My all-time favorite cake is white cake with white icing. I will choose this every time if I am given a choice and I will bake this when it’s my turn to make dessert. I do love many other flavors and never turn down a piece of cake, but white is always the best to me. I think it goes back to my childhood.
When I was a girl, my brother and sister and I would have one purchased cake per year from the local Pizitz Bake Shop and it was always for our birthdays. When October rolled around I was always excited and filled with anticipation for my white cake! The baker had a special filling between the layers…chopped pecans and finely chopped maraschino cherries. It was heavenly.
When Neal and I married, Edgar’s Bakery reproduced the cake for our wedding! I was in heaven again. The simple white cake had the very same filling in the middle as I remember from my childhood. I still have the ballerina topper that was on one of my cakes. “Back then,” cake toppers were china.
This recipe was developed in our kitchen for Bake From Scratch magazine. It’s a great dessert to serve with piping hot coffee.
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (370 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (384 grams) cake flour
- 2½ teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, and spray pans again.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, combine milk, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed just until stiff peaks form. Stir one-fourth of egg whites into batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites. Divide batter between prepared pans (smoothing tops if necessary).
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- 2 cups (460 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 (2-pound) bag (907.2 grams) confectioners sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, 5 to 6 minutes. Gradually add confectioners sugar, cream, and salt, beating until smooth.
What’s your favorite cake?
