My perfect white cake recipe yields pure white cake layers that are moist, fluffy, and flavorful! This is a great birthday cake, wedding cake for small ceremonies, or a fun alternative to vanilla cake. I use cream cheese frosting, but feel free to use whatever frosting you prefer. Full recipe and baking time in recipe card below! 

Perfect White Cake (AKA Wedding Cake)

A few weeks ago, my friend Katherine got married. And guess what: I baked the cake! Since it was a tiny 10 person ceremony, I stuck with a simple and classic white cake. I topped it with fresh raspberries and tiny edible flowers, and everyone gobbled it up in less than 20 minutes. 

But this perfect white cake doesn’t need to be a wedding cake, it’s also perfect for Easter, Mother’s day, or birthday parties. I typically cover this pure white cake in a cream cheese frosting. But you can feel free to use any buttercream or frosting you enjoy. This cake is delicious with chocolate buttercream, blueberry buttercream, or strawberry buttercream. 

Why You’ll Love this White Cake Recipe

• The cake recipe produces super fluffy cake layers that remain sturdy enough to frost. 
• If you’re making a wedding cake, I think this cake could even handle a layer of fondant!
• The cake layers are pure white, making a stunning presentation. 
• Butter AND oil yields a super moist yet flavorful white cake recipe. 
• Just 8 ingredients needed for the cake itself, it’s an affordable dessert option. 
• Perfect for birthday parties, small weddings, or any celebration!

This is truly the perfect pure white cake recipe, and after one bite, I know you’ll love it as much as we do!

White Cake: The Simple Ingredients 

• Butter: This white cake recipe calls for 1 whole cup of unsalted butter, but salted will work in a pinch! Simply reduce the amount of salt called for in the recipe by a 1/4 teaspoon. 
• Sugar: For a snow white colored cake, be sure to use ALL granulated sugar. Using any brown sugar will eliminate the pure white color and add unwanted flavor. 
• Egg Whites: You’ll need 6 large egg whites. But don’t throw those egg yolks away, you can place them in a small container and save them for another recipe, like cheesecake. You must beat them before adding them to the butter and sugar mixture. It only takes about 2 minutes, but it’s a crucial step in the batter coming together the right way.
• Lemon Zest: This is totally optional, but personally I love the light lemon flavor it adds. I don’t suggest using the lemon if you’re adding almond extract. 
• Vanilla Extract: To keep the pure white color, you’ll need to use clear vanilla extract. Or you can use regular pure vanilla but it will slightly tint the cake batter. You may also choose to omit the lemon zest and vanilla extract and use 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract instead. 
• Flour: A lot of white cake recipes call for cake flour in the dry ingredients. But my recipe uses all-purpose flour because I know that’s what most folks always have on hand. 
• Baking Powder: Our rising agent, make sure you use the full amount and use baking powder NOT baking soda. 
• Salt: Helps to balance sweetness and enhance the flavors in this recipe. 
• Milk: Be sure to use full-fat milk, also known as whole milk. And don’t sub this for nut milks for cow’s milk in this recipe. 
• Sour Cream: In a pinch, you can use full-fat plain flavored Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
• Oil: This secret ingredient ensures our white cake recipe has a moist crumb. You can use canola oil or vegetable oil for a completely neutral taste. You can use refined coconut oil, but make sure you melt it and let it cool slightly first.

Reminder: Unless you’re using a clear colored vanilla extract, it will alter the color of your white cake. So if the pure white color is important to you… buy a clear variety of vanilla or skip it and use almond extract instead. 

You’ll also need cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and cream to make the frosting I used. But like I mentioned earlier, you can pair this cake with any frosting you want! So don’t feel like you have to stick with cream cheese.

Equipment for White Cake Recipe

• This might be a no-brainer, but you will need two 9″ cake pans for this recipe. 
• If you don’t have 2 cake pans, you can bake them one at a time. Allow the cake pan to cool between bakes.
• I have not tried this recipe with a different pan, like a 9×13 pan or a cupcake pan. My guess is that a 9×13-inch pan would need a longer bake time. And cupcakes would require a shorter bake time, like 16 minutes.
• You’ll also need a stand mixer or electric hand
• mixer for this recipe! Unfortunately, you cannot make this fluffy white cake recipe without some kind of electric mixer. You must beat the butter and sugar at a high speed.

Whisking the Egg Whites

• You MUST whisk the egg whites for this white cake recipe to work.
• To do this, you can place the egg whites in a large bowl and use a whisk to beat the egg whites until frothy. This should take about 2 minutes. 
• You don’t want the egg whites whipped so much they become soft peaks! Just enough to have them frothy and bubbly on top.
• Also, make sure no egg yolk gets mixed into the egg white mixture. Egg yolks will alter the color of the cake batter and can prevent the egg whites from properly frothing. 
• If you want to make a cake recipe with egg yolks, make my yellow cake recipe instead. 

Making the Cake Batter

1. Prep: Your first step is preheating the oven 30 minutes before baking. You’ll also want to line your cake pans with parchment paper rounds and spray them with nonstick spray. Make sure to coat every nook and cranny of the cake pans with nonstick spray!
2. Cake Batter: Beat the butter smooth, then gradually beat in the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla or almond extract. Add egg whites, a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the flour, milk, and sour cream. And finally, you’ll fold in that oil and mix until it’s just combined.
3. Bake the Cakes: Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans and bake for 22 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Every oven runs a little different so your cakes may be ready as soon as 20 minutes. Or might take anywhere up to 25 minutes to bake through.

Let’s Talk Frosting and Garnishes 

While the white cake layers cool, whip up your frosting! This cake is delicious with:

• cream cheese frosting (garnish with edible flowers or fresh raspberries)
• vanilla frosting (garnish with a variety of berries and mint sprigs or rainbow sprinkles)
• chocolate frosting or chocolate buttercream (garnish with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate chips)
• whipped chocolate ganache (garnish with fresh raspberries and/or mini chocolate chips)
• blueberry buttercream (garnish with fresh blueberries)
• lemon buttercream (garnish with lemon slices and dollops of lemon curd?)

and beyond! And to garnish, you can add fresh berries, edible flowers, or sprinkles! 

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The Best White Cake Recipe

Ashley Manila

My perfect white cake recipe yields pure white cake layers that are moist, fluffy, and flavorful! This is a great birthday cake, wedding cake for small ceremonies, or a fun alternative to vanilla cake. I use cream cheese frosting, but feel free to use whatever frosting you prefer. Full recipe and baking time in recipe card below!

4.43 from 14 votes

PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Inactive Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 22 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Baking, Cake

Servings 1 Layer Cake (9″)

Ingredients

 

• 2 and 3/4 cups (330g) all-purpose flour (be sure not to pack your flour into the measuring cup)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract OR 1/2 teaspoon almond extract see notes
• 6 large egg whites beaten until foamy
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
• 3/4 cup (171ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (113g) sour cream
• 1 Tablespoon CLEAR vanilla (regular vanilla will taint the batter lightly brown) or use 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup (57ml) neutral oil canola or vegetable
• This cake goes great with ANY frosting! I used this cream cheese frosting for the one you see in my photos!

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Generously grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside until needed. 
• In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat on high speed for 2 minutes. 
• Reduce the speed to low and add in the lightly beaten egg whites, a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lemon zest, if using. 
• Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing until just combined. Fold in the sour cream, vanilla, and oil and mix on low until the oil is incorporated into the batter. 
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. 
• Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans places on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake layers onto cooling racks and cool completely.
• Once cool, frost with your icing of choice and serve! 

Notes

*Separate egg yolks and egg whites. Place the yolks in a small bowl and save for another use, or discard them. Place the egg whites in a large bowl. Using a whisk, lightly beat the whites until they look frothy and small bubbles appear on the surface. They are now ready to be added to the batter.

*Clear vanilla will not tint the cake batter. Regular vanilla extract will tint the cake batter brown. If you don’t have clear vanilla and want flavor, use almond extract instead. Or lemon extract would also work for a lemon flavor. 

Keyword cake, cake recipes, birthday cake, white cake

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