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
Hello BeBe. I am going to be making a 12x18x2 sheet cake tonight for my daughter's baby shower. The Wilton website says this takes 16 cups or 4 boxes of cake mix. I don't know if I should trust that as different recipes have variations in batter thickness, and cake mixes come in different amounts depending on brands. I want to make your recipe for the white cake from scratch. I have 3 questions, does it make any difference if you use homemade or store brand cake flour? Your recipe states it makes 6 cups of batter if I triple it should I still measure out only 16 cups (I know there will be leftover)? I plan on making the oven temperature 325*, how long would you say this should be baked on a middle rack?
Thank you for any help you can give me,
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, I have used the homemade substitute for cake flour with good results, but we always have cake flour on hand so that is what we use 99% of the time. We also have had members give good feedback on the substitute. I would use not more than the 16 cups that Wilton recommends for the 12 x 18 sheet pan. I would use Wilton's recommendation for baking at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. I would check at 45 minutes just to make sure it is not getting too brown on top, if it is you can cover loosely with aluminum foil. It is also a good idea to use two or three inverted rose nails in the pan for more even baking. I have never tripled this recipe but I assume it would be fine to do so. Here is another cake Batter Chart that I sometimes use ....just to compare with Wilton's...
How do you adjust for high altitude. I live in AZ.
Valerie- it took me quite a few tries, but I finally got the recipe to work for my altitude. I live at ~7,000ft. There are just a few adjustments you have to make. It turns out yummy!! You're welcome to email me and I could send the recipe adjustments to you if you would like: dasie_760@yahoo.com ☺️
Hi Valerie, We have no experience with high altitude baking so I can only give you a link for possible adjustments to the recipe.
Thank you, Aletha, for posting and offering to help with first hand experience!!
Can this recipe be made using whole eggs?
The best white cake recipe...
I made this recipe last night. It is truly delicious.
Just one question. The cake itself was a little 'too wet/moist' when you added the buttercream layer, (without the buttercream - it's perfect).
Do you I reduce the oil or the buttermilk in the recipe to correct this?
Hi Ritu, I happy you like the cake. You could reduce the oil a bit. Could the problem be that your buttercream is too wet and soft that it is causing the cake to be too moist? The cake should be completely cool before the buttercream is added. Using margarine instead of butter can make buttercream too soft, and also not adding enough powdered sugar.
Hi
I think you're right. The buttercream was a little soft. I'll try the recipe again with less oil and let you know how I get on.
Thanks so much for the recipes and tips :)
Have you ever baked your White Cake From Scratch recipe in a 9 x 13 pan? Thank you in advance!
Hi Robyn, We have not baked this recipe in a 9x13 pan. I like to have at least 7 cups of batter for this size sheet cake and this recipe has only 6 cups batter. With a smaller pan it would be fine as a sheet cake.