This is the PERFECT white cake with a soft texture, moist crumb, and wonderful vanilla flavor; plus, it tastes incredible with creamy vanilla buttercream. Cake flour, egg whites, and sour cream are the secrets to the best texture. The cake batter is my gold standard and I use it as the base for many other cake flavors including strawberry cake, coconut cake, pistachio cake, burnt sugar caramel cake, and more.
This white cake recipe is adapted from my perfect vanilla cupcakes, a longtime reader favorite. The cake is my definition of *cake perfection* and has become one of the most popular cake recipes on my website. I’m even publishing it in my 2025 cookbook. Here’s why:
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, chocolate chip cake, plus more listed below. I even reduced the quantity of cake batter down to make the perfect 1-layer pineapple upside down cake.
It’s my flagship cake recipe, and I crown it with the smoothest, creamiest vanilla buttercream. Rainbow sprinkles add a little glitz and glamour because… what’s cake without sprinkles?
In the past 7 years, I’ve made this cake so frequently that I have the recipe memorized. I’m talking birthday parties, baby showers, summer parties, anniversaries, and even a couple bake sales. There are several success tips I’ve picked up along the way, and I’m thrilled to share them with you so you can enjoy cake perfection on your 1st try.
You need two 9-inch round cake pans for this batter. This batter does not fit into two 8-inch cake pans (it’s too much). Three 8-inch pans work, as seen here in my fresh berry cream cake, but the layers are thin. If you want to make a 6-inch cake, use this 6-inch cake recipe, which is scaled down from today’s batter. Feel free to visit my cake pans & conversions page if you have any questions about changing the pan size.
Make sure you line your cake pans with parchment paper rounds, to help the cakes seamlessly release from the pan. If you need recommendations for round cake pans, I really like Fat Daddio’s pans and these Wilton cake pans.
While the ingredients in the cake batter don’t leave any room for substitutions, we can have some fun with a variety of frostings. 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. 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.
To ensure the layer cake is stable, it’s important to apply a crumb coat. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting on the exterior of the cake that locks in any loose crumbs and helps stabilize the layers. After you stack the 2 layers with frosting in between, cover the top and sides of the layered cake with a very thin layer of frosting (about 1 cup). If desired, run a bench scraper around the cake to help smooth out the frosting. Refrigerate the uncovered cake for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour to “set” the crumb coat. Then cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. This detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post is a great guide!
It’s impressive that this combination of ingredients can produce so many cakes. I will ALWAYS turn to this recipe.
This is the PERFECT white cake with a soft texture, moist crumb, and wonderful vanilla flavor; plus, it tastes incredible with creamy vanilla buttercream. By following the recipe below and all of my success tips, you'll enjoy an ultra-light cake, 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. See various flavors above and all of my recipe Notes below.
