This moist and flavorful white cake from scratch recipe will make the best birthday cake, dessert, or special event treat any time of the year.
With my smooth buttercream frosting placed between two layers of homemade white cake, you'll surely please the taste buds of anyone who takes a bite.
What makes a white cake white?
A homemade white cake is generally white due to the egg whites used to make this white cake recipe with buttercream frosting. To make a more vibrant white-colored cake you'll add shortening and butter.
A white cake recipe is often used for wedding cake, so you might find recipes for white wedding cake. However I'm featuring this yummy white cake as a decadent dessert or special birthday cake treat to enjoy all year round.
A white cake with buttercream frosting has sort of a sophisticated look, almost too fashionable to eat. With that being said, I'm sure this beautiful white cake won't last too long.
Once you take one bite into this two-layer cake with buttercream frosting you won't be able to stop eating it.
How to Make White Cake, Step-by-Step
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and shortening with sugar.
Add in the egg whites and vanilla. Mix the batter until nicely smooth.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Then, mix in the milk until nice and smooth.
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the
bottom with a parchment paper round. Divide the cake batter between the two pans.
Bake cakes in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool.
How to Make Buttercream Frosting
Make the frosting. Cream the butter and then sift in the powdered sugar and mix again until smooth.
Add in the vanilla and mix. Add the milk slowly while mixing to reach desired consistency.
How to Frost Your White Cake from Scratch
To frost the cake, level the top of each cake layer by carefully slicing the rounded portion of the cake off with a cake leveler.
I normally use this cake leveler that has one blade, but this 3 blade leveler would allow you to bake a taller cake and make 2 even layers from one cake. These tall cake pans are the perfect pans to use for this purpose. The 3 blade leveler and tall cake pans are both on my wish list.
To assemble this white cake recipe, put the cake top side down on a cake plate. Add a thin layer of frosting to the cake. Top with the second cake layer, again with the leveled top side down.
Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake, slowly working it around from the middle of the cake top to the edges. Scrape some of the frosting over the edges and apply a thin layer of frosting to the sides of the cake.
Other Cake Recipes To Try
Pumpkin Dump Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Strawberry Poke Cake, Banana Split Cake dessert recipe, Instant Pot Applesauce Cake, and Instant Pot Banana Cake are all delicious cake recipes you should try.
Can you make white cake with whole eggs?
You must follow my white cake recipe with buttercream frosting as it's listed on the recipe card below.
If you try to make white cake with whole eggs, instead of the egg whites, you'll find that your white cake is no longer a vibrant white cake. That defeats the purpose.
Why is my white cake yellow?
Whole eggs added in a white cake recipe will ultimately tinge your batter and the final cake recipe a little yellow.
While this is perfectly acceptable for anyone who doesn't mind a yellow cake, today I'm focused on showing you to make a white cake from scratch.
Basic Cake Making Supplies
- Stand Mixer or Hand-held Mixer- This makes it SO much faster to whip the topping. Like I said above, it can be done without a mixer, but make sure you have a strong arm and patience. I have a KitchenAid Pro Mixer that I've had for 12+ years and love it!
- Round Cake Storage and Carrier- Having a pan with lid and carrier makes it easier for storage. No more having to deal with plastic wrap that gets messy and twisted up.
- 8-inch Parchment Rounds- No more dealing with cake sticking to the bottom of the pan!
- Cake Leveler- This tool is a must if you want to make layered cakes. It allows you to evenly remove the rounded part of the cake top and make perfectly level layers.
- Cake Server- A good cake server makes a world of difference. It makes it so much easier to lift the dessert lasagna out of the pan in nice and even slices.
- Cake Decorating Set- Making a pretty cake is reasonably easy when you use the tools in this decorating set. With a little practice, you will be decorating cakes like a pro in no time.
How do you separate eggs easily?
If you've made a mistake and accidentally placed a little egg yolk into your egg white, then you may find that your white cake turns slightly yellow. This is why I'm adamant about getting your egg whites separated in a different bowl.
The absolute best way to separate eggs easily is to use an egg separator. This makes sure that egg yolk doesn't accidentally slip through into the bowl and mess up the white cake recipe.
If you don't have a handy egg separator tool, the second best way is to use both sides of a broken eggshell to separate the yolk.
Crack your egg by tapping the shell on a hard, flat surface. Wait a moment while the egg yolk settles into one side of the broken eggshell.
Place the other half of your broken eggshell over the yolk side, and allow your egg white to slowly seep from the shell into your bowl.
Using the eggshell method can be difficult, and can result in egg yolk getting into your cake. To avoid this, add eggs one at a time to your recipe and separate the egg over a small bowl to keep from accidentally a bowl of bunch of egg whites with one broken egg yolk.
Once you've mastered your white cake recipe and place the cake in the oven, it's time to focus on making your homemade buttercream frosting.
You'll need just four ingredients to make this buttercream frosting from scratch.
Do you have to refrigerate buttercream frosting?
Once you've whipped up your buttercream frosting, you may wonder if you have to refrigerator buttercream frosting. Using your frosting right away for your white cake recipe doesn't require you using the fridge.
However, if you're making your homemade buttercream frosting beforehand, or have leftovers then you may want to store your frosting. You can store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Just be sure you allow your buttercream frosting to get to room temperature before frosting your homemade white cake.
Recipe
Classic White Cake with Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
White Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 8 egg whites room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the butter and shortening with sugar.
- Add in the egg whites and vanilla. Mix the batter until nicely smooth.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Then, mix in the milk until nice and smooth.
- Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the
bottom with a parchment paper round. Divide the cake batter between the two pans. - Bake cakes in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Make the frosting. Cream the butter and then sift in the powdered sugar and mix again until smooth.
- Add in the vanilla and mix. Add the milk slowly while mixing to reach desired consistency.
- To frost the cake, level the top of each cake layer by carefully slicing the rounded portion of the cake off with a cake leveler.
- Put cake top side down on a cake plate. Add a thin layer of
frosting to the cake. Top with the second cake layer, again with the leveled top side down. - Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake, slowly working it around from the middle of the cake top to the edges. Scrape some of the frosting over the edges and apply a thin layer of frosting to the sides of the cake.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
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