The Perfect {Bakery Style} White cake is a beautiful, moist, and light cake with the perfect crumb. The cake has a soft, velvety texture, a subtle sweetness, and a delightful combination of vanilla and almond flavors. It is perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a birthday celebration or a simple treat for yourself! Not only is the cake delicious on its own, but it is also a wonderful base for decorating. If you prefer a sheet cake, I have a Vanilla Delight Cake you will love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Flour: I used cake flour in this recipe. Cake flour has a lower protein content when compared to all-purpose flour. This results in a softer, more tender cake. If you don’t have any on hand, make your own cake flour to use.
Butter: As in many of my baking recipes, I use and recommend unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to lessen or omit the salt in the recipe.
Extracts: Both vanilla and almond extract are added to the cake batter. If you have a nut allergy, you could replace the almond extract with the same amount of vanilla. Or, use Imitation Almond Extract which is typically not made with almonds. Be sure to check the ingredients. If you are worried about flavor, the almond extract does not make the cake taste almondy. It simply adds a freshness, a refined elegance, to the overall flavor.
Egg Whites: For a lighter and fluffier texture in the cake, only use egg whites. But, once you have separated the eggs, don’t let the yolks go to waste! Beat them and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Use the yolks in other recipes like my Browned Butter Toffee Cookies.
Milk: If possible, use whole milk in this cake. 2% or 1% could be used, but it may not yield the best results. I do not recommend skim milk.
Frosting: This cake is the ideal canvas for many decorating ideas. I added my American Buttercream Frosting to the cake, but you can certainly add your favorite frosting or topping!
Can I Use A Different Pan?
Sure! This recipe calls for 2, 8-inch round cake pans. You could use 9-inch round cake pans, but the layers will be a bit thinner. Or, make the cake in a 9×13-inch baking dish. This would give you one thicker cake. If using a different pan, you may need to adjust the baking time, so watch the cake closely.
How To Store White Cake
If the cake does not have a perishable frosting, store it at room temperature. It should be covered or stored in an airtight container. It will last up to 2-3 days. Refrigerating a cake can dry it out faster so I do not recommend that.
Can I Freeze This Cake?
Yes! Baking, then freezing a cake is a great way to get a head start on your dessert, saving some stress! I prefer to freeze the cake without any frosting. Before freezing the cake, be sure to let it cool completely. Next, wrap the cake in plastic wrap. Wrap it again in another layer of plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or in a freezer-safe bag. Label and date the packaging; the cake can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. When ready to decorate or enjoy, let the cake thaw at room temperature while still wrapped. After about 30 minutes, the cake will be ready to decorate.
Can I Make This Cake Into Cupcakes?
Yes! This recipe makes delicious white cupcakes! Follow the instructions for mixing the cake batter. Fill each lined muffin cup with about 1/4 cup of the batter. Bake at 350°F for 21-23 minutes. You should be able to get about 23 cupcakes.
Recipe updated July 2023.
White Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ¾ cups (357 g) cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 5 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 cup (245 g) whole milk, room temperature
Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (250 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 3-6 teaspoons whole milk, or as needed
- extracts and flavorings, as desired
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2, 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and both extracts until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, carefully add in egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer still on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, then half the milk, another third of the flour mixture, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
Buttercream Frosting
- To the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, salt, and any added flavorings.
- Start mixing on low speed until the sugar is incorporated with the butter. Increase the mixing speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency with milk as needed.
- Store unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use. Bring it back to room temperature before using to pipe or frost the cooled cake.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Does this recipe still work with cupcakes? If so, how long do do you think the cooking time will be?
Hello…. Thank you so much for this recipe and I am very eager to try this one! I am a vegetarian and would like to know if there any good replacement for the egg whites without altering the other ingredients?
Tnx,
NV
1 1/2 sticks of butter equals to how many grams?
Gonna try this recipe for a 21st birthday! ^-^
Every time I see a recipe that calls for Cake flour…..I just move on…..We don’t et cake flour here in South Africa (All purpose flour is labelled Cake flour and I have spent a few hundred rand on failed recipes till I realised my follyI have tried making cake flour with cornstarch and all purpose mixed but the recipes I have still failed. Or perhaps knowing how they turn out with real cake flour made me feel disappointed in them.)……So my question is has anyone tried this recipe with all purpose flour??? IF yes were there any modifications to be made?
you can modify all purpose for cake flour by doing the following:\
step 1: measure out the all purpose flour needed for recipe
step 2: for every cup of flour you use, take out 2 tablespoons of flour
step 3: replace the 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
step 4 : sift the flour and cornstarch together. sift 4 more times. the flour and cornstarch mixture needs to be well incorporated and aerated.
you will then have cake flour.
this is what my culinary professor gave us in the baking 101 course!
hope this is useful.
If I split the batter into 3 even layers (3 8-in pans), what you would reccomend the cooking time to be?
Do you use simple syrup on your cakes? I am trying this recipe today and wanted to know before frosting. thank you in advance for your response.
Great recipe!! Made it for my daughter’s birthday… everyone loved it!! I usually stick with chocolate cake as it turns out moist and beautiful. But this is a great white cake recipe…. like the fact it does not have shortening. SO glad I found this… Thank You!!!
I made this cake the other day and it turned out absolutely perfect – just like you said. At first I thought I had done something wrong b/c the batter was so thin but to my surprise, it baked up, again, just “perfect!” I also made two cupcakes just to test and they turned out nice also. Thank you much for the recipe 🙂
Hey, Amanda… (My sister has the same name)
I was wondering how sweet it tastes.
I want to make a cake for a friend’s birthday and it HAS TO BE WHITE because I have to dye it certain colours and she really likes sweet-tasting stuff but I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about baking (Well, I know how to follow a recipe but I don’t know if I’ve even tasted a white cake before)
Anyways, just “How sweet is it?”. (Maybe compare it to something similar (I really am clueless)
Thanks.
Its got a light vanilla flavor… sweet and simple. 🙂 You must try a white cake, soon!
I’ve quit my job in hopes of being able to start my own cake business! I love to bake from scratch and of all the recipes for white cake, this one was so light, fluffy moist and received the most compliments of all I have made!