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Monday, September 17, 2018

White Cake Recipe: The Complete Guide

This white cake recipe is the perfect classic version. Light and fluffy, moist and full of flavor. There is a joke in the cake world that white is not a flavor but a white cake is not just white. Let’s dive into what makes the perfect white cake.

White cake recipes where originally created for weddings. Only the rich could afford white flour and sugar so a white cake was considered a symbol of your wealth. These days, a white cake with a fine, moist crumb is probably the most common flavor cake baked for all types of occasions.

Ironically, where I am from (Portland, Oregon) the more organic and less refined your ingredients are, the more expensive they are. Funny how things tend to go full-circle.


Ingredients
  • White Cake Ingredients
  • 14 oz AP flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 oz unsalted butter room temp
  • 14 oz sugar
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 egg whites fresh not boxed at room temp
  • 10 oz milk room temp
  • 2 oz vegetable oil
  • Easy Buttercream Frosting
  • 1 cup pasteurized egg whites room temperature
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • 2 lbs unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • Gold Drip
  • 6 oz white chocolate
  • 1 oz warm water
  • 1 tsp warm brown food coloring
  • 2 tsp truly mad plastics super gold
  • 1 Tbsp everclear lemon extract or rose water can be used



Instructions
  1. Cake Instructions
  2. Combine your dry ingredients and set aside
  3. Place butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium until mixture is light and fluffy
  4. Add in egg whites one at a time (roughly) and let fully combine after each addition before adding the next. 
  5. Add in 1/3 of your dry ingredients and let combine. Add in 1/2 of your liquids, then dry, then liquids and the rest of your dry. Let mix until just combined. 
  6. Add batter into prepared cake pans and bake at 325 degrees F for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. 
  7. Let cool ten minutes then turn out cakes onto a cooling rack. Wrap warm and place into the freezer to flash chill. This locks in the moisture. Once cool but not frozen you can then trim off the brown edges of your cakes and frost as desired. Chill cake. 
  8. Easy Buttercream Frosting
  9. Combine egg whites and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Whisk to combine on low then whisk on high, adding in your butter in small chunks, vanilla and salt. Turn mixer up to high and whip until light, fluffy and white. 
  10. Gold Drip
  11. Melt chocolate and water in the microwave and whisk until smooth. Add in a couple drops of food coloring. Let cool to about 90 degrees before attempting to drip over the chilled cake. Once chocolate is set, you can combine the everclear and gold dust to make a paint and paint the drip. 
  12. *note: this is a non-toxic gold dust

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