There’s no wrong answer when it comes to cakes. To me they’re all beautiful and each one has its signature flavor. But, for many people the quintessential birthday cake is a white or yellow cake. If this is you then you simply must try your hand at a white velvet cake. Unlike red velvet cake, which has food coloring and a touch of cocoa, this white velvet cake is sans coloring and sans chocolate. What you taste with this cake is vanilla and buttermilk, a simple but unforgettable combo.
Unlike many other from-scratch cakes this cake doesn’t keep dry and wet ingredients apart until the end. Instead you make a crumbly butter-flour mixture at the start. Because this method is different to other cakes you want to make sure to beat it with the mixer for a 2 full minutes. For other baking recipes you’d never want to over-mix. But, this one’s a little different.
After the butter is incorporated then you add in the remaining wet ingredients to the batter.
Bake in 2 8″ greased and lined cake pans and until the centers are done. Then you can start on the icing, which is another stunning combo of simple flavors. This is a heated icing recipe where you make something like a roux and then combine it with traditional buttercream ingredients.
If you prefer a plain vanilla butter cream you can find that recipe here. I also highly recommend sour cream frosting for a cake like this. Although the texture isn’t as thick as other frostings, it’s incredibly smooth. You can find that recipe here.
It’s best to ice cakes while both the icing and the cake are cold. This is a professional trick that many people at home don’t know. If the cake is even a little warm then it can melt the icing. With this cooked icing you need to make double sure every element is cool before you begin.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature, divided
- 1/2 vegetable oil, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 335˚F. Using an electric mixer combine dry ingredients for cake. In another bowl combine egg whites, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup oil, and vanilla.
- Using mixer add butter to flour mixture until crumbly mixture forms. Combine remaining buttermilk with oil. Add oil mixture to flour mixture and mix for 2 full minutes.
- Add egg white mixture to batter in 3 lots, mixing well between each addition.
- Pour batter into greased and lined 8” cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Tap cake pans onto cutting board as soon as they are out of the oven to help even out the cakes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before running knife along edges and removing from pans. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator before frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING AND ASSEMBLY:
- Add flour and sugar to small saucepan. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes to cook flour.
- Add milk and raise heat to medium-high. Cook for 2 minutes or until thickened like pudding. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Use clean electric mixer to cream butter for 1 minute. Add 1 spoonful of milk mixture at time, blending between each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Whip until smooth and creamy.
- Cut tops off cakes if they are uneven. Place one on serving dish. Spread a layer of frosting on top. Place other cake on top. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over cakes to seal the crumbs in. Then use remaining frosting to frost top and sides of cake.
- Cut into slices to serve and garnish with sprinkles, white chocolate shavings, or berries if desired.
Enjoy !