The Best White Cake Recipe

This Classic White Cake recipe pairs fluffy vanilla cake layers with a silky white Swiss meringue buttercream.

In my previous post, I shared some tips on how to make buttercream white. Today I’m sharing the perfect White Cake recipe to pair with that white buttercream. 

I already have a Vanilla Cake recipe for you, which is perfectly pretty and delicious, but yellow-ish inside and out. There are certain occasions that call for pure white and the yellow tint just won’t work.

White wedding cakes are probably most common, but a neutral base is also best if you’re looking to color the cake batter, because you won’t have to worry about the yellow tint affecting the colors.

Today, I’ve modified my Vanilla Cake recipe for you to make this classic White Cake.

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How to Make a White Cake

There are a few key things you want to do to help ensure your cake is white inside and out:

• Use only egg whites
• Use the lightest color butter you can find and whip it well
• Use clear colored flavorings
• Use violet color gel to correct any yellow tint in the buttercream or cake

You want to make sure to really whip your butter and sugar until it’s pale and fluffy, but avoid using a super yellow butter, as that can also affect the color of your cake.

Any flavorings you add (vanilla extract, almond extract, etc.) can tint the cake batter too. I used a clear vanilla extract here to make sure the color of the cake and frosting wasn’t affected.

How to Make Buttercream White

I have a detailed tutorial on how to make your buttercream white. There are a few tips in there that will help but I find the most effective to be adding some violet color gel.

I’ll admit that this trick works better with some frostings than others. I think it’s easier to get an American buttercream to be pure white than a Swiss meringue buttercream, but then I don’t have a ton of experience whitening either kind. 

The violet gel trick totally worked here and neutralized a lot of the yellow, but not all of it. I maybe could have added more, but I was worried about the frosting turning grey or blue — experiment at your own risk! Be careful not to add too much.

I also added some Americolor Bright White color gel to bump up the white a bit. 

I kept the decorating of this white cake simple (I’m a less is more kinda girl). I don’t often use sprinkles on my cakes, but I have SO many different bottles of sprinkles in my pantry it’s not even funny. I just cannot resist the pretty colors! Especially when I can get them for a deal at Homesense.

Ironically, Ryan bought me the sprinkles I used on this cake for Christmas. None of the ones I had in the pantry would have worked as well or paired as well with this pretty cake stand (which is also coincidentally from Homesense). Actually, the props are too. Seriously, people, Homesense is where it’s at.

I used the All Dolled Up sprinkle mix from Sweetapolita, but took out all the large sprinkles and instead added some mini green pearls (GUESS where I got them??) to add more green color. I may have added a bit too many of the mini greens, but oh well!

This classic white cake is simple and delicious. The clear vanilla extract gives it a more candy-like birthday cake flavor, which I love. The cake is incredibly moist and tender, and the buttercream is a perfect silky pairing.

If you’re looking for more classic cake recipes be sure to check out my Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, Coconut Cake, and Vanilla Cake recipes.

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Classic White Cake

5 from 20 votes

This Classic White Cake recipe pairs fluffy vanilla cake layers with a silky white Swiss meringue buttercream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 720kcal

Author Olivia

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

White Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 5 large egg whites room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk room temperature

White Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 tsp clear vanilla extract
• violet color gel
• bright white color gel

Assembly:

• assorted sprinkles

Instructions

 

White Cake:

• Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and flour two 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and pale. Add sugar and oil and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add egg whites one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add clear vanilla.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
• Bake for approx. 35mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
• Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.

White Buttercream:

• Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
• Place bowl over a pot with 1-2″ of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
• Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
• Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
• Add clear vanilla and whip until smooth.
• Add violet color gel and/or bright white color gel as needed.

Assembly:

• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake and smooth with a bench scraper.
• Pipe rosette dollops using a 1M tip with remainder of frosting.
  
• Chill cake until frosting is firm. Gently press sprinkles gently along the bottom of the cake and sprinkle along the top. 

Notes

* Wipe your mixer bowl and whisk down with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure it is completely grease free and make sure there is no trace of yolk in your whites or your meringue will not stiffen.

** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth. If it looks soupy, place it in the fridge for 20mins and rewhip.

Calories: 720kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 6gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 206mgPotassium: 200mgSugar: 59gVitamin A: 1215IUCalcium: 80mgIron: 1.2mg

The nutritional information and metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favorite nutrition calculator and/or metric conversion tool.

This post was originally published on 01/18/19 and was updated with new content on 06/07/21.