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.
Do you have a photo of the top of the cake? Did you just start in the center and extend those squiggles down the sides?
Thanks for the recipe! The taste is amazing, the cake is moist BUT the cake turned out YELLOW! I used a cake mix for white cakes. Can you tell me what kind of flour you used?
Just made this cake for my boss for his birthday and it was gone within an hour! This cake was absolutely fantastic!!! I made my own raspberry jam, so I cut the cakes in half and did a raspberry layer cake with butter cream cheese frosting w/ a hint of orange (couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted butter cream or cream cheese frosting, so I incorporated both! It tastes awesome!) For the cake, instead of almond extract (since I didn’t have any) I just did vanilla with a half of a tsp of lemon extract to make a mild (citrus) raspberry cake. I had plenty of disasters with other white cake recipes this past weekend – this one is a keeper and I highly recommend it! Thank you Amanda!
This cake? THIS cake. This cake that I just made last night was PERFECT. Per. Fect.
I kinda wanted to kiss this cake on the mouth. But instead, I just ate a slice for breakfast.
Sweet, sweet breakfast…
Looks wonderful. Can’t wait to try. I was wondering would this recipe work for cupcakes.
Hi, this cake seems perfect. But quick questions, could I use all purpose flour and substitute the milk for buttermilk. Also could I bake this in a large rectangular pan and bake the same amount of time? Thanks 🙂
I’m confused by some of these comments. Why would a white cake taste anything at all like cornbread?
I can’t wait to try this recipe!!! All of the vanilla cakes that i have made from scratch taste great, but are usually a little too dense. I love the taste of almond extract, but my family doesn’t, so i was wondering how strong of an almond flavor does this cake have?
I do not think it is strong at all… I love the addition of it. 🙂
I’m new to the world of cooking & baking from scratch. I’m looking fwd to get married & start a family in the near future so I love to practice making REAL FOOD. I do have a few questions….why does certain ingredients need to be at “room temp”? Will using buttermilk instead of regular milk make any difference? And how will cake flour as opposed to ap flour make any difference?
P.S….Although I’ve never made a cake from scratch, I’m almost certain this will be much better than the boxed cake mix. They’re so mediocre. ANYONE HAS ANY RECIPES FOR STRAWBERRIES SHORT CAKE???????
Hi Keesh! I would not recommend buttermilk in this specific recipes. Cake flour might offset the balance in place by the existing ingredients. If you are new to baking I would stick the this recipe as it is written, THEN start experimenting with your ideas! 🙂
I made this and I made my own cake flour. Still tasted like cornbread. Tasty though! I will have to try it with real cake flour. Beautiful work!