White cake batter
One tender white batter for celebration layers. It fills three 8-inch pans or four 6-inch pans, and it takes color beautifully for tinted tiers.
Formula
- 340 g cake flour (about 2 3/4 cups)
- 400 g granulated sugar (2 cups)
- 15 g baking powder (1 tbsp)
- 5 g fine salt (1 tsp)
- 170 g unsalted butter, soft (12 tbsp)
- 240 g whole milk, room temperature (1 cup)
- 180 g egg whites, room temperature (about 6 large)
- 10 g vanilla extract (2 tsp)
You'll need: three 8-inch round cake pans (or four 6-inch), greased and lined.
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease the pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the soft butter and beat on low until the mixture looks like damp sand, about 1 minute.
- Whisk the milk, egg whites, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour half into the flour mixture and beat on medium for 1 minute until smooth. Add the rest and beat 30 seconds more, scraping the bowl once.Watch for: Room-temperature dairy and whites blend smoothly. Cold milk can make the batter look curdled.
- Divide among the pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops spring back and a tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out.