The Perfect White Cake

Name: The Perfect White Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 54 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 and 1/2 cups (295g) cake flour (spooned & leveled); 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar; 5 large egg whites, at room temperature; 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature*; 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tbsp!); 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature*; 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature; 5 cups (600g) confectioners’ sugar; 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or use clear imitation vanilla for stark white frosting); 1/8 teaspoon salt, as needed; optional: sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions

Prep:30minCook:24min

This is the PERFECT white cake with a soft texture, moist crumb, and wonderful vanilla flavor; plus, it tastes incredible with creamy vanilla buttercream. See various flavors above and all of my recipe Notes below. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally's Baking 101.

Updated at: Fri, 03 Oct 2025 03:42:59 GMT