This is positively The Best White Cake Recipe! Tender and fluffy, this cake is delicious decorated with your favorite frosting or fruit. The perfect white cake!
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Perfection, Found
When it comes to classic desserts that are unfussy, it’s hard to beat the classic white cake. It’s light, tender, and delicately flavored. Of all the cakes out there, a classic white cake might just be my favorite! However, finding the right recipe for the best white cake can be challenging. Some are too dry, some have little flavor, and some take far too long to prepare. This recipe, in my opinion, is hands-down the best white cake recipe out there! Read on to learn more about it.
White Cake: How Does It Compare To Other Cake?
There are a handful of basic cake recipes out there, most of which serves as a base for a variety of other cakes:
- White Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Yellow Cake
- Spice Cake
While some of the differences in these recipes may be obvious, like cocoa powder or chocolate in the chocolate cake, or a variety of warm spices in the spice cake, the difference between white cake and yellow cake can be confusing. Let’s talk about the differences between the two!
White Cake
A white cake includes all the usual suspects you’d expect in a cake recipe: butter (or oil), flour, sugar, and eggs. A white cake normally includes just egg whites, omitting the yolk in order to eliminate the yellow tint that they offer the batter.
Yellow Cake
Like white cake, yellow cake includes all the regular ingredients found in most cakes, however, it uses whole eggs instead of just the whites. This results in a more tender crumb compared to white cake.
How to Make The Best White Cake
Last year I wrote a series of stories titled “Kitchen Memoirs“, where I shared stories about the people and recipes who have inspired me both in and outside of the kitchen. One of the stories was dedicated to Wendy, who is a baker extraordinaire. Meticulous in her research and experimentation, she always has the best recipes for baked goods! She is my girlfriend Kaylee’s (who has a story of her own!) mom, and is always in charge of birthday cake for the family. Lucky for me, I’m a regular guest at these gatherings, and get to enjoy Wendy’s creations for said special occasions.
This is the white cake recipe that she regularly uses, which hails from King Arthur Baking. The recipe calls for primarily egg whites, although it includes one whole egg which lends richness. Wendy uses whole-fat vanilla yogurt, making it a point to not use the Greek varietal. The recipe also features cake flour, which consistently provides a more tender crumb. Although the recipe does not include almond extract, there is a sort of angel food cake-like flavor to it.
It’s the most delicious white cake I’ve ever had!
How To (Simply!) Frost A Cake
The world of cake decorating is vast and wide. I’m certainly not suggesting that we jump right into fondant work and borders (but more to come on that with Baking 201 later this year!). There are a few simple steps to take when frosting a cake. Remember this: it doesn’t have to look perfect: sometimes the prettiest cakes are those that look a little “undone”!
1. Place one layer of the cake inverted (bottom-side up) on a cake stand or plater. You can opt to slice off the domed top if you like, in order to create a flatter surface for the platter, but I find that’s it’s just fine to leave it as is.
2. Fill a pastry bag with your favorite frosting (I used the dreamiest cream cheese frosting here!) and snip the tip off. No need to use any fancy decorating tips, unless you prefer it! Pipe frosting onto the cake in circles.
3. Using a small offset spatula or knife, gently spread the frosting until it completely overs the cake.
4. Place the other cake, once again inverted, on top of the frosting.
6. Start piping frosting on the layers, working from the bottom up and using the spatula to spread as you go. As you did with the first layer, add frosting around the perimeter of the cake.
7. Spread frosting over the top of and on the sides of the cake. Feel free to leave it looking as “rustic” as you like – what matters is that it’s delicious!
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The Best White Cake
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups Cake Flour
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 4 large egg whites plus 1 whole large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup full-fat vanilla yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 9 inch round pans by lining with parchment, then greasing the parchment.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients on slow speed to blend. Add the soft butter and mix until evenly crumbly, like fine damp sand. It may form a paste, depending on the temperature of the butter, how much it's mixed, and granulation of the sugar used.
- Add the egg whites one at a time, then the whole egg, beating well after each addition to begin building the structure of the cake. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
- In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt with the vanilla and almond extracts. Add this mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the batter. Beat 1 to 2 minutes after each addition, until fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean when done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and allow to fully cool on a rack.