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
I tried this recipe, and the taste was good but did not rise at all. what did I do wrong?
Hi Raquel, I am sorry your cake did not rise. First check your baking powder to make sure it is not out of date. This recipe uses the reverse creaming method and technique is important. The pieces of butter must be mixed with the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse sand. If you pinch some of this mixture between your fingers it will stick together. Next, it is important that when adding 1/2 of the liquid mixture it should be done SLOWLY on low speed, then speed increased to medium. I think you will have success with the recipe if you will give it another try.
This recipe sounds wonderful! I love almond flavored cakes...could I substitute some of the vanilla extract for almond? If so, should I do half and half? I made the white almond sour cream scratch cake from this site and it turned out great but this recipe has it all with the buttermilk, oil and butter. Seems like it would yield a super moist cake and wanted to give it a try! Thanks!
Hi Jennifer, Yes, you can change the amount of flavoring. I would do 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract. Hope you like the recipe.
Is this recipe good for cupcakes??
Hi Tonya, Yes, this recipe will work for cupcakes, as with other "scratch" recipes on the site the cupcakes will bake rather level with only a slight dome. Are you familiar with using the Reverse Creaming Method? If not, you might want to watch Melissa video. There is a link to that video in the recipe description.
Can I use presto cake flour for this recipe
HI Vivian, I am not familiar with Presto Cake Flour. I did a google search and it does sound similar to cake flour except that it is self- rising (has baking powder included). As I read further their website says to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon baking powder plus 1/4 teaspoon salt for each cup of Presto cake flour used. That is surprising since it already contains baking powder. So I would suggest leaving out the baking powder in our recipe, if you want to use Presto. Let me know how it goes.
Thanks, I let you know
My all cake pan is 3 inch tall I can use because I looking for recipe I not need to put syrop to get cake very moisture
Hi Vivian, We bake in 2 inch deep pans. Since you are using 3 inch deep pans, I think you will need to bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, filling the pan 1/2 full with 5 cups of batter.
Hi Melissa!
Does this make enough batter to fill three 6x2 pans?
Can I use my own buttermilk (1 tbsp. Vinegar + milk = 1 c buttermilk) or do I have to buy buttermilk from the store?
Thanks,