White Cake from Scratch
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.
It has a very fine crumb, and compared to some of our other white cakes (homemade white cake and white velvet cake), it is slightly denser.
Table of Contents
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, more than ten years later, and we have hundreds of cake recipes from scratch that we just love! This was one of the first.
How White is the Cake?
Some white cakes are snow white- these are the ones that use clear vanilla, no butter, and egg whites.
While this white cake is light in color, it does have a slight yellow tint from the butter and buttermilk. But we are okay with this because of the richness that it adds!
For an even whiter cake, we have a delicious White Velvet Cake recipe which uses softened cream cheese in the cake batter- this lightens the shade of the cake while also enhancing the texture and richness. It's another great one for you list!
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!:
More Vanilla Cakes!
We have more white cakes, vanilla cakes, and yellow cakes for you to try! You can find them all in our section of Vanilla Cakes.
Some of the most popular are our Homemade White Cake, Vanilla Velvet Cake, White Velvet Cake, and Buttermilk Pound Cake!
Enjoy the Recipe!
Thanks so much for stopping by. We hope that you'll come back again soon.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
White Cake from Scratch
This moist, delicious, and versatile white cake recipe is amazing!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (350g) sugar
- 2 ½ 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 â…” cup from a carton of pasteurized egg whites found in the refrigerated section of grocery store)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla
- 1 cup (242g) buttermilk
- â…“ cup (72g) vegetable oil
- 10 Tablespoons (1 stick + 2T ) (141g) unsalted butter, slightly softened (do not microwave) I cut the butter into ½ 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 ½ of the egg mixture, increase to medium speed and mix for 1 ½ 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
Can I still use this recipe if I stick with the traditional mixing method? I just can't seem to get the reverse mixing method down. Everytime I make a cake like that everyone says its too dense for them. I am making a 12x18 Sheet cake today for an event tomorrow. I have tripled the recipe. Its my first big event for my cakes and I am super nervous!
Hi Brita, Yes, you can use the traditional/conventional mixing method with this recipe. I listed the order of ingredients for that method in the comments above on 10-16-17 at 10:25, if you would like to look at that. Best wishes on your big event.
Hi there Bebe.... I have a quick question I hope you can help with- I am going to try and make this cake, and ice it with buttercream (crumb coat first of course)... it is a bit stressful as it is for a friends birthday on Saturday (it is Monday today) but I am over 38 weeks pregnant so baby could come anytime so keen to do it today while all is well.. I was wondering how long the cake, covered in buttercream, would last/stay fresh? And would you suggest I put it in the fridge/freezer once iced?
Any thoughts/advice welcome:)
Thank you again for this website - I absolutely love it - helps me so much with my baking (which I do for fun:)
Hi Lara, It would be best if you could make the cake layers today and freeze them (preferably while still warm). You could make your buttercream in advance and keep refrigerated. On Thursday let the cake come partially to room temperature then crumb coat and frost. If you were planning to smooth your cake using the Viva paper towel method the cake would need to be COMPLETELY at room temperature. If not, it is fine to frost the cake while it is partially frozen. Refrigerate the completed can under a cake cover or chill ( so you won't mess up the frosting ) then cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let come to room temperature on Saturday before serving. All should go well.
Best wishes,
BeBe
Can you tell me how many cupcakes will this recipe make?
Hi Marie, This recipe makes 6 cups of batter. It will depend on how much batter per cupcake, I usually fill the liners 1/2 to 2/3's full. You will need approx. 2 1/4 cups batter for 1 dozen cupcakes. You should be able to get 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.
Thanks so much for answering my question so quickly. This helps a lot!
Hi can you make this rainbow cake add colors thank in advance.
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.