I use this white cake as the base for many other cake flavors. It’s the PERFECT cake with a soft texture, wonderful vanilla flavor, and tastes incredible with creamy vanilla buttercream on top. Cake flour, egg whites, and sour cream are the secrets to the best texture. This cake recipe is the base for my burnt sugar caramel cake, coconut cake, strawberry cake and pistachio cake, too!
Let’s start the day the only way we know how: with a buttery white cake.
Why This is my Best White Cake Recipe
This white cake recipe is adapted from my perfect vanilla cupcakes, a reader favorite. The cake is my definition of *cake perfection* and has become one of the most popular cake recipes on my website. Here’s why:
- Soft & airy crumb
- Moist, but not eggy
- Pure sweet flavor
- Stick-to-your-fork tender
- Completely from scratch
- Easy & approachable recipe
I love this cake so much that I used it as the base for several other cake recipes I have published including espresso chocolate chip cake, pineapple coconut cake, cookies and cream cake, and the others mentioned above. I even reduced the quantity of cake batter down to make the perfect 1 layer pineapple upside down cake.
White Cake Success Tips
- Cream the Butter: To achieve a good rise, properly cream the butter and sugar together. We have a crutch of baking powder and soda, but the recipe begins with that very first and imperative step: beating the butter and sugar together until creamy.
- Egg Whites: Use ONLY egg whites. No yolks. Not only will using only egg whites give us a pristine white cake, it will ensure that the crumb is not weighed down by the fat in egg yolks. Think about it: lighter confections such as marshmallows and angel food cakes only require egg whites. Same story here.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is the cake’s security blanket; it keeps everything moist. It plays the same important role in coffee cake, too.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is almost 30x finer than all-purpose flour. Using it is a surefire way to achieve a delicate and delicious texture. It’s sold in the baking aisle and you can use the rest of the box in any of these recipes that use cake flour including this popular confetti cake.
- Room Temperature: Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. When ingredients are the same temperature, they bind together more readily than if you had some cold and some warmer ingredients. Colder ingredients, especially egg whites, will produce a thicker batter and, since it’s cold, will take longer to bake. This changes everything.
To summarize, make sure you’re creaming the butter and sugar together properly, all your ingredients are the same temperature and you use egg whites, sour cream, and cake flour. The result is an ultra-light cake with buttery vanilla flavor, just like the kind you find at a bakery or from a box mix. But it’s all made from scratch in your very own kitchen. ♥
White Cake Decoration
While the ingredients in the cake batter don’t leave any room for substitutions, we can have some fun with a variety of frostings and cake pans. I prefer vanilla frosting, which I include in the recipe below. But I encourage you to play around with chocolate buttercream, rainbow chip frosting, or chocolate cream cheese frosting. For a lighter, less sweet option, I love pairing this cake with whipped frosting (pictured below). Each of these frostings are absolutely remarkable on this lovely cake. The vanilla frosting makes a lot, so expect a thick layer between the cakes.
9×13-inch pan: Want to bake a sheet cake instead? Follow my recipe note. A single layer white cake is easier to prepare, decorate, and serve!
I even used this exact cake recipe for Elmo cake and added chocolate chips for Cookie Monster cake! It’s such a versatile cake and always receives compliments from taste testers and party goers.
You can also frost this cake with whipped frosting:
PrintFavorite White Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This white cake recipe is buttery and moist with the fluffiest crumb and creamiest vanilla buttercream. The tricks are to use cake flour, egg whites, and sour cream.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tbsp!)
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
Vanilla Frosting
- 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 5 cups (600g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or use clear imitation vanilla extract for stark white frosting)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy—about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the egg whites. Beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy—about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more cream if frosting is too thick, or a pinch more of salt if frosting is way too sweet.
- Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Decorate top of cake with sprinkles, if desired. Slice, serve, enjoy!
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Assemble and frost the cake the next day when you are ready to serve. Frosted cake can be frozen up to 2 months if you have room in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-Inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Straight Spatula (for frosting) | Round Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Amount of Batter: If it’s helpful for using different size cake pan sizes and conversions, this recipe yields about 7 cups of cake batter.
- Whole milk and sour cream are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full fat plain yogurt would work instead, though the cake may not be as light. Same goes with a lower fat milk.
- 9×13-inch Pan: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13-inch pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cupcakes: My vanilla cupcakes recipe is essentially this same recipe, only halved. If you want more cupcakes, you can follow this white cake batter recipe and use the baking instructions for the cupcakes.
Here are my perfect vanilla cupcakes. Today’s white cake is just as soft & fluffy.
Hello, I was wondering what the nutrition facts were for this cake. Thank you
Hi Jane! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I followed the recipe until totality but it was very dry. Super disappointed because my health is poor and it’s difficult for me to get the energy to bake.
Hi, I’m looking for a white cake recipe that I can use with rolled fondant on top. Is this one strong enough without egg yolks, do you think?
Hi Lauren! This cake will hold up under fondant. Hope you love it!
Thank you, Trina! Given Sally’s track record, I see no reason why I wouldn’t love it!
This is the best baking site in the world.
Made this today as a trial run for my daughter’s first birthday cake. It turned out absolutely amazing— light, fluffy, moist and great flavor. I didn’t have cake flour on hand so made my own (make sure to sift if you’re doing this!). Used (3) 6” pans, which required me to up the baking time to about 35 minutes, but they turned out great.
Best cake I have ever made!!!!! Made this in a 9X13 and frosted it with my grandmother’s chocolate frosting. We had it for my mom’s birthday. Perfect and delicious!
Is it possible to substitute almond extract for the vanilla?
Hi Joana! We recommend using 1.5 teaspoons almond extract and 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract.
Could I use almond paste in this recipe to make a white almond cake? If so, what would be the amount to add?
Wow is all I can say!!! I usually am a chocolate cake/frosting fan but our dinner guests requested a white cake and your recipe is what I wound up selecting after a thorough google search.
It is one of the BEST cakes I’ve made. The directions were extremely easy to follow, the cake was super moist and the frosting was excellent. (I made a homemade red raspberry every filling and that made a perfect addition to this basic cake. )
The future daughter in law of our dinner guests swears by your recipes and now I am a fan!!! Thanks
I don’t normally leave reviews for recipes but I had to in this case, I made this cake yesterday with a strawberry buttercream frosting and it was AMAZING. Everyone that tried it raved about how great it was. This is definitely going to be a staple of mine.
The cake is light, and moist, and so delicious. Just too sweet to my taste. I try to reduce amount of sugar to 300 g -still too sweet. What is the smallest amount of sugar I can use next time for the recipe? I really like the moistness and lightness of this cake….and it taste fantastic! Thank you for the recipe! All of your recipes work great!
Hi Inna, A slight reduction in sugar is just fine, but reducing a lot of the sugar (more than half) will alter the texture of the cake. We recommend reducing to 1 and 1/4 cups.
Can you use the frosting in this recipe to pipe designs onto the cake as well?
Yes, absolutely!
I love all of your recipes that I’ve tried!
My son is asking for a white cake with either a raspberry or strawberry filling for his birthday! Wondering if this cake could handle an additional filling on top of the buttercream on the middle layer? How would you go about incorporating that into this cake recipe? Or do you suggest a different cake recipe?
Hi Jordan, a raspberry or strawberry filling would be delicious between layers of this cake. We recommend lightly frosting the cake rounds and then creating a ring of frosting around the edges to keep the raspberry jam in place. Hope it’s a hit for your son’s birthday!
Hi Lexi, thanks for your reply. Awesome.
Hi , I’m wondering whether I could use Swiss meringue buttercream instead of vanilla buttercream for frosting.
Hi Mala, absolutely. Swiss Meringue Buttercream would pair delicious here. Enjoy!
Any issue you can see if I were to double the recipe and stack it 4 high? Just looking for a taller cake to make it look a bit more fancy. 🙂
Hi Janie! For the best texture we suggest making it twice for 4 layers instead of doubling. Hope you love it!
I made your Favorite White cake last week and your Yellow cake this week for two separate special occasions. Because I couldn’t find cake flour in our stores, I used pastry flour and followed the recipes exactly as written being very careful not to overmix. The taste of both of these cakes was fabulous but they both came out very dense and took a shorter amount of time than what the recipe stated to bake. I’m now wondering if my oven temperature is off & if this could be the reason they were so dense? Or could it be the pastry flour? I’ve enjoyed many of your recipes in the past & am frustrated in trying to figure this out. I’m known as “the baker” in the family and have not encountered this before. What are your thoughts & thank you for your most informative website and tips!
Hi Susan, you really do need cake flour in this (and any cake calling for it). Cake flour is much lighter. You can read more about it and also how to make your own if you don’t have any in this post on Homemade Cake Flour Substitute.
How would you suggest adjusting this recipe to yield a 3 layer cake using 8 inch cake pans? Do you cut these cakes in half before stacking and frosting or frost as is?
Hi Holly, we don’t cut our cakes in half before frosting. For three layers you can use 1.5 times the batter. Or you can use our recipe for Best Vanilla Cake. Using 8 inch pans your layers will be a little bit thicker and may take an extra minute in the oven – use a toothpick to check for doneness.
My daughter wanted a rainbow cake For her birthday. Could i modify this to do 6 colored layers at 8 ins? would i just need to modify the cook time?
Hi Jodi, For a rainbow cake we recommend using this light and fluffy white cake or our vanilla cake. The vanilla cake makes a little more batter, which could be helpful for a rainbow cake. You can divide either batter into 5 or 6 layers to color and bake-– keeping in mind the layers will be thinner and require a shorter bake time. Or, for regular sized (thickness) layers, you can make several batches — keeping in mind that it’s best to make the batches separately rather than multiplying. Hope this helps!
Hello, I’m wondering if I could substitute a lower fat cream in the frosting, such as 10% or 18% cream? Love your website, thanks!
Hi Janice, that will be just fine. Enjoy!
Yes!!! This is perfect. I just made it and i made extra little cakes for myself, i am eating them hot out of the oven with a dollop of frosting and fresh strawberries ❤️.
Can I use rainbow sprinkles in the batter to make it a funfetti cake? Tried your coconut cake it’s and fan favorite and staple of mine now!!!
Hi Gretchen, You can fold in 1/2 -2/3 cup of sprinkles (jimmies, not nonpareils) to this batter for a funfetti cake. Enjoy!
If I pour 285g of cake flour into a bowl on a weighing scale, then sift and use all of it would that be correct?
Or should I sift the flour directly into a bowl on a weighing scale until it is 285g?
Hi Melissa, sifting is no longer required for this recipe– after further testing, it’s just not necessary. You need 285g of cake flour. If you decide to sift it, that’s absolutely fine. I would weigh 285g and then sift.
My 12 year old daughter found this recipe and made it for her dad’s bday and now its our family favorite, thank you! Its now her bday and she wants a half white and half chocolate cake. Do you have a recipe or suggestion on modification to this recipe to make the chocolate half?
Hi Joann, perhaps you would enjoy our zebra cake recipe!
Everyone loves this recipe it is by far the best White Cake (if not the best cake in general)! I am supposed to be making a full sheet cake (2 half sheet pans 12 x 18) for my nephew’s birthday. What is the best way to convert the recipe? I’m wondering if it would just be best to make this recipes multiple times and just keep making it until I fill the pan to the correct point, but then I wonder what I would change the cook time to… any advice
Hi Emily! Yes that sounds like a great plan – you can find more information about converting recipes in our cake pan sizes and conversions post. We’re unsure of the bake time, so keep a close eye on the cakes in the oven!
This is by far the best recipe ever! Definitely sub the milk out for buttermilk though but keep the rest the same. It’s my first time trying with sour cream and it’s definitely also a must. My husband who isn’t a cupcake/cake fan because so many are too dry, dense and or too crumbly with being dry but your recipe here is perfect! They came out so soft and moist. Going to try your cake recipe with the same ingredients that you posted which is almost double this cupcake recipe. Thank you so much. This brought my family and I so much joy. This deserved more than 5 stars lol
We first made this back in Dec 2021. I have to say, in my 40 years of baking, this is one of the best white cake recipes I have ever come across. Now, fast forward to today, Mar 3 2022. We wanted to make it again but didn’t have sour cream. We had yogurt though. Both are dairy products, right? Although the sour cream is, well, sour. I thought of putting in a teaspoon of cider vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes, like when making a buttermilk substitute with milk and vinegar (or lemon juice). But, I opted to just use the yogurt as is. The cakes turned out beautiful. Baking the batter in two 8 inch round pans took 34 minutes. Waiting for them to cool, then stack them with a layer of homemade custard, and then cover with chocolate icing… for a boston cream cake.
Hi Jim! Yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream in cakes. We’re so happy to hear that you love this recipe 🙂
I am interested in making this cake in advance, but using you not too sweet whipped cream frosting with strawberries. So, I am wondering if I can wrap & freeze the cooled layers? If so, would I thaw the layers before frosting them??
Hi Sue! Here’s our detailed post on freezing cake layers. Happy baking!
Thanks for the reply. I made this cake in advance and froze the layers for 1 wk. following to the detailed post instructions. In the end, I wasn’t wowed by the cake. First, I would not normally make a recipe that required 5 egg whites, but I happened to have a recipe on hand where I could use the 5 yolks (rarity) + some sour cream in the fridge that needed to be used up. The cake was easy enough to make. (I even referenced the blog post on “room temperature ingredients” and learned a lot!). After wrapping/freezing, I thawed the cake layers overnight in the fridge before frosting it with your Not So Sweet Whipped Cream Frosting flavored with powdered dried strawberries. The final assessment was that the cake was dry. I’m not sure if it was a result of freezing. I also didn’t think there was that much vanilla taste. I think I would try the favorite Vanilla Cake next time instead. Nothing ventured, nothing gained…
I was thinking of baking this in a Bundt pan with a rainbow in the center (using some of the batter)…any suggestions?
Hi Chris! We suggest using gel food coloring for the most vivid colors without altering the consistency of the batter. This cake batter will fit into a Bundt pan but we haven’t tested it so we’re unsure of the bake time needed. We’d bake it at 350. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Sent a pic via email…turned out perfect! Baked in bundt for about 42 minutes.
I’m not the greatest cook for anything, let alone baking. This cake turned out great for me and soooo tasty. I love the baking site and it is my “go-to”.
I just love your recipes, but for some reason I could not find success with this one. I made it twice, using all the suggested ingredients at room temp, opting to make my own cake flour, but I used vanilla sugar instead of extract, because that’s what I had.
I also wanted to bake 3 layers so I used 16cm round cake pans. The first time the cakes never baked through and were very watery inside. The second time I baked them for almost 40min to get them to cook through and the cakes came out really heavy, and eggy. Please help. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Leslie, This recipe yields about 7 cups of batter. You only need between 3-4 cups of cake batter for a three layer 6 inch cake, so your cake pans were likely over-filled and wouldn’t bake properly. For a cake that size we recommend using this 6 inch cake recipe instead, which is a lot like this cake batter. (And the cake is pretty soft, too.)
Hi, how would you do a dolly varden? I took bout 1.5x of this recipe and it has a sink hole, taking ages to cook and look eggy/undercooked despite being cooked for almost 2hours.
Hi is it possible to substitute the cake flour for just regular flour?
Hi Patricia, You really do need cake flour and not plain or all purpose flour in this (and any cake calling for it). Cake flour is much lighter. You can read more about it and also how to make your own if you don’t have any in this post on Homemade Cake Flour Substitute.
I used regular cake flour and the cake barely raised. My friend used cake flour and the same happened. This cake is delicious , unfortunately it did not rise well
I wish you would get a reply on this. I was planning on making this cake next week for our wedding anniversary cake. I have an unopened box of cake floor….