The Perfect {Bakery Style} White Cake

I have been searching for this cake for about two years now.  In my experience, making white cake at home is just never as good as the bakery. (Sorry!  I know some of you just cringed reading that.)


I am not kidding when I tell you that this recipe is it.  The flavor is fantastic and the texture is truly perfection.  Even the-pickiest-dessert-eater-ever, aka my hubby, loved it.
And I know you will too.  As I noted in the recipe I found this cake on epicurious who got it from Cooks Illustrated.  I have never been led astray with either of those sources so I am confident you will find the same success I did!
One major adaptation I did was using 8-in cake pans.  The original recipe calls for 9-in and about 5 minutes less cooking time.  If you plan on using 9-in plans please do consult the original recipe.  The first time I made it I used 8-in cake pans with no time adaptation and was not as successful.

The Perfect White Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk *at room temperature*
• 6 large egg whites *at room temperature*
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Make sure milk and eggs are room temperature.
3. Pour milk (I used skim) , egg whites, and extracts into medium bowl and mix with fork until blended.
4. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, cut into cubes and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
6. Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 30 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
9. Frost cakes with favorite frosting.
10. Just barely adapted from [epicurious|http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/COOKS-ILLUSTRATED-WHITE-LAYER-CAKE-50017374], taken from Cooks Illustrated.

I used my famous Whipped Vanilla Buttercream recipe to frost this cake. (You can see a video of me decorating a cake with this design here) This is the BEST buttercream (American version) that I have ever tried.

I have made this cake more times than I can count!  It works every time and tastes bright and fresh.

So many folks ask me this, “How do you get a truly white cake?”

1. Egg whites in the recipe. There should not be egg yolks in a white cake recipe.

2. Butter color. I try to use a pale butter. There are many brands of butter that have the most glorious, rich, and vibrant yellow tones. I don’t use those when trying to make my cake white.

3. Imitation clear extract. Vanilla can add a dark tinge to your batter, taking away from a vibrant white. Imitation clear vanilla extract helps to keep the batter colorless.

There is just something beautiful about a “naked” cake, you know?

I think my heart skips a beat when I see a white on white cake.  This is the “after” of my naked cake above.

One of the MOST common questions I get about this cake is:

Can I make it into cupcakes?

Yes… kinda. You will need to adjust cooking times dramatically. Start checking at 15 minutes; you want to cupcakes to no longer appear “wet” in the center and to spring back when touched. If the edges are brown(dark) the cupcakes may be overdone.

Do not fill the cupcake liners more than 2/3 full.

The cupcakes do not create a big dome, they will be a bit flatter.

If you want the PERFECT WHITE CUPCAKE, I recommend my Elegant Cupcake Recipe.

*****

If you like this Perfect White Cake you will surely love these:

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix

The Perfect Crusting Buttercream

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

Here is a slightly different take on the same frosting design above.

by: iambaker.net