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 ⅔ cup from a carton of pasteurized egg whites found in the refrigerated section of grocery store)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla
- 1 cup (242g) buttermilk
- ⅓ 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
Hi Alex, Below is a link to a baking chart that you will find helpful for 3 inch deep pans. An 8x3 pan holds 5 cups batter, this recipe makes 6 cups.
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.
Hi! I’m trying to decide whether to make your white, vanilla buttermilk, vanilla bean, or yellow cake. Do you have a favorite? Any major differences in texture between them? Thanks! I’m so indecisive haha. They all sound wonderful
Hi Allyson! I love them all ;0) - But the vanilla buttermilk and the vanilla bean are our most popular of these.
The vanilla buttermilk cake is a little fluffier than the vanilla bean which has a finer crumb. My favorite is probably vanilla buttermilk but you cannot go wrong- we get lots of great feedback for both! ;0)
Thank you so much for your honest input and quick reply! I’ll probably go with the buttermilk then!
Will this buttermilk batter hold up up for a 2 tier? (2) 12 and (2) 8 inch layers ?
Hello, I would like to know how much the "L" eggs you use weigh? It can be the weight with or without the shell... and if I can change this recipe for whole eggs instead of just the whites? Thank you.!!
Hi Sara, I weighed one of our large eggs, it is 59 grams. The large egg should weigh at least 56 grams. If you would like to make a cake using whole eggs our Vanilla Buttermilk is very popular (link
below).
https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes-tutorials/vanilla-buttermilk-cake-recipe/
How would it affect the outcome if I whipped the egg whites first? I usually do that for your yellow cake recipe and I love how fluffy it makes the cake. But since this only uses egg whites I worry that would change the outcome too much.
Would you show how you decorated the sides and top of this cake?
Hi Sandra-- Yes, we'll have to do a quick tutorial on that! -
The closest that we have in is the tutorial linked below-- Part 2, at the 7 minute mark. I hope this helps! You could use a tip 104 or the larger version: tip 125.
https://www.mycakeschool.com/shabby-chic-buttercream-rose-cake-part-one-video/
For this technique, you pipe petals around the outside edge and work your way inward. the petals lay more flat.
We also have an older tutorial with the look of a giant rose on top-- it is a similar idea, but you start in the center and work outward. Both of these could use a re-do but you will get the idea from the tutorials! These are really fun, elegant techniques!
https://www.mycakeschool.com/how-to-pipe-a-big-buttercream-rose-video/
For the effect around the sides, crumb coat the cake and then pipe vertical lines with a large star tip, either a 1M or 2D. I would do this before doing the top.
this is the only recipe i've tried from this site that wont work for me. I tried three times and each time the middle sunk in :( i had better luck with the white velvet cake recipe (which is delicious)
Hi. I was looking for a white cake to bake in a half sheet pan for a friends wedding. not th bridal cake but th guests cake.
i made one today for practice and it is delicious. totally works in a half sheet pan or anyone wondering.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Cait! So glad to hear that you like the recipe.