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 would like to make this cake but I only own 8" and 9" round cake pans. I want to make either a 3 or 4 layer cake. If I wanted to make a 3 layer 8" cake, would this recipe make enough batter? Would I need to double or triple the recipe? What about 4 layer 8" cake? Would I need to double or triple the recipe to make a 3 layer 9" cake? What about a 4 layer 9" cake?
The 9" cake pans are about 1" deep. My 8" cake pan is adjustable and can make a 2" cake layer or a 3" layer.
When I use the 8" pan, I plan on making (2) 3in deep layers, do I need to double the recipe to be able to make (2) 3in deep layers?
Thanks, JoAnna
Hi JoAnna, This recipe makes 6 cups of batter. For your 8 inch pans that are 2 inches deep you will need 3 cups batter per pan. You could double the recipe for 4 layers. Are you able to bake 4 layers at one time in your oven? Scratch cake batter does not hold very well, it is best to use it immediately after it is made. Holding the batter while 2 layers are baking often results in the next two layer not rising as high as the first layers. Nine inch pans will need 5 to 5 1/2 cups of batter. I also would suggest using 2 inch pans rather than 3 inch pans. Here is a link to a chart with cake pan size and batter amounts,
I know this is EXTREMELY WEIRD! And people will think I'm nuts. I'm finding that 1 tsp vinegar makes a cake so tender and moist such as in red velvet cakes. I wonder what would happen if we added one teaspoon of vinegar to this cake. I usually make my own buttermilk by adding white vinegar to whole milk anyway. So I could add another teaspoon. So...what you think??
Hi Robin, Good question......I haven't tried this so I don't know for sure. I think the thought behind the vinegar is that it reacts with the baking powder/baking soda adding more tiny air bubbles into the cake batter giving you a more tender cake. Let us know what you find if you give it a try.
Thank you BeBe. I am going to try it and I'll be sure to let you know how it comes out! Thanks for your time!
Can I cover this cake with fondant?
Hi Lysa, Yes, you can cover with fondant.
I made your chocolate chip cake today and it was moist and yummy. I love choc chip cookies! For a party however, I think I want to make more of a white or vanilla cake with choc chips in it and use white icing on the top (may do the sides with chocolate). I wondered if I should use white sugar in place of brown in the choc chip cake recipe (because I liked how it came out, but my guests may prefer something more "vanilla" .) Could I put choc chips in this white cake or is it too thin of a batter? Also, I see this makes 6 cups of batter and the chart suggests 10 cups for a 9 x13, so I should use 1.5 recipes....correct? This white cake recipe is certainly heart healthier due to the lack of egg yolks! ALSO, what about using 50/50 brown and white sugar in the choc chip cake recipe if all white won't work?
Hi Cindy, I'm so happy you like the chocolate chip cake! If you would like more of a white or vanilla cake you could use our White Cake, White Almond Sour Cream (WASC), just leave out the almond extract and you will have a vanilla cake. Also the Yellow cake would be good with chocolate chips. I would use the mini chocolate chips as they are less likely to sink. The batter in these recipes are rather thick so I do not think you will have a problem. If you take the brown sugar out of the Chocolate Chip recipe you will change the flavor and texture of the cake. Brown sugar has molasses in it giving the cake a different flavor. It might be ok but we have not tried doing that so I can't say for sure what the outcome would be. Using the recipes in a 9 x 13 pan, I would double the recipe rather 1.5 recipes. There will only be a small amount extra that could be used to make a few cupcakes.
Hello, could you tell me what the difference would be between this white cake recipe and the WASC scratch recipe? I've made the WASC recipe many times to great success but wondering what the difference is between the two recipes in terms of flavor and texture. I'm trying to make a funfetti cake - would it bake okay if i put in a cup of sprinkles to either recipe? Thank you!
Hi Prisca, I really love both recipes. This recipe has a lighter flavor and color since only the egg whites are used in the recipe. I would say that the White Almond Sour Cream cake is slightly denser and richer because it calls for the whole eggs & sour cream. --I think that either would work for a funfetti cake!
Hi there
Will this recipework of the egg whites are whisked for a lighter texture?