Y’all, if you’ve been on the hunt for the best White Cake recipe, look no further because this is about as moist and fluffy as they come! Each bite melts in your mouth because it’s so tender and airy. Whether you dress it up with a silky American buttercream or an airy whipped meringue, it’s a hit every time. Trust and believe, this moist white cake recipe is a straight up BOSS.
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They’re Lovin’ It! Here’s what They’re Sayin’:
“THIS IS THE PERFECT WHITE CAKE. I have spent years trying to find a recipe to replicate the (probably-idealized) cakes I got from the local bakery for my birthday as a kid, and I never thought I’d find one this good. I actually teared up when I took my first bite. It’s tender, fluffy, flavorful–it truly is perfect.”
—BECCA
White cake is a classic dessert that’s so hard to nail but so dang on good when you do. While it’s super simple in flavor, those flavors hit just right. When made correctly, it is incredibly light, sweet, tender, and moist. Thanks to my boo Kristin of Baker Bettie for sharing this gem with us.
The Lowdown of the Best White Cake Recipe
Cuisine Inspiration: Classic American baking
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Can be made Gluten-Free with ingredient swaps
Key Flavor: Light, fluffy, buttery and vanilla-y
Skill Level: Easy y’all (No Sweat Fam!)
The Best Blank Canvas
This easy white cake recipe is basically a canvas, ready to pair with any flavor, frosting, or fruit you can dream up. It’s a versatile foundation that is a perfect compliment for a myriad of toppings from buttercream to ganache.
Light As Air
Forget dense or dry texture boos! This recipe creates a cake with a soft, tender crumb that might just float away if you’re not too careful y’all.
Celebration Ready!
From birthdays to weddings, or just celebrating any day of the week, this cake fits the bill every time.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make this Easy White Cake Recipe
- Cake Flour: This will give you a nice light and soft cake with a tender crumb.
- Leavening: We use both baking powder and baking soda to add the perfect rise to this cake base.
- Salt: Just a little will enhance the flavor and balance the overall sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter and Granulated Sugar: We mix these two together to get that fluffy texture with the butter adding richness and sugar sweetening up the cake perfectly.
- Extracts: Vanilla and almond extracts add nice aromatic warmth with a subtle nutty note.
- Egg Whites: These add structure while keeping the color of the cake white by not adding the yolks.
- Moisturizers: Both sour cream and whole milk add perfect moisture making the cake consistency soft and tender compensating for the lack of egg yolks.
How to Make White Cake
How to Serve this Basic White Cake Recipe
- Go Plain: Dust up a slice with some homemade powdered sugar and enjoy it plain.
- Dollop It Up: Top a slice with some berries and fresh whipped cream.
- Go Classic with Frostings: Add a classic American buttercream, seven minute frosting or vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.
- Drizzle It On: Add some spoonfuls of chocolate ganache, hard sauce or strawberry sauce to slices.
- Serve with Ice Cream: Go classic with vanilla ice cream or really make it fun by serving an interesting flavor like corn ice cream, raspberry ice cream or key lime pie ice cream.
Recipe Substitutions
- Cake Flour: If you only have all-purpose flour and cornstarch, you can make your own homemade cake flour.
- Unsalted Butter: You can use salted butter. Just make sure you leave out the salt.
- Vanilla Extract: For more vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean paste instead.
- Sour Cream: Swap in plain Greek yogurt if you don’t have sour cream around.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Gluten-Free: Replace the flour with 1:1 ratio gluten-free baking flour. The texture may change slightly but it will still taste amazing.
- Caramel It Up: Add caramel sauce in between layers and frost the whole cake with caramel frosting.
- Marble It Up: Add cocoa powder to half of your cake batter and swirl together before baking then go with a classic chocolate meringue buttercream or chocolate frosting to add a nice decadent contrast.
- Get Tangy: Go with a delish cream cheese frosting to add some depth of flavor.
- Zest it Up: Toss some lemon or orange zest into the batter to brighten it up.
- Ombre It Up: Divide the batter and add food coloring to various tones of the same color to make a stunning cake boos!
Expert Tips and Tricks for Making Moist White Cake
- Cream It Right: Be patient when you are creaming your butter and sugar together. In order to achieve a super light texture, you gotta put some time in until it’s pale and fluffy.
- Go Room Temp: Make sure you use softened butter, and room temp sour cream and milk so your batter ends up nice and smooth.
- Separate Properly: The key to a white cake is leaving the yolks behind boos. Make sure you separate your eggs well so you end up with a super bright white batter.
- Rotate Your Pans: Halfway through baking, rotate your pans halfway in the oven so they bake evenly on all sides.
How to Store
This cake can be kept at room temp for 3-4 days. Just make sure you use a cake cover or an overturned bowl to protect the cake. If frosted, it may need to be added to the fridge.
How long will basic white cake last in the fridge?
It should stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and foil. Just make sure to let it sit at room temp for a bit before serving to soften up that frosting.
Can I freeze this cake?
Absolutely boo! Wrap the whole cake or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then pop them in a freezer-safe bag. The cake should stay fresh for up to 3 months. Just defrost it in the fridge overnight, or if you’re freezing individual slices, you can pull out one slice at a time and avoid defrosting the whole thing. Easy peasy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yup you can boos! Bake the cake layers a day or two in advance and store them tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temp.
Absolutely boos! You can pour the batter into a 9×13 inch sheet pan and bake for about 45 minutes if you want a sheet cake instead of a layer cake.
You probably overbaked it boo. Make sure you check for doneness using a toothpick inserted in the center. I like to remove when there are just a few moist crumbs left on the toothpick and not completely dry. Just make sure it’s not wet batter before you remove.
Best Layer Cake Recipes
- Black Forest Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- The Yellow Cake
- Devil’s Food Cake
- Carrot Cake
- How to Make Ombre Cake
- Funfetti Cake
- Vanilla Cake
White Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour 345 grams, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder 7 grams
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt 2 grams
- 8 oz unsalted butter room temperature, 226 grams/ 2 sticks
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2/3 cup egg whites about 5 large egg whites/ 160 grams
- 3/4 cup sour cream room temperature, 180 grams
- 3/4 cup whole milk room temperature, 170 grams
Instructions
- At least 30 minutes before mixing, take the butter, eggs, milk and sour cream out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. Separate the eggs. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
- Position the oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Prepare your baking pan(s) with non-stick spray and parchment paper or with paper liners if making cupcakes.
To make the cake
- Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the salt, whisk together, and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Cream together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing. The mixture should be very pale yellow after mixing.
- With the mixer running on medium/low speed add the vanilla and almond extracts. Next, slowly add in the egg whites while the mixer continues running. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as you slowly incorporate the egg whites.
- Mix the milk and sour cream together. Alternate adding the dry ingredients into the bowl in three additions with the milk/sour cream mixture in two additions, starting and stopping with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed in between each addition until fully incorporated.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake at 350°F/175°C. A sheet cake will take about 35-45 minutes. Layer cakes will take 22-26 minutes, and cupcakes will take 18-25 minutes. Pull out of the oven when the cake is firm but springs back when gently pressed in on the center, or when a cake tester comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs.
- Cool the cakes in their pan completely on a cooling rack before turning out of the pan and frosting.
- Store the cake covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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I am able to use this recipe for a pound cake. I am actually looking for a white cake with guava filling recipe. Thank you
I personally wouldn’t use this recipe as a pound cake since it will not have the same heft or density as a pound cake. This cake is more of a light fluffy texture.
The finished cake had a beautiful texture and was well done. However, the flavor is overwhelmingly that of the almond extract – not vanilla. If I make it again, I’ll cut the almond extract to 1/2 tsp.
Thank you for the feedback, Lauren!
Hi Jocelyn
I love your recipes and expect this one will also be divine. I’m planning to make two batches of this cake for a friend’s birthday party, but I can’t get cake flour where I live in Europe. I’ve always used the rule to remove one tbsp flour per cup of AP flour to make it a substitute cake flour. Does that sound right to you?
Secondly, do you hunk this cake would pair well with a filling of lemon curd and a white chocolate buttercream frosting?
Many thanks!
THIS IS THE PERFECT WHITE CAKE. I have spent years trying to find a recipe to replicate the (probably-idealized) cakes I got from the local bakery for my birthday as a kid, and I never thought I’d find one this good. I actually teared up when I took my first bite. It’s tender, fluffy, flavorful–it truly is perfect. Now I’m going to have to try every other recipe on this site!
This cake is too beautiful to eat with all the fresh berry toppings. I’ll bake this for my hubby for V-day!
Such a gorgeous cake! Especially with all the fresh berries on top. I love that tender and airy texture.
Beautiful cake, turned out perfect and so moist! Can’t wait to make another cake!
Omg this cake is so unbelievably gorgeous!! I’ve always been intimidated by making a layered cake from scratch at home but you’ve inspired me to try!
Fantastic! Love this recipe! I am making it again for Valentine’s!