Best White Cake Recipe that is perfect for weddings, birthdays & any other celebration. This easy, classic, 2-layer cake really is the best homemade dessert!
I absolutely love white cake. That light, buttery flavor often paired with a layer of raspberry or bavarian cream filling & coated with a sugary buttercream frosting just makes my heart go pitter-patter.
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I think it’s because my mom decorated cakes most of my life. When I was really little she worked in a bakery.
But most of the time she made these really elaborate cakes for friends & family & I was always lucky enough to get to snack on the scraps.
Perfect White Cake Recipe
Her favorite out of all the flavors she would make was the white cake. It was a given for the wedding cakes she made & there was just something about this recipe that makes it taste better than any bakery I have ever tried.
Believe me, I almost never turn down a chance to try cake from any bakery I visit and I have yet to find one that is better than THIS CAKE RIGHT HERE!
white cake
Here are some commonly asked questions
What makes this recipe better than a box mix?
Aside from knowing what ingredients are in your food, I particularly love this cake because it is denser than what you get from a box cake mix.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the light & airy texture of a cake made from a mix. But they aren’t capable of really holding up a second layer when you add the weight of filling, the 2nd tier, frosting & whatever decorations you add on top. The bottom layer sort of squishes down & it’s not ideal.
This cake can really hold up, without it being too heavy feeling when you are eating it.
What makes this recipe different from other white cake recipes?
The short answer – the extract ratio. A lot of white cake recipes call for only almond extract. Then you have vanilla cake recipes that only call for vanilla extract.
Because almond extract can often have a maraschino cherry flavor, it can turn a lot of people off. So my mom & I created this recipe decades ago to balance the flavors & give a true white cake (classic wedding cake) flavor.
What frosting is best with white cake?
We like to use our bakery buttercream frosting for this cake because it is the most traditional pairing with a white cake.
However, you can make this super delicious, chocolate espresso frosting that I know you will love. I also really love this chocolate cream cheese frosting, champagne frosting, and homemade cake batter frosting with this cake.
HOW DO YOU MAKE the Best White Cake?
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare two 8-inch cake pans by greasing with shortening, lining the bottom with parchment, greasing with shortening again & then flouring & shaking out the excess.
- Blend milk, egg whites, & extracts in a medium bowl until fully combined.
- Slowly mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt in the bowl of electric mixer.
- Add the cubed butter, & beat on low, 1-2 minutes.
- Add milk mixture to dry ingredients & beat on medium, about 3 minutes.
- Pour batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick test comes out with just a few crumbs, about 27 to 30 minutes.
- Cool cakes in pans for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully flip the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack & continue cooling until they reach room temperature.
- I like to then freeze my cakes before decorating because it makes the frosting spread easier. But you can frost them at room temperature if you like.
Can a white cake be frozen?
Yes, I do it often. Once baked – this cake can be frozen at all stages of the creation process. I like to remove the freshly baked and cooled cakes from the pan, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them for later use. (this is also handy when you want to work with cold cakes to keep the frosting from getting too soft.)
I also like to freeze the cake once I have assembled the layers and added the crumb coat. This helps the final frosting decorating go much smoother. This way you don’t have your frosting melting off the side of the cake because the cake or the frosting is too warm. Often times I will get a cake to this stage days before the event I’m making for. Then just finish up the decorating the night before.
You can also gently wrap the completely decorated cake and freeze it until you need it. Remember that the frosting won’t be completely firm and can still be dented if something gets pushed up against it while in the freezer.
Just make sure to thaw it in the fridge the night before as it does taste best when not frozen. I also like to leave it at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving so the frosting is more creamy than stiff.
Best White Cake Recipe
What is bakers release?
Bakers release is a combination of oil, flour, and shortening that makes releasing cakes and other baked goods almost effortless.
To make Bakers Release – it is as simple as 1,1 & 1.
- equal parts of all-purpose flour, shortening, and cooking oil – I like to do 1 cup of each.
Mix the ingredients together – whisking well. Store in an airtight container in the pantry or refrigerator. When ready to use, dip a pastry brush into the mixture and spread it over the cake pan.
What is cake flour?
Cake flour is very finely milled making it lighter in texture, it is bleached so it has a lighter color, and has a much lower protein content than your standard all-purpose. All of these things will change the overall texture, rise and consistency of the cake since it will produce less gluten.
Ingredients for Homemade White Cake
- milk
- egg whites
- pure vanilla extract
- almond extract
- cake flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- table salt
- butter
How to soften the butter to room temperature?
First
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.
I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.
But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.
Second
I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.
This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.
Third
My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.
How do I properly measure the flour?
The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. This makes sure the flour isn’t packed tightly into your measuring cup, adding more than you need, as that will make your recipe too dry.
However – if you fluff your flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup, taking care to not pack the flour – that should work for this recipe.
This cake will make your eyes roll back with every bite!
WHITE WEDDING CAKE RECIPE
If you love this Easy White Cake recipe, you’re going to love these other cake recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Other Homemade Cake Recipes to Try
Here are some more of our favorite homemade cake recipes.
- Best Yellow Cake Recipe
- World’s Best Chocolate Cake
- Vanilla Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Cake
- Homemade Funfetti Cake
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
- Zebra Cake
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Best White Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk room temperature
- 6 large egg whites room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2-1/4 cups cake flour
- 1-3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp table salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened but still cool- cubed (1-1/2 sticks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare two 8-inch cake pans by greasing with shortening, lining the bottom with parchment, greasing with shortening again & then flouring & shaking out the excess.
- Blend milk, egg whites, & extracts in a medium bowl until fully combined.
- Slowly mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt in the bowl of electric mixer.
- Add the cubed butter, & beat on low, 1-2 minutes.
- Add milk mixture to dry ingredients & beat on medium, about 3 minutes.
- Pour batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick test comes out with just a few crumbs, about 27 to 30 minutes.
- Cool cakes in pans for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully flip the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack & continue cooling until they reach room temperature.
- I like to then freeze my cakes before decorating because it makes the frosting spread easier. But you can frost them at room temperature if you like.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
