White Cake Recipe

This white cake recipe has all the taste and wonderful crumb you’d expect from a delicious cake but those layers have a charming light color thanks to the omission of egg yolks and vanilla. I made a blindingly white Swiss meringue buttercream for this cake and flavored it with vanilla extract. The buttercream is so light that adding vanilla really doesn’t alter the color! If you’re not a Swiss meringue buttercream master, check out my how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream blog post with ALL the tips, tricks, and a complete video tutorial too!

How to make white cake

   

1. Separate the eggs into a bowl and set aside. The yolks can be used to make a batch of pastry cream or French buttercream.

2. Sift the flour, salt, and leavening agents together in a large bowl. Whisk and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl add the sour cream, and milk then whisk together. Add vinegar to the milk mixture. Whisk together then set aside for a few minutes.

4. Cream the butter then slowly pour in the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

5. Scrape the bowl down then add the almond extract and mix to combine. Add the room temperature egg whites and mix until fully combined.

6. Add a third of the dry mixture while mixing on low. Add half the wet mixture in while mixing on low. Continue adding the dry and wet mixtures in alternating batches

7. divide the batter evenly into the three buttered and floured six inch pans and bake at 350F (177C). I like to wrap my pans with cake strips for nice FLAT layers. You can check out my post on them by clicking HERE.

8. To make the Swiss buttercream add the egg whites and sugar to a medium bowl then whisk together and place over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl, you only need the steam to heat the egg whites.Whisk over heat until the mixture reaches 160F.

9. Once the mixture is 160 pour into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and run on might until it’s room temperature. You can pack the bowl in ice or frozen peas to speed the process up. 

10. Add the room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time. Don’t worry if it gets soupy at first, it will whip up and you can always chill the bowl to help firm things up then whip once more. You can add the flavoring of your choice at this time; vanilla will not discolor the frosting very much so go ahead and add a splash if you’d like.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

• If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
• You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
• To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
• Make sure to WHIP your buttercream just before using. Meringue-based icings will loose consistency quickly and become impossible to smooth if you leave them too long.
• If you don’t want to make Italian buttercream you can use the American variety. I just prefer the smoothness and taste of the Italian variety. I know it’s takes a bit longer though!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the flavor of white cake?

I used almond extract for this cake but you can have fun with other extracts like orange blossom water and rose water for a delicious floral note. Oftentimes white cakes are made with artificial “clear vanilla,” I however am not partial to that particular flavor.

How do you decorate a layer cake?

I a simple but charming of decoration scheme for this white cake, which actually was my twin boys’ birthday cake! Swiss buttercream smooths out really well as long as you remember to give it a quick whip Just before using. It becomes bubbly if left on it’s own too long. The side was smoothed with a bench scraper and I used an offset spatula for the top. A ring of dollops from a large closed star tip and the cake was done except for a smattering of confetti sprinkles on the skirt and dollops.

How can I smooth a cake?

Frosting Has Bubbles: Before you pipe buttercream onto a cake try giving is a final whip JUST before you use it. Buttercream looses it’s beautiful consistency pretty quickly, especially if it’s meringue-based like Swiss and Italian frostings.

Buttercream Starts Looking Ragged: When you’re doing the final smoothing and you notice the texture of the buttercream become a bit ragged there’s an easy fix! Get a bowl of HOT water and dip your tools in to to warm them up. pat dry and smooth. The warm metal will melt the buttercream and give you a nice SMOOTH finish.

Your Cake looks ALMOST Perfect: If things are starting to go left STOP! Take a step back and ask yourself will anyone notice a slight imperfection? Am I about to start overworking this? It’s probably fine as is, especially if you’re covering it in sprinkles!

Is this cake Sturdy enough for stacking and decorating?

Yes! You can stack it, wrap it in fondant if desired and scale it up to an 8 or 9 inch triple layer cake by doubling of tripling the recipe respectively.

If you’ve tried this homemade white cake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!