Need a fantastic recipe for a White Cake from Scratch? This white layer cake is amazing.
It is delicious, very moist, has a wonderful flavor, and holds up well to fondant. This white cake has become a new favorite for us!
The Perfect Scratch Cake Recipe
Many years ago, when I first began to experiment with cake decorating, I baked with doctored cake mix recipes exclusively. They taste great, are super moist, consistent, and simple.
I was convinced that scratch cakes…especially white cakes and chocolate scratch cakes were … underwhelming. There’s nothing sadder than a gorgeous slice of cake that is dry when you take a bite of it.
Well, here we are years later, and I’m thrilled to report that I just hadn’t found the perfect scratch cake recipes yet! Now I have.
Super moist and delicious scratch cake recipes really DO exist and are floating around just begging to be made. Even scratch chocolate and white ones. Hooray!
While I still love a doctored cake mix recipe, and we have many in our Recipes Section that you must try, we have discovered (or created) many more scratch recipes that you’re going to love as well. This classic White Cake recipe is one of them.
You’ll notice that this cake isn’t a stark white. Although it does call for egg whites as most classic white cake recipes do, it also includes butter which lends great flavor, but also a slight tinge of yellow.
For a stark white, you would need to go with a recipe that calls for vegetable shortening instead of butter. But for me, I don’t want to lose the deliciousness that the butter adds. This cake is fabulous!
The Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing
Have you heard of the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing? With this mixing method, ingredients are added in a different order than with the conventional (aka creaming) method of mixing.
The results are a slightly denser cake with a finer crumb and a more velvety texture. You can see in the photo above that this cake as a fine crumb.
If you are unfamiliar with the Reverse Creaming Method of mixing and would like to learn more, you can find our link to a free to tutorial on the technique beneath the recipe!
*This recipe works well for cupcakes also, but as with most scratch recipes on our site, there is very little dome.
**For more information on the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing, check out our post and video tutorial on the method! Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing.
Frostings that taste great with White Cakes
The buttercream frosting that we used in the photo is our Classic Vanilla Buttercream, however when it comes to pairing frosting flavors with this delicious homemade white cake, the options are endless! Here are other favorites to consider!:
White Cake from Scratch
This moist, delicious, and versatile white cake recipe is amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (350g) sugar
- 2 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (19 g) baking powder
- 5 egg whites ( you can separate egg white from whole eggs or use 2/3 cup from a carton of pasteurized egg whites found in the refrigerated section of grocery store)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla
- 1 cup (242g) buttermilk
- 1/3 cup (72g) vegetable oil
- 10 Tablespoons (1 stick + 2T ) (141g) unsalted butter, slightly softened (do not microwave) I cut the butter into 1/2 inch slices onto waxed paper a short while before I need it. Mine is on the wax paper only 6 -7 minutes. It should still feel cold to the touch. If it becomes too soft, refrigerate for a few minutes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
- Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round cake pans
- In the bowl of your mixer add the dry ingredients, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk for at least 30 seconds so the ingredients are well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add the egg whites, buttermilk, vanilla and oil. Stir with a fork to combine.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time to the dry ingredients. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until the dry ingredients look crumbly and moistened by the butter. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add 1/2 of the egg mixture, increase to medium speed and mix for 1 1/2 minutes, the batter will become thick and fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings beating for 20 seconds after each addition.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn out.
- 6 cups of batter
Make sure to check out our full collection of tried and true recipes for cakes, cupcakes, fillings, and frostings in our Recipes Section!
Hi Helen, Yes, this recipe can be used to make a rainbow cake. The recipe only makes 6 cups batter. Are you planning to make 5 layers or 6. Some bakers make 5 layers, red, orange, yellow, green and the 5 layer a blue-violet color. Others bake the blue and violet separately, this gives them 6 cake layers. Five layers would probably work best with this amount of batter. Divide the batter into 5 equal potions and color.
I love this recipe, makes a beautiful batter and great cake. However, when I use it for cupcakes they usually shrink away from the tin edges and sink in the middle. They are delicious, but almost too moist and fluffy to hold their shape. Do you have any suggestions for altering this recipe or recommendation for a different recipe? I have a large wedding coming up and need to find a white cupcake to fill with lemon curd. Thanks so much, love being a member, have learned so much!
Hi Carol, I’m sorry that you are having trouble with the cupcakes sinking. I haven’t had this issue although there is very little to no dome with these as well as most of our scratch recipes. Another recipe that you could try is our White Almond Sour Cream Cake (you can leave out the almond if you’d like). If you are open to doctored cake mix recipes, the one that is called White Cake (doctored box mix) in the recipe section makes a light and fluffy cupcake.
I hope this helps! We do recommend refrigerating cakes with lemon curd filling until within a few hours of serving, not sure what you had in mind. Good luck!
Hello Melissa, I baked your “Lemon Cake from Scratch” recipe in Houston, Texas recently. It turned out well, was delicious and was enjoyed by all. I am now at my mountain home in Wyoming at about 6500 feet. How can I modify this recipe for the attitude and have a layer cake turn out? I haven’t had good luck baking a two layer cake in the mountains in the past. Your help is appreciated.
Hi Ellen, We live close to sea level so we don’t have first hand experience baking at high altitude. Below is a link to Craftsy’s tips to high altitude baking. I hope you will find it helpful.
https://www.craftsy.com/baking/article/how-to-bake-at-high-altitude/
I’m making half sheet cake can this recipe be doubled
Hi Beverly, I have not doubled this recipe but you should be able to do so with no problems.
Hi Beverly. Could you tell me how thick the 8 inch layers are? Do you think I could get 2x 10 inch cakes out of this? I don’t mind if the layers are a bit thinner… thanks!
Hi Sarah, For one 10×2 inch round pan you will need 6 cups of batter, which is what this recipe has. Double the recipe for two cake layers. The layers would be very thin if you did not double the recipe for a 2 layer cake. I’m not sure how thin would be acceptable to you.
Ellen,
I also am in Wyoming at about 6,800-7,000 feet. It took a lot of trial and error but I used this recipe as a base and have a beautiful white cake recipe now. You’re welcome to email me and I can send it to you or I can try to remember to post it here when I get home. dasie_760@yahoo.com
-aletha?
Thanks Melissa! Perhaps I’ll make one layer and see if it can be sliced into two before I double the recipe. I need 4 layers in the end, but the thought of buying 20 eggs for one cake just kills me :-D
Would this cake be suitable for carving.
I thought I would share my high altitude version of this recipe. I live at about 7,000 ft. In a dry environment. I adapted Melissa’s conventional mixing method recipe with a lot of trial and error and with the help of the king Arthur flour’s website suggestions for those baking at high altitudes. Hope it helps someone ?
325g caster sugar
328g cake flour (I prefer king Arthur flour over softasilk)
6g salt
5g baking powder
6 egg whites
8g vanilla
242g whole milk
102g vegetable oil
141g unsalted butter
14g cake enhancer (sold on King Arthur flour website)
Grease and flour two 8×2 cake tins
Preheat oven to 340 °
Using the exact same ingredients there is a HUGE difference between the conventional mixing method and the reverse creaming method. I find creaming the butter and sugar together first works best for me.
In your mixing bowl add the butter and mix on medium until soft and smooth. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla and blend well.
Next you will need two separate bowls. In bowl #1 sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cake enhancer. In bowl #2 add the egg whites and milk. You will add the flour mixture in three parts and the milk mixture in two. Mix until just combined. Don’t go over medium speed. So it looks something like this:
Flour mix
Milk mix
Flour mix
Milk mix
Flour mix
Do a good scrapping of the bowl and mix one more time until well blended together. You can also do this by hand so you don’t over mix your batter.
Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake at 340° for 35-40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and turn out. Let cool another 5-10min and in plastic wrap. I have noticed that my cake pulls away a tiny bit from the sides when it is done.
I have doubled this recipe with good results.
I have covered in fondant and it held up well
I do not think it would hold up to heavy carving
Happy baking everyone!! ?
Hi Aletha, Thank you so much for posting high altitude baking instructions. There is nothing like first hand experience. I’m sure this will be helpful and appreciated.
Hi Donna, I think you could do light carving with this recipe. It is always best to carve while the cake is partially frozen.
Can I use this recipe for a 9×13?
Hi Brittany, This recipe only has 6 cups of batter and most cake batter amount charts suggest 7 cups for a 9×13 pan. I think you would not be happy with the height of the cake. You could make 1 1/2 times the recipe, you would have a small amount leftover. Below are two charts that you will find helpful.
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_2inch_pan.php
http://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have been searching and baking for the past few years to find a scratch vanilla cake with this crumb and flavor. Its perfect. I also added a smidgen of almond extract and it was amazing! This will be my go to for all my vanilla cakes!
Hi Jen, We’re so happy that you like the recipe. Thank you so much for your nice comments and review of this cake.
Hi.
This is the best white cake recipe I’ve ever made and I’ve tried at least 10 different recipes. It’s delicious, and doesn’t have the cornbread/ cooked sugar taste that most of the others have. It’s great!
I’d like some advice about the texture. My cake is more spongy and fluffy, but I’m trying to replicate a publix cake which has a very uniform crumb yet very soft. I know they use their own mix, and none of the wasc variations I’ve done have come close. Does anyone know how to get closer to that texture? More creamy than chewy, with a uniform, small crumb.
Hi, I need to make this in a half sheet size. How many cups of batter and what temperature and baking time would I do? Thank you.
Hi Melanie, This recipe makes 6 cups batter. If your pan is 11 x 15 you will need 11 cups batter. Bake at 325 degrees fo 35 to 40 minutes. Click on the links below for other sheet cake pan sizes and batter amounts. They are guidelines to follow and I think you will find them helpful.
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_2inch_pan.php
http://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
I want to make a 2-tier cake covered in fondant. Will this recipe be stable enough?
Hi Cassie, Yes, it will be, with the fondant being 1/8 to 3/16 inch thickness
Question. Do you whip the egg whites or just blend all together? I’ve been searching for a good white cake recipe and I’m anxious to try this one
Hi Diana, The egg whites are not whipped. Using a fork they are blended with the other wet ingredients. This recipe uses the reverse creaming method. If you are not familiar with this Melissa has a video on the method, there is a link to the video below the recipe.
https://www.mycakeschool.com/blog/reverse-creaming-method-of-mixing-a-cake-video-tutorial/
Thank you very much. I’m anxious to try this recipe.
Hi do you have a white or yellow cupcake recipe with a dome? I tried this recipe by the way it is amazing.
I follow the recipe exactly and have watched your video regarding the reverse creaming method. Sometimes it is successful and other times the cake shrinks so much !! I do not mix for longer than specified. I do not mix above medium speed. I do have a scale and oven thermometer. My leavening is fresh. Can you please tell me what is causing the shrinking to happen ? I hate throwing away all the ingredients after making a cake that isn’t successful and not knowing if this time it will work or not. I really do love the texture of cakes using reverse creaming and would like to get it right !!! Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks !!
What about baking in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Dawn, This recipe makes only 6 cups of batter and you need 7 cups for a 9×13 pan.
If I want to bake a 1/2 sheet cake, can I double the recipe or do I need to make more than a double recipe?
Hi Marie, This recipe makes 6 cups batter. The recipe can be doubled but we have never tripled it so I’m not sure about that. If your sheet pan is 12×18 you will need 14 cups batter.
Below are links to cake batter amounts that you will find helpful.
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_2inch_pan.php
http://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
I want to make 3 cups, so how to measure?
Hi Shakera, This recipe makes 6 cups of batter. If you only want 3 cups, make 1/2 the recipe.
I am looking for white cake with our cream. Can I sub the buttermilk for sour cream?
Hi Paula, Sour cream has a higher fat content than buttermilk, so it is suggested that you use 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup milk. Full fat sour cream is best.
I made this recipe into cupcakes. They were delicious & stayed moist for a lot longer than most cake recipes. However, the cupcakes did shrink quite a bit. Is there a way to prevent this from happening? I’m not a beginner baker & I followed directions completely. Any advice? Thank you so much! :)
Hello, I think there’s a mistake in the calculation of the sugar. Two and a quarter cups would be close to 285 grams (sugar). I made this recipe with 285 grams of sugar (and by the way, this is THE BEST RECIPE I’VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!) and it was really good. Did you mean 2 and 1/2 cups of sugar or 2 and 1/4? Thanks
Never mind, I saw online that cake flour is 114g. I was calculating 128g (wrong dry ingredient).
Hi Alex, Below is a link to a baking chart that you will find helpful for 3 inch deep pans. An 8×3 pan holds 5 cups batter, this recipe makes 6 cups.
http://www.fromkarenskitchen.com/tips/party_cake_batter_amounts_baking_times_3inch_pan.php
There have always been really great scratch recipes for chocolate and white…but ultimately I am glad you found “the one” for a white cake! Secret for chocolate scratch cake…oil based recipe.
Would almond milk be ok to use?
Hi Andrea, I have never tried using almond milk instead of buttermilk so I can’t be sure of the outcome. I have read online that you can make almond milk more acidic like buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup measure. Add almond milk to the 1 cup mark. Stir and let sit 5 minutes to thicken slightly. I don’t know how the sweeteners or flavoring in almond milk will affect the taste of the cake. Please let us know if you give it a try.