best white cake recipe

Although I'm a big fan of scratch cakes, I'm not a purist and, honestly, my favorite white cake is the WASC (white almond sour cream) cake - the recipe is here in the recipe section. It starts off with a white cake mix and you add another seven or so ingredients to it. It's light buy sturdy and can handle carving and fondant if you need it to. It's also very versatile - you can start with any flavor cake you want to and add any kinds of flavorings to it, both as extracts and as substitutes for the liquid called for. Somewhere on here there's a very lengthy thread with suggested variations (I think it's called something like "Gourmet flavors" - anybody have that link?).

I recently tested at least 20 different white cake recipes, including the wasc made with a mix. I did not have the luck with it that many others have had. My cakes always sunk in the middle and were somewhat dense, and I did adjust for the new box sizes. Also, it tasted like a mix to me. I tried both DH and BC. (The chocolate version was was even less succesful - not very "chocolatey" at all). Admittedly, i was biased and preferred to find a scratch recipe for several reasons. 1) If asked, I would prefer to say "of course it's from scratch, 2) I like to send along a list of ingredients with every cake (CYA regarding food allergies). Have you read the ingredients on a cake mix? Chemicals that I can't pronounce or tell you what they do, and I was a chemistry major in college. 3) I am mad at the cake companies for decreasing the size of the mixes, charging the same, and hoping no one would notice. 4) It is far more satisfying and gives me greater satisfaction to bake things from scratch. (I am a hobby baker and admittedly have less concern regarding time and cost than many folks might have.)

Having said all that, the BEST white cake IMHO is from Michelle Bratko and can be found at fromscratchsf.worldpress.com. Most white cakes I tried were dry and had a floury taste. The really good ones all had sour cream, cream or buttermilk added. That seems to be the key to a good white cake.

Since she has posted it and it is readily available, I hope she doesn't mind if I post it here. I may have altered a few things very slightly.



A BETTER WHITE CAKE

Source: fromscratchsf.worldpress.com

Note: makes 2 9 layers,
5 cups of batter
double recipe for 11 x 15, makes 2 layers ¾ high once leveled
  

Ingredients

5 oz egg whites (4-5)
8.75 oz cake flour
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)
8 oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 oz butter*
1.5 oz shortening

*For really white cake use all shortening and clear vanilla. I tried it and the difference is very slight


Directions

Stir a splash of buttermilk into the eggs and stir with a fork. Place all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl and whisk together. Add in buttermilk, sour cream and shortening. 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: (I have not tried these yet)

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

I agree with yortma. I just made FromScratchSF's white cake a couple days ago but in a pineapple version. It was moist, great texture, smelled delicious, tasted great.
HTH!

Thanks for that post, yortma. I just saved the recipe and hope to make it soon. Just a quick note and a question - Beyond Buttercream's (used to be FromScratchSF) address is "wordpress" not "worldpress", in case anyone wants to check in at her site. The question is about what it says after doubling the recipe for the 11" x 15" cake: it says 2 layers 3/4" high, once leveled" - is that right?

I needed to make the recipe in an 11 x 15 pan, and noted that for my own reference - not part of the original recipe. It should be correct. ( For that size I use 2 heat core nails and wrap with bake even strips so that there isn't much to level). The height is after torting one cake into 2 layers. If not torting, of course it would be twice as high. HTH

Thanks, yortma, I get it now!

I also agree that fromscratchsf's white cake is the best! I have tried many others and they were okay but nothing really stood out to me before I baked that cake. I just loved it. Someone that tasted the cupcake (and only makes cakes from a box mix) loved it so much that they asked for the recipe.

After making several white cake recipes only to be dissapointed for one reason or another I came across the white cake recipe posted on FromScratchSF and I can happily say that my search is over. I made the cake today and paired it with a true buttercream frosting (no Crisco no crust) and served it to my loyal "taste testers" and all agreed, hands down, this was the winner The cake was moist, had a nice crumb and great flavor. I HIGHLY recommend you try this cake recipe. Good Luck

http://fromscratchsf.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/white-cake-part-3-with-recipe/

P.S. on her blog she explains the mixing method, why she chose those ingredients, and some options you can add to the cake mix to change flavors.

Do you guys buy cake flour, or do you make it from scratch as well. I've only seen 1 single box of cake flour in walmart as far as choices.

I buy either Softassilk cake flour or King Arthur Flour's Queen Geneivere cake flour.

I was doing some cake searching and revisited this topic.

It looks like butter and shortening is in the recipe posted, but butter is never mentioned when talking about adding ingredients. The source says either butter or shortening. Is this recipe suppose to be "Either" as well? If so, does the butter need to be softened?

thanks!

usmdesigner: yes, the butter should be at room temperature along with all the other perishable ingredients. This is a great cake!

HI,
I found this recipe somewhere. Either roaming around CC or elsewhere, not sure. Tried it yesterday and was very surprised and delighted. I've been using the WASC and love it but wanted to venture out and try a few other things since our cake mixes are being messed with in box size. I just wanted another route just in case

SCRATCH VANILLA SOUR CREAM CAKE
Roland Winbeckler TLC's Ultimate cake off

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 T plus 1 tsp double acting baking powder
1/4 cup butter softened
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 whole eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 small pkg. dry instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp real vanilla
preheat over to 325
Brush pan with pan coat . (I used pam spray and it worked just fine )
combine by hand: flour, salt, sugar ,baking powder in mixing bowl. Add remaining ingred and mix with mixer on low speed . Increase speed to medium and mix for 2 min until well blended
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees F until center tests done.

I was very pleased with the results. I could of taken it out maybe a few min earlier. I baked it for approx 20 min in a reg. 9x13 pan. Not wilton cake pan. It wasn't dry on the outside but not moist on the outside like the WASC. I guess what I mean is that when I bake the WASC it is very moist on the outside and seems breakable to me. So I handle it carefully. But the inside was very moist and the taste was very good. I froze some to see how it would hold up and it was great. In my opinion it could be used for carving ..
Give it a try.
Wendy

WELL AFTER RE-READING , THIS IS NOT A WHITE CAKE ... DUH.... WHOLE EGGS.

BUT A VERY GOOD SCRATCH CAKE
Wendy