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:
Stacey
Kara Thank you So much for a cake recipe that is worthy of time and effort, with a million on Pinterest I was drawn to yours and I am so glad I followed through! This cake was so good my family loved it! I am not a baker but after baking this cake who knows what’s on the horizon! This will be my go to!! Again Thank you very much !!
Kara Jane
Stacey, I’m so glad you loved this one! Thank you for the lovely review. And by the way…you’re a baker now! 🙂
Michelle Gremillion
Can i make this in 9 inch layers.. How do i adjust baking time.. I’m excited to try this…
Kara
You can use 9-inch pans, but the layers will be a little thinner and you’ll need to bake for less time. I don’t normally use 9-inch pans, so I can’t tell you exactly how long to bake these, but I’d start checking about 10-15 minutes earlier than the time called for and that should be a safe starting point. You’ll probably have to bake a little longer, but I think that’s probably a good place to start watching it.
Michelle
Thanks Kara i’ll let you know how it comes out. 🙂
Sue
I plan to make a stacked 9×13 cake using this recipe. How many batches of batter would that take? Baking it today. Should have asked sooner. Lol
Kara
Hi Sue, one recipe batch will fill one 9×13 inch cake pan. The number of batches that you’ll need depends on how many 9×13 inch layers you want to stack. So if you want two 9×13 inch layers, then you’ll need two recipe batches. Hope this helps.
Nizlana
Hi,if I’m using whole eggs how can I adjust the recipe?
Kara
Hi there, you could try it with three whole eggs instead of 6 egg whites, however, it wouldn’t be a white cake at that point. If you’re looking for a vanilla cake with whole eggs, you might just want to check out this recipe on my site for Vanilla Bean Cake. Here’s the link: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/
Rosa
Can buttermilk be used instead of milk?
Kara Jane
Yes, you can use buttermilk.
Maris
This is the BEST recipe!!!
I have always baked in 8″ pans so is the baking time the same for 3 6″ round cake pans?
Kara Jane
Yay! So glad you like it Maris! So for three, 6 inch pans, you’ll bake it for a bit less as the batter will be a little thinner. I’d start checking it at about 30 minutes or so, but may have to go a little longer.
Cassie E
How many cupcakes would this make, if you happen to know??
Kara Jane
It should make at least 24 cupcakes. Make sure to bake them at 350 degrees and start checking them at about 20 minutes.
Connie
This recipe is delicious. I was wondering why the temperature change for the cupcakes. Thanks so much. Love this recipe!
Kara
Hi Connie, I like to up the temp for cupcakes as I feel like it helps them rise a little higher and not so flat.
Brea
Hi! If you ever circle back to this recipe, may I request that you give ingredients by weights as well? This is a personal shortcoming, haha, and I can’t seem to get things correct if flour or powdered sugar amounts are given in volumes.
Kara Jane
Hi Brea, thanks for the comment. I usually just write recipes in volume measurements since that’s what people are used to using and frankly that’s what I use most of the time. But if you need weight measurements, you can click on the ‘metric’ button below the list of ingredients and it will convert them for you. It’s not perfect, but it works in a pinch. Also, the weights will be in metric, so if you’re in the US, you’ll need to just convert to imperial, but it’s at least an option.
One quick thing to note if you’re having trouble getting things right when measuring dry ingredients: Make sure that when you measure them, you are spooning the ingredients into the measuring cup and then leveling it off. If you take the measuring cup and scoop it into the flour to measure, that essentially packs the flour down and will end up adding too much. I have a post along with a video that goes over measuring properly if you’d like to check it out. Here’s the link: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/measuring-ingredients-for-baking-cakes/
Janie
Hi! Am making a cake for my nieces wedding shower. Needs to feed 30 so I’ll double recipe and use correct pan sizes. Question: she wants a confetti cake and all that I’ve seen look so dry, so would love to use your recipe. I’ve read I can use any recipe and just mix in the confetti. I don’t have room for error so wondering what your thoughts are?! Thx for any input! Janie
Kara
Hi Janie, yes it will be fine just adding in sprinkles to make it a confetti cake. That’s all a confetti cake is anyway…just white cake with rainbow sprinkles. You could probably add in about 3/4-1 cup of sprinkles to each recipe batch. I’ve had the best luck with rainbow jimmies and not the tiny round rainbow sprinkles. Those tiny round sprinkles seem to bleed the color everywhere, but the jimmies have been better for me. I suppose it depends on the brand though, so you might test whatever sprinkles you get with a small amount of batter first. Just add the sprinkles to the batter last and just stir them in by hand. Try not to stir too much as that might make the colors bleed as well. I hope this helps and I hope everyone loves it. 🙂
Chloe
If using boxed cake flour instead of normal flour, are you supposed to omit the baking powder and/or baking soda? Trying to be more of a baker, and while trying this recipe, we used boxed cake mix instead of flour and while baking, it was SUPER runny 🙁
Kara Jane
Hi Cloe, this recipe doesn’t call for a box cake mix, so I’m sure that’s why the cake came out super runny. This is a scratch cake recipe and you’ll need to either use cake flour or all-purpose flour as called for in the recipe. Cake flour is different than all-purpose flour and both of those are different than a box cake mix. A box cake mix doesn’t just have flour included, but it has all the other ingredients (except for liquids) needed to make a cake. It can’t be used in place of flour when using a scratch cake recipe. If you try this recipe again, you’ll need to use either all-purpose flour or cake flour (not a cake mix) in order for it to turn out correctly. You can find cake flour in the baking section at the grocery store over by the all-purpose flour. It will be labeled as cake flour. If you use that, do not omit the other ingredients though…as you’ll still need any baking soda and/or baking powder the recipe calls for. Hope this helps.
Eileen
Hello,
I love this recipe! Great cake! I have a question though, would buttermilk also work in this recipe? Thank you.
Eileen
Kara Jane
You could use buttermilk in place of sour cream. I think the sour cream makes it a little more moist than buttermilk would, but it should still work. And I’m so glad you like this one!
Eileen
Hi,
Yes, I use the sour cream but I was wondering if I could substitute the regular milk for buttermilk? It couldn’t hurt the recipe would it? I’m a new baker lol.
Thank you,
Eileen
Kara Jane
Oh gotcha…yes it should be fine to use buttermilk in place of the plain milk.
Gianna
Hi, is there anything I substitute for the shortening? Like maybe coconut oil or just extra butter?
Kara
Not that I know of unless you want to go with all butter. Shortening is what makes this cake soft and white. If you’d rather make a butter vanilla cake, I have a recipe for that here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/ It doesn’t include shortening.
Kathy
Do you know how many cups of batter this recipe makes?
Kara Jane
Sorry, not sure how many cups it makes. When gauging how much batter to make for different sized cake pans, I usually just go with how many recipe batches I’ll need to make. This cake will make 2, 8 inch round cakes, 3, 6 inch round cakes or a 13×9 inch cake. If you’re trying to make it for a different size than those, I can try to help if you let me know what size you need.
Kristen
Hi, I’m wanting to make a sheet cake 11×15. Could you give me some guidance on ingredients please?!
Kara
Hi Kristen, for that size, I’d probably mix up a batch and a half. One batch of this recipe would make a 13×9 inch cake, so you’d need a little more than that and I’m thinking 1 1/2 would be plenty. In fact, you might have a bit extra, just watch as you pour the batter in. As far as temp and baking time goes, leave the temp the same (at 325 F) I don’t know off the top of my head how long it will take, but should be around the same amount of time, maybe a little extra. For a cake this size, sometimes I like to use a heating core or a flower piping nail in the middle of the pan to help it bake evenly since it’s a largish cake. I hope this helps. 🙂
C Elliott
Hi there! I’ve made this recipe once before and it was delicious! I’ve Been asked to make it again for a wedding cake, but I’ll be using 10 inch pans for the base tier. Any advice on converting to that size? Like bake time and if I should double or make the recipe at 1.5 times the recipe?? Thank you!!
Kara
Hi! So for two, 10-inch round cake pans, I’d mix up 1 1/2 batches. I don’t know if you’ll go for two or three layers for the bottom tier, but if you need a third layer, you could just mix up one more batch and then have enough both one 10-inch round cake pan and a 6-inch one. Hope this helps. 🙂
Manda
Really liked this cake… WILL DEFINITELY make again!!
Rebecca
My go to cake recipe! I’ve made it in large round tins, and small ones, stacked it and even cupcakes it’s great every time! A hit and request for all our family birthdays!
Kara
Yay! So glad you love it and thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Lisa
Can I use butter flavored shortening instead of plain?
Kara
Yes, I think that would work just fine.
Chilly
Hi, can i use butter instead of shortening?
Kara
You probably can although the cake won’t be quite as soft and moist and it may be a little more yellow in color.
Jessica
My 8 year old daughter is a budding baker and wanted to make her brother and cousin’s birthday cake. I’m not a baking newbie, but certainly no professional either, though I’ve never made a from scratch white cake. Well let me tell you this one was amazing! I’m so happy I found this recipe. We used the linked Vanilla Bean Buttercream recipe too and it was equally perfect (we even piped with it). My daughter made most of the cake by herself, I just helped her with the consistency of the wet ingredients, as we have never used the reverse creaming method before. We decorated the cake with a golf theme, including piping “grass” decorations and it turned out so cute! The cake was so moist and delicious, and everyone at the party agreed. This will definitely be our family go-to cake!
Kara
This is wonderful! I love that your daughter is getting into baking 🙂 And thanks so much for the great review on the recipes. I’m so glad everyone loved it! Tell your daughter hi for me and to keep having lots of fun baking 🙂
Vel Barnes
Hello! Can I put food coloring in the batter?
Kara
Oh yes, absolutely! You’ll get the best results with gel food coloring because it’s more concentrated though. The only thing to look out for is to be careful and try not to mix too long when mixing in the food coloring as that can make a scratch cake batter turn out dense. Sometimes I like to add the food coloring to the liquid ingredients first, then I’m not mixing it too long once I add the liquid to the dry mixture.
Karen Waligora
All I can say is that as soon as hubby is finished painting the kitchen….I’m making this cake!!
Kara
Yay! I hope you love it. 🙂
Jenny
If i wanted to make it Red Velvet how would i do this?
Kara
Here’s the link to the red velvet version: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/red-velvet-cake/
Sara
Do the wet ingredients need to be room temp?
Kara
They can be but a lot of times, I just use them cold and it still comes out just fine. I do try to set my eggs out a little ahead of time, but it won’t ruin it if you can’t.
Sara
Thank you! One more thing- I can’t get an even amount in the 2 8inch pans. Do you happen to know how much goes in each?
Kara
I normally just eyeball it, but if you want to be more exact, you can just add 1/2 cup of batter to each pan until you run out of batter. That should make it pretty even.
Lindsey
Can I just use more butter in place of the shortening?
Kara
You probably could, however, the shortening is what makes this a white cake and it’s what makes this cake soft. If you’re looking for a butter vanilla cake, then you might check out this recipe on the site: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/