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.
If I use one 8″ cake tin instead of two, should I make any adjustment? I need to trim to an exact size after it’s baked.
.Hi Amanda,
Am from India. I have a query for you.Is cake flour same as all purpose flour?
If not , then pl let me know how to make it. Thanks.
https://iambaker.net/homemade-cake-flour-diy-cake-flour-recipebaking-with-aunt-inga/ 🙂
Hi Amanda, Everyone liked the cake, I did use a 9 X 13 pan, had to adjust the time, used a toothpick to check the cake to see if it came out clean. The cake got a light brown crumb like top to it. When I went to frosting the cake, the crumbs of course peeled off with the frosting. Help? Thank you Amanda.
Hi Julie… I am not sure what the problem was? The frosting fell off?
Tried this recipe today. I’ve been looking for the perfect white cake recipe for some time. This wasn’t it. I love my cakes light and airy; this was dense and the almond flavor was definitely not to my taste. Blech.
Hum, it definitely should not be dense! Was your baking powder fresh? Eggs fresh? Was the butter melted? (if it is melted the cake will not be as light) If you do not like the almond extract you can substitute vanilla or simply omit. So sorry there were issues!
I’m looking for a white cake to make for my mother-in-law’s birthday on Saturday; Google led me here and to Epicurious, and I am usually a fan of Cook’s Illustrated recipes, so I really want to try this! But I am wondering about the comment that said it was too sweet (there were several others to that effect on Epicurious as well). Did you find it on the sweeter side? Do you know if it’s possible to reduce the sugar at all without throwing everything else out of balance?
Normally I wouldn’t care and would just go for it, but my MIL specifically asked for a dessert that wasn’t too sweet or rich, since her requested dinner is on the heavier side 😉 I was going to pair the cake with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and maybe an optional lemon sauce, so those might cut the overall sweetness.
Also, do you think this cake would fare well wrapped and refrigerated for a day or two?
Thanks!
Hi! I do think this is sweet, but definitely not “too sweet”. I think pairing it with a tart berry would be an excellent idea. I think it’s worth trying! 🙂
Won’t be making this one again. No idea what it tastes like as it is still in the oven but it has over flowed the cake pans and now I get to clean my oven. I’ll keep searching for another recipe.
Sorry there was any issue for you! I would hope that you would be willing to use a larger pan next time… if it tastes good that is! 🙂
I’d like to make this for my nieces bridal shower. Is it dense enough to double (or make 2 seperate batches ) and stack to be a 3 or 4 layer cake?? I’m at about 3400 ft, i’ve never adjusted box cakes to any elevation…. but would like very much to make one from scratch. Can I layer this higher than 2? Thanks!
Despite some unsavory comments, I’m still going to give this a try however I was thinking of adding a lemon extract. Would an oil based essence or alcohol based extract be better? Thanks in advance 🙂
I made the yellow and the white cake they were delicious but they were not moist. What can I do to make them moist.?? Yes they were wonderful tasting but they were dry. Any suggestions? I have made so many of you recipes and have been so pleased with them all.
Sorry you are experiencing that Sally! There are a few things you can do. You can try decreasing cooking time slightly, you can try adding in a tablespoon of oil or corn syrup or you can decrease flour by a tablespoon or so. You can also work with your methods… try adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and only mixing by hand until ingredients JUST incorporated. You can also decrease cooking temperature! Hope some of that helps!
Hi Amanda, yet another perfect recipe thank you! I’ll just switch out the sugar for Xyla (Xylitol)* and place the white cake mix in a mason jar for use when I need it. I just thought seeing as I pinned your “Yellow Cake Mix” in a jar that this would have the same results.
*Xyla and Xylitol is not new and was first formulated in 1891 in Germany and redeveloped in Finland during the sugar shortage. Xylitol is an extract made from fibrous fruits, vegetables and hardwood. Xyla is made from 100% Birch trees.