Has anyone made this Cook's Illustrated White Layer Cake - Page 3

Originally Posted by yortma

I spent a weekend testing white cake recipes earlier this year. I baked well over a dozen different white cakes, and the better ones more than once. At first, the Cook's Illustrated recipe was the winner, but I was never able to duplicate the first great result. I also tried doubling it, because if a recipe can't be doubled it has limited value to me. Every time I made it after the first time, especially when doubling, it fell in the middle and had a funny rubbery dense layer along the bottom. Since then (I didn't try it in the original test,) I have discovered "A better White cake" by Jennifer Bratko from the website fromscratchsf@wordpress.com It is wonderful, light, tasty and doubles just fine. It is just as good as the cook's illustrated, if not better, and is reliable. Look no further!

Originally Posted by yortma

Sorry, I did type it wrong, I should know better than to do things from memory!

Here is the recipe. I hope Ms. Bratko doesn't mind, as it is available on her website.



A BETTER WHITE CAKE

Source: fromscratchsf.wordpress.com

Note: makes 2 9 layers,

5 cups of batter

A double recipe will make an 11 x 15, which torts to 2 layers ¾ high
  

Ingredients

5 oz egg whites (4-5) room temp
8.75 oz cake flour (don't have to sift it if it is by weight)
11.5 oz sugar
3.5 tsp baking powder
½ plus 1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ cup milk or buttermilk (I used whole fat buttermilk) room temp
8 oz sour cream room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 tsp almond extract
2 oz butter* room temp
1.5 oz shortening room temp

*You can use all butter, or all shortening. I just split it to a little of each. For really white cake use all shortening and clear vanilla, although the difference in color is slight


Directions

Stir a splash of milk into the eggs and stir with a fork. Place all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl and whisk together. Add in milk, sour cream and shortening/butter. Stir to combine then mix for 80 seconds. Add eggs in 2 batches, mixing only 20 to 30 seconds after each. Stir in flavoring. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.


Variations:

Strawberry or raspberry replace milk and ½ sour cream with pureed berries
Pumpkin replace sour cream with canned pumpkin. Add 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
Coconut replace milk and all sour cream with coconut milk. Add a handful of shaved unsweetened coconut.
Peanut butter replace ½ of sour cream with peanut butter
Marble add 2 tsp cocoa to 1 cup of batter, swirl with remaining batter

Originally Posted by scp1127

That recipe is the base that was adapted to make the strawberry cake that had a thread going a few weeks ago. I love that cake.

People come to me for odd flavors for cakes, not white. I have a few white cakes I use as bases for flavored cakes, but if anyone ever asks me for a white cake, I will use FromScratch's without even a trial run. I trust her judgement and her great reviews.