Vanilla White Cake

With Cupcake Instructions

To be fair, I discovered this recipe when developing my Funfetti cake recipe. Just like the Funfetti cake, white cake was on my no bake list for orders since I was so particular about the texture. How do boxed cake mixes nail it every time, but from scratch it’s completely different? This recipe nails that texture and moist crumb while being almost as easy to whip up. Nothing beats saying you made a cake from scratch.

Makes one 2-layer cake or ~12 cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups (320 grams) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk*, room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable oil**
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 recipes vanilla buttercream frosting

INGREDIENTS FOR A 3-LAYER CAKE

• 3 3/4 cups (480 grams) cake flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*, room temperature
• 9 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil**
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 recipes vanilla buttercream frosting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut parchment rounds to fit the base of two 8-inch cake pans (three 8-inch cake pans for a 3 layer cake). Spray the pans with cooking spray, place the parchment at the bottom of the pans, then spray over the parchment. (This helps the baked cakes release cleanly from the pans.) Alternatively, line the wells of a cupcake pan with tulip cupcake liners. I prefer the natural parchment liners as they allow for more rise.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until emulsified.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold in with a spatula until no dry spots remain. Some clumps are fine as you do not want to over mix, which prevents a good rise.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans, or using an ice cream scoop, fill the wells of the cupcake tin 2/3 of the way up.
6. For the cakes, bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (the top of the cake will look matte, and the edges will be golden brown, slightly pulling away from the sides of the cake pans). For the cupcakes, bake in the preheated oven for 22-24 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (the cupcakes should bounce back when pressed with your finger).
7. Let the cake or cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and place on a wire rack until cool to the touch. (I recommend using a sharp knife to loosen the edges of the cakes. If using non-stick cake pans, be careful to not scrape the pans too much.)
8. Frost with the vanilla buttercream, sprinkle (or coat) with additional rainbow sprinkles, and enjoy!

*NOTE 1: I never have buttermilk on hand, so I do a 3:1 ratio of heavy cream to water, or simply whole milk, with lemon juice. For this recipe, combine 3/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup water, then stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or mix 1 cup whole milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice). Let sit for 5 minutes and then add to your recipe.

**NOTE 2: I find that vegetable oil produces a more moist crumb, similar to that in the boxed cake mix. Butter has a tendency to make cakes more dense.