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nearly white layer cake

Nearly White Layer Cake

Nearly white cake is your answer to a light, fluffy, but also moist AND sturdy layer cake! Think of it as a delicious vessel for your favorite filling and buttercream.

  • Yield: 15 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup neutral oil
  • 1 egg + 5 egg whites
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup sour cream, room temp
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 3 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups whole fat buttermilk, room temp

Instructions

  1. Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans or 4 6-inch cake pans with non stick spray and parchment rounds. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Make your cake batter. In a large mixing bowl, cream together room temp butter and sugar with the paddle attachment on medium-high for at least 5 minutes, until the texture becomes light and fluffy. Add oil and continue to beat on medium-high until it becomes smooth and shiny.
  3. Add egg and egg yolks, continuing to beat on medium. Add vanilla extract. Beat this mixture together for at least 5 minutes, until the whole thing becomes even shinier and begins to thicken. Add sour cream and beat on medium until just combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix together. Alternate adding portions of this dry ingredient mix and the buttermilk to the cake batter, with the beater mixing on low. You could also opt to do this by hand with a spatula. The order of additions will be 1/3 dry ingredients, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 cup dry,  1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry. Stop mixing once streaks of flour disappear.
  5. Distribute evenly into 3 8-inch (or 4 6-inch) pans, using a kitchen scale to ensure equal volume if desired.
  6. Bake cake layers at 325 degrees F for 25-30 minutes for 8-inch & 6-inch pans. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick. As soon as the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done and remove it to cool on a wire rack.
  7. Allow cakes to cool completely to room temperature before assembling cake. If assembling at a later day, wrap each cooled layer tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1 week. Allow to defrost for 1 hour on the counter before assembling your cake.

Notes

  • Pair with vanilla bean swiss meringue for wedding cake vibes!
  • Author: Caroline Crockett
  • Category: cake, dessert