut. Can I add coconut extract in place of the vanilla extract? Or do you suggest I use both flavors?
Thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can use coconut extract
Denise says
Hello!! I haven´t tried this recipe but I´m so tempted to do it, so... Can I replace butter for flavorless oil? Maybe same amount or perhaps a little less. Thank you and best wishes from Buenos Aires, Argentina!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Butter and oil don't work the same unfortunately
Amanda Longton says
Would love more direction with the frosting. The "cool" part is vauge. How cool does the sugar/flour/milk mix need to be? Cooler than it was, room temp, 41degrees, cooler than that? How cool until I add it to the whipped butter? Thanks. A video on how to make the frosting would be really helpful as well, but I would be grateful for just a little more detail too.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Ok, I can update that for you. Cool until it's not warm anymore so like, room temperature or colder is fine.
Rene says
Could I add a vanilla bean or extra vanilla extract to up the vanilla flavor? Do you have a link to buy your scale?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can def add a vanilla bean. This is my affiliate link to the scale I use 🙂 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEKX35Y/?cv_ct_id=amzn1.idea.Z0PFK2BYSGWM&cv_ct_pg=storefront&cv_ct_wn=aip-storefront&ref=exp_cov_sugargeekshow_dp_vv_d
Alexis says
I attempted making this for the fair...I WILL NEVER MAKE IT AGAIN! The cake was really sticky and it sunk it the middle. It stuck to the pan even though i greased it really well. Then i made the frosting to try and save it and the frosting was so soupy and gross. The only thing i did different in the whole recipe was convert my measurements because i didn't have scale available at the time. i've converted other weights to cups and it has always worked fine for me. why not just use regular measurements in the first place? My local grocery store doesn't sell cake flour or buttermilk unless you want to pay a ridiculous price. i used the substitute ap flour + corn starch for the cake flour and whole milk + lemon juice for the buttermilk. i've used both of these before and the recipes worked fine. i also separated my own eggs but i'm assuming that doesn't really make a difference. all in all this recipe was gross and didn't work for me. i don't know what exactly i did wrong but the cake didn't taste or look good!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hi Alexis, I can completely understand your frustration. I hate when I try a new recipe and it flops big time! I myself am a chronic "recipe tweaker" as well and have definitely been in your shoes. I know not everyone understands why I chose to create my recipes by weight instead of cups but that is how I was taught in pastry school and the only way I can guarantee good results and accuracy in measuring. I tried to explain why in the blog post above that it's really important to measure by weight, follow the instructions and not make substitutions except were suggested (such as adding vinegar to milk if you don't have any buttermilk on hand) to avoid a baking disaster. Best wishes.
Megan says
Hi, I’ve now made the cake but Is there any way to bring my ermine buttercream back?? It’s really soupy & would definitely not hold any shape... actually I’d be lucky to get it to stay on the cake lol. I’d like to be able to pipe rosettes (like yours). Do you think it’ll make it better if I add some meringue powder?
Megan says
Do you have a suggestion for how much by weight for the baking powder? In Australia our tablespoon is bigger in volume. Or... rather than weighing it, should I use 3 teaspoons which would hold roughly the same volume in millilitres?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I don't know off the top of my head but yes there is a difference if you google it 🙂
Liz says
Do you always use real egg whites in your recipes? Or can I use the liquid egg whites that come in a carton?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I use liquid egg whites all the time, just make sure you shake the box because they do get watery and separated
rudolph j loehndorf says
can you use white lily self rising flour in this recipe ,would white lily work? thank you for the information.
Karen says
Can I put oreos in the batter to create cookies and cream?
Jennifer C Ford says
Desperate to make this recipe but it's coming out as far, far too oily? I've tried twice now, measuring everything by weight and using all the correct ingredients (except cake flour is swapped to corn flour+ap flour substitute cause I don't think they sell cake flour in the UK). Anyone had this problem? Any clue what I'm doing wrong?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I mention in the blog post that you can't substitute the flour because of the mixing method. The other issue might be your ingredients not being warm (even eggs and milk) must be slightly warm or they will curdle and the batter will separate.
Pamela Schrank says
Loved your video such a beautiful cake.. Explained very well I’ve watched it at least a doz times now. Making this cake for July 4th 2019 fingers crossed. And I love using a scale for recipes can’t believe how much of a difference it makes Had a problem a few years back with my sugar cookies I've been making for 20 years now so I bought one. Now my sugar cookies & everything else comes out great 🙂 Happy 4th of July !!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
That's what I love about using a scale too! I never have those "off days" anymore where a recipe randomly doesn't turn out.
Elissa says
Quick question, what is the standard size of the tsp/tbsp you are using? I’m in Australia and ours are 5ml/20ml, but I think the tbsp is slightly larger than normal. Thanks ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Good question! According to Wikipedia, A United States tablespoon is approximately 14.8 ml (0.50 US fl oz)
Dolores says
I tried this recipe twice and both times it came out a disaster can you help convert measurements from metric to us example 200 ml cake flour we converted it to 1 1/2 cups flour it was all runny and boiled out of cake pans my grandsons birthday and his mom was looking forward to this cake it was horrible
The Sugar Geek Show says
So sorry for the disaster. Unfortunately, all my recipes go by weight not volume because of this issue. Volume (cups) measurements are very inaccurate and for these recipes to turn out, you have to use a scale. You can get a scale at most grocery stores for very little money and will save you from wasting ingredients in the future.