Name: Best White Cake Recipe from scratch
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 227 grams unsalted soft butter (room temperature); 340 grams castor/grinded sugar; 6 large egg whites*; 397 grams all-purpose flour; 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 283 grams milk; 28 grams vegetable oil**; 1 cup soft unsalted butter; 3 cups icing/confectioner's/powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla ***; generous pinch of salt; 1/4 cup whipping cream

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Today I am sharing the moist white cake recipe with tender crumb, melt in mouth texture. This is the best vanilla cake I have ever made and I use it all the time for my decorated cake as it is not overly sweet. You can enjoy is as it is or with very light filled and frosted with Buttercream.

white cake placed on a stand and a slice placed on a plate

Table Of Contents

Why I made this recipe?
Recipe at a glance
FAQs
Tips for making best White Cake
Related Recipes

Why I made this recipe?

I have been in search of a good vanilla cake recipe that ticks all the following boxes

not too sweet
moist and flavorful
sturdy enough for cake decoration
goes well with buttercream

A vanilla cake falls in one of the tricky cakes category. This recipe uses both oil and butter for moistness and flavor.

Recipe at a glance

Egg whites room temperature from 6 large eggs
Dry Ingredients – All purpose flour, baking powder
Oil – any neutral flavored oil
Unsalted Soft, room temperature butter
Milk – whole, full fat milk
Caster Sugar – grinded sugar at home

20230117 143955 1 1024x577 — Cream butter and sugar

20230117 145326 1 1024x577 — Cream butter and sugar

20230117 145841 1 573x1024 — Adding Egg Whites

20230117 150504 1 573x1024 — Adding Egg Whites

FAQs

What makes a cake more moist?

Sugar, oil and dairy contributes to the moistness of the cake. Every step of the cake making is crucial. From room temperature ingredients to making the batter and then baking and storing.

What makes a cake moist and fluffy?

Cake can be made moist and fluffy by following these tips
– room temperature ingredients for easy and homogenous mixing
– correct measurement of ingredients (by weight is recommended)
– soft room temperature butter
– grinding the granulated sugar
– sifting the flour a couple of times to get that air incorporated
– Addition of little oil to keep it moist
– baking at correct temperature, slight overbaking can instantly make the vanilla cake dry
– Cooling and then wrapping and storing correctly

What is the difference between sponge cakes and moist cakes?

Sponge Cake is usually referred to a cake that is made primarily with eggs. Little or no fat (butter or oil) is present. Sponge cakes can be dry therefore they are moistened with a syrup and because of their “sponginess” it readily absorbs the liquid which can be a simple syrup or milk.
Moist cakes on the other hand are butter cakes, with little or no oil added and made with creaming or reverse creaming method.

What is the secret of soft cake?

In addition to the above tips under moist and fluffy cakes, you can try these tips as well
– baking at a lower temperature
– brushing with simple syrup
I have done a detailed video on all the tips to make a moist soft cake which can be found here.

How can I make my vanilla cake tastes better?

Vanilla cake has no other prominent flavorings so using a good vanilla extract is important. Moreover good quality butter will give that enhanced taste.

Tips for making best White Cake

How to store a cake?

After taking them out of the oven, let them cool enough to handle easily. Take them out and cool on a wire rack completely. Wrap in a plastic and place it another bag or cover with foil. Refrigerate for a day or freeze for up to a week. To defrost, let them come to room temperature for couple of hours, removing the first wrap. From refrigerator you can use directly.

To store an assembled cake, place it covered in refrigerator but take it out 20-30 minutes before serving.

Cakes tastes best when eaten at room temperature.

If storing a cut cake, make sure you either cut slices and wrap well and place in an airtight box or place a slice of bread with a skewer to the exposed part.

Remember – exposed cake = dry cake.

Best pan to make Moist Vanilla Cake?

I always use and recommend aluminum cake pans. They conduct heat evenly as opposed to black/non stick pans and even glass pans which conduct heat very rapidly.

A detailed video on cake pans and the most recommended ones can be found here.

Can I make it ahead?

Yes this cake can be made ahead. Please see the above tips on storing cake layers.

Substitutions and Variations?

This is a little temperamental recipe and I will not suggest lot of changes to it.

However, milk can be replaced with any plant-based milk.

What can go wrong?

When adding egg whites, sometime the batter gets curdled and it appears to be not coming together, however with each addition of egg whites, add a tablespoon of dry sifted mixture of flour to ensure even mixing.

To achieve perfectly even layers, weigh in the cake batter for each pan. Equal weight ensures same size layers.

White cake best served with?

This white cake has a great base flavor and can be paired with variety of fillings and frostings. Vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream or ganache, fresh fruits and whipped cream or just as it is.

Related Recipes

You would love these recipes, my trusted chocolate layered cake recipe with luscious buttercream and ganache drip and also famous bombay bakery cake.

Yield: One 8 inches two layered cake

Best White Cake Recipe from scratch

A moist White vanilla cake made from scratch, not too sweet perfect to dress up for any occasion or just serve as it is.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

White Vanilla Cake

227 grams unsalted soft butter (room temperature)
340 grams castor/grinded sugar
6 large egg whites*
397 grams all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
283 grams milk
28 grams vegetable oil**

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup soft unsalted butter
3 cups icing/confectioner's/powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla ***
generous pinch of salt
1/4 cup whipping cream

Instructions

For the Vanilla Cake

1. Cream butter and sugar really well

2. Add egg whites in 3 batches

3. Mix really well.

4. Sift flour, add salt and baking powder, whisk.

5. Mix milk, oil, vanilla

6. Start adding dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately.

7. Prepare two 8 inches pans, divide the batter into pans.

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 F for 30-35 minutes.

9. Let the layers cool slightly before taking it out from the pans and let it cool completely

10. Wrap and chill.

For Vanilla Buttercream

1. Cream butter, salt and vanilla really well for 5 minutes.

2. Add icing sugar, cream and mix with spatula.

3. Beat again for 8 minutes until smooth and creamy buttercream is obtained.

Tip: In winters you can use slightly warmed cream, in summers, chilled cream can help obtain stable consistency.

Notes

* Do no discard egg yolks, either use it to make pastry cream or lemon tarts or ice cream, all recipes can be found on the blog.

** Any neutral flavored vegetable oil like canola, corn

*** If you want to make whiter buttercream, skip the dark colored vanilla

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 741Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 412mgCarbohydrates: 94gFiber: 1gSugar: 70gProtein: 6g