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 Novi, I'm sorry that happened. We have found that cupcakes stored in an airtight container can sometimes cause the papers to pull away. Some brands of cupcake liners pull away more easily than others, but if you are using the papers you always use, that is not an issue.
Thank you for your reply Bebe.
How would you store the cupcakes then if you are not frosting them right away? Or to freeze them?
Hi Novi, If we are not freezing the cupcakes right away, we allow to cool and place on a cake board (or whatever you choose) cover with plastic wrap, then wrap with aluminum foil. Double wrap with plastic wrap if you are putting in a food storage bag. It is important to keep airtight. When you are ready to decorate, remove from the freezer and place on countertop. When condensation forms on the aluminum foil, remove the foil and plastic and allow to thaw. This does not take very long. You can also frost while partially frozen, unless you plan to use the Viva Towel smoothing method. We store in a bakery box until delivery or serving. We don't recommend storing cupcakes in an airtight container because some bakers have a problem with cupcake papers pulling away. If you know that you do not have this problem with your recipe, it is fine to store in an airtight container. The frosting on the cupcakes help to seal the cupcakes keeping them fresh and moist. Cupcakes are best eaten with 48 hours of baking if you are not freezing them. If we bake one day to decorate the next day, we place in a container and cover the top of the container with plastic wrap, leaving a corner slightly open, (plastic wrap is not touching cupcakes). Our preference is to never freeze frosted cupcakes.
Thank you very much for your reply and the information. I made this cake again a couple days ago (as cupcakes). They were fine.. the liner didn’t come off. I did fill them fuller this time. But I didn’t put them in airtight container like before because I frosted them right away (after cool off of course ?).
I will remember next time how to store these if I make them ahead of time.
Thank you again for help.
Has anyone tried to make cupcakes using this recipe!? Curious to how they came out and baking time!? Thanks!!!
Hi Christie, We have made cupcakes with this recipe and they turned out fine. They bake with a low dome. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I just made this cake . It sunk. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 11x15 inch pan. 325. I think the pan was maybe to full. Any ideas?
Hi Tammy, I am sorry your cake sank. Doubling the recipe would have given you 12 cups batter. For a 11x15 pan the batter amount is 11 1/2 cups, baked at 325 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes. You only had 1/2 cup over. The most likely cause of sinking is under baking. Did it mostly sink in the center? Another possibility is that your oven is not heating to the temperature you set. You might want to buy an oven thermometer to check this out. Below is a link to the Wilton Batter Amounts and Serving Chart, you might find it helpful.
https://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
Hi Melissa and BeBe- I have baked sooooo many white/vanilla cakes that I just cannot recall if I have tried this recipe. Wondering, as I like tall cakes, is this recipe ok to double? That would make 12 cups which would make a lot of cake!!! I really like to have at least 3 6" layers, maybe 4, and at least 3 8" layers. Hoping each layer rises at least 1 1/4-1 1/2" tall. Also, could this be considered a vanilla cake? Often I like to layer chocolate/white, or vanilla, layers. Thanks as always for your replies. :-)
Hi Paula, Yes, you should be able to double this recipe with no problem. We consider this recipe more of a white cake since it has only egg whites. A true white cake would use only whites, clear vanilla and probably all shortening or a combination of shortening and butter to keep the cake as white as possible. We often put 2 cups batter in our 6x2 inch pans for 3 layers, and I think they are probably 1 3/4 inches tall. In two 8x2 inch pans with 3 cups of batter each layer will rise between 1/4 to 1/2 inches tall. This recipe is written in the reverse creaming method, but can be mixed in the conventional method if you prefer that.
Hi! I was wondering, is there a way to make this a lemon cake? I love the texture of this cake and am wondering if I can change the recipe a bit for lemon cake with the same texture?
Please let me know :)
Also this cake is freaking awesome! One of the best white cakes I have EVER had!
Hi Charlotte, You must be reading our minds. I was talking today with Melissa about trying a different version of lemon cake. With this recipe I would add the zest of 1 or 2 lemons (using a microplane). Add 2 teaspoons lemon extract and omit the vanilla. Adding lemon juice does not give us the depth of lemon flavor that we are looking for so that is why I did not add any. Filling and frosting the cake with a lemon cream cheese frosting would be good or using a lemon curd filling would be nice. If you give it a try, let us know what you think. We are so happy you like the white cake recipe.