This super moist white cake recipe from scratch is the best white cake I’ve ever had. It’s made with sour cream and has a deliciously soft texture. No more looking around for a homemade white cake that’s actually moist. It’s the perfect recipe for a wedding cake or a birthday cake.
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Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
It’s an age old problem. How to get a moist white cake. You try recipe after recipe and either they taste like cornbread, the texture isn’t good, or it just isn’t moist enough. So, you end up just going for a box when you really wanted to make something with that ‘scratch wedding cake taste’.
You may have seen my Favorite Vanilla Bean Cake recipe on the blog. If not, go and check it out…it’s so moist and really tasty. It’s my favorite vanilla cake, hence the name, but I wanted to see if I could get a truly ‘white’ cake that I loved just as much and I wanted to get that wedding cake flavor.
Well I think I’ve done it. This cake is actually a white cake (I’d also consider it a vanilla cake) that is actually moist, AND it’s got that wedding cake taste.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CAKE INGREDIENTS:
Egg whites: So, when trying to get a cake as white as possible, I wanted to use only egg whites. Generally, using only egg whites can tend to dry out a cake a bit, so you have to add a bit more moisture, which I’ve done as well.
Butter & Shortening: Now, I like a buttery taste to my cake, but in the effort to try and get a ‘whiter’ cake, I lessened the amount of butter and substituted the rest with shortening. If you want an all butter cake recipe (using no shortening), you’ll want to check out my vanilla cake recipe.
All purpose flour or cake flour: Another thing to note is that you can use either all purpose flour or cake flour for this recipe. The amounts will differ and that’s noted on the printable recipe below.
Here’s the deal though: Using cake flour will give you a whiter cake. I’m not a scientist or anything, but I think it’s because the cake flour seems to be more bleached than the all purpose. I could be wrong, but regardless, you’ll get a whiter cake using cake flour.
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Vanilla Extract: First it’s the vanilla. You can always use clear extract to make sure it’s not adding any additional color to the batter, but I tend to use regular vanilla because honestly, it’s just better. If you can get it, try to use vanilla paste/emulsion (or grab it here if my shop is sold out).
Almond emulsion: Second, I added in my favorite flavor booster…almond emulsion (or get it here if my shop is sold out). You’re using just a touch of it, so you won’t really get an ‘almond taste’. It just adds to the flavor. Seriously most people won’t even know you’ve added it in there…they’ll just know it tastes amazing.
Ok, if you just can’t stand the thought of adding it, or you don’t have any handy, then don’t worry, it’ll still taste good. Oh and the emulsion is much better than the extract. The extract just does not taste good to me.
Butter Extract: Lastly I added in a bit of butter flavoring. Since I’d replaced some of the butter with shortening, I wanted to add back in some flavor. Now, that part is optional, but it really seems to give it that wedding cake flavor.
The butter flavoring you can get at the grocery store is gross to me…now that’s just my opinion. I feel like Lorann’s Butter Emulsion tastes much better.
You’ll also want to check out my vanilla bean buttercream recipe…it goes perfectly with this cake, but if you’re looking for a bright white buttercream, you’ll want to check out that recipe here: Bright White Heat Stable Buttercream.
MIXING METHOD FOR THE WHITE CAKE:
You’ll be using the reverse creaming method when mixing this cake. I like using that because it helps preven over-mixing the cake batter (which can cause problems with the texture).
The reverse creaming method is just mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl and the liquid in another. Then you’ll slowly mix in the butter and shortening to the dry mixture and let it coat the flour.
You’ll then add the liquid in two parts, mixing in between. It’s really an easier way to mix a cake in my opinion.
TIPS AND FAQS FOR THE WHITE CAKE RECIPE:
No, you don’t want to do that. These do two different things.
It’s basically just fat. I use vegetable shortening like Crisco, not lard which is animal fat. This helps get the cake moist and I use this in place of most of the butter to keep the color as white as possible.
Because I like the taste of butter. You just can’t beat butter in a cake.
I don’t recommend doing that. It could get too warm and will heat up unevenly. That could mess with the texture of your cake. Just set the butter out on your counter and let it warm up to almost room temp. It’s ok if it’s a little cooler than room temp…you just don’t want it warm.
You can, but the cake won’t be as moist and the texture and taste may be a little different than the original recipe. If you can’t find sour cream, try using full fat yogurt (not the low fat kind).
No not really. Actually regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean emulsion (or paste) tastes better, but clear will help keep the cake white if that’s really an important factor for you.
No. Some people just don’t like almond taste, but I will tell you that if you haven’t tried it, you might actually like the small hint of it. A lot of people assume they won’t like it, but honestly I think it tastes different than what most people think it would taste like. And you’ll just be adding a touch of it, just enough to add a little flavor.
No, but I think it adds a little more butter flavor and that in combination with the vanilla and almond emulsion are what gives it that classic wedding cake taste.
I’ve got links just below the recipe card for the ones that I like to use.
Anymore questions? Just let me know. I’m happy to help.
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Items & Tools Used for this cake:
- Vanilla Bean Paste – in my shop OR here if I’m sold out
- Almond Emulsion – in my shop OR here if I’m sold out
- Butter Emulsion
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer
- 8″ Round Baking Pans
Video:
Ok, I won’t talk your head off anymore…let’s get straight to the recipe!
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe:
Moist White Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (or 2 ¾ cups cake flour – for an even whiter cake)
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup shortening
- ¼ cup butter (unsalted, room temp.)
- 1 cup sour cream (full fat)
- ½ cup milk (whole milk if you can get it)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (can use clear extract)
- ½ teaspoon almond emulsion (optional)
- 1 teaspoon butter extract (or emulsion) (optional)
- 6 egg whites (large eggs)
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour two 8 inch round (2 inch deep) cake pans. You could also use three 6 inch round pans.
- In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, almond emulsion, butter extract and egg whites.Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.Whisk together.
- Add the shortening and butter in chunks to the flour mixture.
- Mix until the flour is coated with the shortening and butter. The mixture will be crumbly.
- Add in half the liquid mixture and mix just until combined.
- Add in the last half of the liquid mixture and mix just until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix again, only for 10-15 seconds.You want to be careful not to over-beat the batter.
- Pour into the greased and floured cake pans and bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack then cover with buttercream.
Notes
This cake can be frozen for up to a month if wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil. Nutritional values are an estimate. Make sure to check out the TIPS & FAQs for this recipe in the blog post, which may answer questions about substitutions. *This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Buttercream Recipe Links: Vanilla Bean Buttercream Recipe Bright White Heat Stable Buttercream Recipe
Nutrition
How to Share
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OTHER POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Marla
This recipe is great! I doubled the recipe and used three 8×3 pans filling just a little over half. I did need to bake it another 10 minutes but it turned out great.
Kara Jane
Oh awesome! So glad you liked it. And thanks for commenting about the amount of batter you needed for the deeper pans and baking time…that will help others as well. 🙂
Dianne Anderson
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! Can butter flavored shortening be used in place of the regular shortening and butter extract?
Kara Jane
Hi Dianne, yes I think that should work just fine 🙂
Kristen Chang
Bless you! I am a pastry chef and it has been an ordeal through the years finding a good white cake. The shortening usually has me say no to trying a recipe, but my old Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Garden cookbooks said the same thing for a white cake so I went with it. Everyone loved this recipe. It was great. I may brush on a little simple syrup next time but it doesn’t really require it. THANK YOU for ending my search after literally 2 decades!
Kara Jane
This review has made me so happy! I’m so glad you loved this one…it’s one of my favorites too!
Nimla
Hi, I was wondering if I substitute margarine for more butter, will it affect the recipe?
Nimla
I meant to say shortening, lol
Kara Jane
Oh okay, I just replied to your other message. So if you don’t have shortening, you can try replacing that with butter. The cake may not be as soft though and it won’t turn out as white.
Tahia
Hi – I want to try your recipe. I have a question, can buttermilk be used instead of whole milk?
Kara Jane
Yes you can use buttermilk instead.
Hailey
Can 10.5 inch cake pans be used instead of 8in? Or will the recipe need to be doubled?
Kara
The recipe would need to be either doubled or you could probably just make a recipe plus a half. If you do decide to double the recipe, you’d have a bit of batter leftover.
Kara Jane
I normally say that butter is best, but if you can’t get butter, then you can try margarine. I’ve not tested margarine with this recipe, but I have had a few people who tried it and said it worked. I can’t guarantee that it will though.
Julia Summey
I love your recipe! I do have a question for you. I noticed you say not to over mix with the reverse creaming method. I’ve read in a few other recipes that you have to mix on medium for at least 2 minutes after adding half of the liquid mixture. Will you please tell me why yours says different?
Thank you! I look forward to hearing from you!!
Kara Jane
Hi Julia, I have seen people who add in the milk first with the oil and then the eggs and they mix for two minutes to build strength. I’ve also seen people add in a little bit of liquid with the butter and use that to coat it. I’ve always been of the mind that you don’t want to add liquid right up front. That you want to coat the dry ingredients with the butter/oil first. That’s what inhibits the gluten development. I have seen where cake flour needs a little more mixing, so that may be where the ‘mixing for two minutes’ thing comes into play, but I guess I really haven’t felt the need to do that personally. I feel like it’s just never been an issue to mix the liquid in two parts and to mix just until combined. (Especially if someone is using all purpose flour.) It’s just so easy for people to over mix and have a dense cake that I think it makes more sense to stay on the safer side and it’s just always worked for me. Once the liquid is added to a recipe, gluten development starts then and the more you mix, the more it develops and if it over develops it just gets gluey and dense. I think there is a fine line with it though.
There are just so many different mixing methods out there and variations to traditional mixing methods. If you look at regular creaming methods, there are lot’s of variations on that too. This recipe could be mixed with the regular creaming method as well. There are just so many different ways to do it. I personally like the reverse method because I like the soft texture, but it’s worth an experiment though if it’s something you’re really interested in. Thanks for the good question!
Marla
Hi Kara- would I need to drop the temp for cupcakes or is 325, say for about 15-18 min good?
Kara Jane
Hi Marla, for cupcakes I’d actually raise the temp to 350 and then bake for about 15-18 minutes. I’d start checking at about 12 just to be sure though.
Cristina
Hi if I needed this for half a sheet cake what would I do? Thank you I’m new to baking
Kara Jane
This recipe makes enough to fill a 13×9 inch pan (which is about a 1/4 of a sheet cake), so if you want to make a half sheet cake, then you’d want to double the recipe. This is if the pan is about 2 inches deep. If the pan is thinner than that, then you may get away with mixing up a recipe and a half, but you’d need to watch the baking time as a thinner cake will bake for less time. Make sure that whichever pan you use, that you grease and flour it before you add the batter. You will just have to gauge the baking time though as it will vary depending on the size of the cake.
Nina
I realize this will affect the color of the cake, but can three whole eggs be substituted for the six egg whites?
Kara Jane
Yes you could use three whole eggs instead. I do have a recipe for a butter vanilla cake that uses whole eggs though. If you’re interested in that, here’s the link: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/
Kara Z
I have made this a couple times now, and I’m having shrinking issues. Cupcakes especially, are shrinking quite a bit after I get them out of the oven. Any tips?
Kara Jane
Hi Kara, sometimes cake will do that if it’s under-baked just a little. I wonder if you could try baking it for just a couple minutes longer and see if that helps? (If not, I have another suggestion below.) Also, make sure to leave the cake layers in the pan for around 10-15 minutes before removing them.
Another thing to note is that the mixing method for this cake is the reverse creaming method. I’ve found that you get flatter cake layers and cupcakes with this mixing method. I prefer this type of method though as it helps prevent over-mixing the batter and the texture is softer in my opinion. However, you can change up the mixing method and do the regular creaming method and you’ll usually get a little fluffier of a cake that doesn’t flatten out on you.
To do that, just add your dry ingredients in one bowl (not the sugar) and the liquid ingredients in another bowl. Beat the shortening, butter and sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Then alternately add in the dry and liquid ingredients starting and ending with the dry. (Dry, liquid, dry, liquid, dry) There are of course variations to this method, like mixing in the eggs individually before alternating the dry and liquid ingredients, but you can start with the other way first to experiment.) Now, if you use this method, then make sure your eggs and liquids are close to room temperature, so they’ll mix better and not curdle up on you and be very careful not to mix too long once you start adding in the liquid ingredients as it’s really easy to do with this mixing method. Just mix until everything is well incorporated. Then if you want a bigger boost, you can start your oven at 350, pop your cake in and turn it down to about 325-330. That would give the rise a little boost. You could bake the entire thing at 350 and lower the time you bake, but I feel like doing that will overbrown the outside.
That was a lot, but if you feel like the cakes haven’t been a little under-baked, then try out this other mixing method and see if that changes things. Let me know how things go! I’m interested.
Brenda
Hi I was wondering if I can switch the milk with buttercream for this recipe?
Kara Jane
Hey Brenda, I got what you meant 😉 Yes, I think that would be just fine to use buttermilk.
Heather
Can I add sprinkles to this recipe for a funfetti effect?
Kara Jane
Oh yes! Try to use the jimmies as the tiny rounds ones seem to bleed color. You could probably add in about 3/4 to 1 cup of sprinkles.
Nossy
Can I substitute butter for shortening??
Kara Jane
The shortening is what helps this cake stay white in color and makes it soft. If you’re looking for an all butter cake, you may want to check out this recipe for vanilla cake here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/
Katie
I made this last night, and it had great flavor!! I am new to baking, but mine came out slightly dry! Overall, LOVED it and it tastes even better today after the icing has soaked in!
Kara Jane
Hey Katie, glad you liked it! If it came out a bit dry, try baking it for a few minutes less next time and that will probably do the trick. Thanks for the great review!
Ami
This cake came out awesome❗️I need to make a 3 layer with 9’ pans, please help with the measurements……
Kara Jane
Hi Ami, You can make a recipe and a half and get three layers that are a little thinner than three 8″ layers would be, or you can double the recipe and have thicker 9″ layers plus a bit of batter left over to make several cupcakes. Hope this helps. 🙂
Debra Cattelino
HI Kara, I want to make this cake for a 3 tiered cake , my question is will it be a firm enough cake to do tiers? From everything that I have read it sounds delicious!
Kara Jane
Debra, using this for a tiered cake should be just fine. It isn’t super delicate and really shouldn’t fall apart on you. Just remember to use proper support with dowels and cake boards between tiers and it should work out just fine. 🙂
Helen
If I bake this recipe in 10 inch pans, I could double the recipe but does the baking powder need to be adjusted to a different ratio so it rises properly?
Kara Jane
Hi Helen, if you double the recipe, you’ll just go ahead and double all of the ingredients…that will allow the baking powder to be in the proper ratio to the flour. Basically just double everything. 🙂
Nicole J
Just wow. I literally never leave comments but I have to for this one. It’s always bugged me that I couldn’t make a moist white cake from scratch—I’m decent at baking. I’ve literally tried dozens at this point, most were garbage, a couple were fine. But this. Not only was it moist, it had the perfect texture. It has a fine, even crumb, not too dense, the edges weren’t overly brown, and for such a thick cake it baked very evenly with very little doming. I did make 2 small changes with good results (sorry for being that person lol). I used 1/4 cup shortening and 2/3 cup butter instead (#flavor) and used cake strips when baking which didn’t really affect the bake time.
Amazing recipe, thanks for sharing!!!!
Kara Jane
Yay!!! I’m so glad you loved it! And no worries about the changes…I’m just glad it worked out! 🙂
Helen
I made this recipe for my niece’s wedding and it was amazing. I used a full tsp of almond flavor but everything else the same. The venue said it was one of the best cakes. It cut well but was still moist. I used 4 layers and vanilla buttercream frosting. Thank you for posting!
Kara Jane
Yay! So glad everyone liked it! 🙂