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I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m still on the hunt for “the” white cake recipe. I’m still searching for the perfect from-scratch one, but in the mean time this one is pretty darn good. My sister sent me the recipe, and while it’s similar to other doctored cake mix recipes you’ve seen here on Our Best Bites, it stands out because you’re actually adding more bulk and flavor like flour, sugar, salt and extracts to the mix as well. This significantly cuts the “from a box” flavor and makes them taste more home made. This recipe makes plenty for two 8″ round pans. I’m making cupcakes with my batch today, and the nice thing about this recipe is that it increases the standard box yield of 24 up to 36. I often need more than the 24 cupcakes a box will make, but less than the 48 from 2 boxes so this works perfectly. The cake overall is more dense than a boxed mix so it holds up nicely if you’re using it for the base of a decorated cake.
The prep is about as easy as it comes. With a standard from-scratch cake it’s important to do things like alternate wet and dry ingredients, but not with our half-home-made cake. Just whisk all of the dry ingredients together (I just use the whisk attachment on my kitchenaid and give it a whirl) and then add in all of the wet stuff. Beat it all up and you’re set!
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and then pop them in the oven.
Use a toothpick to test for doneness
One thing I really like is that you get really uniform raised tops on them. Perfectly smooth and round.
And then you can do what you please with them! Try our favorite White Vanilla Frosting or this amazing Chocolate one. Next week I’ll show you what I did with this batch…
Easy White Cake
1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines super moist is best, and yes that’s not what’s in my photo)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white cake)
1 tsp almond extract
Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk, then add wet ingredients. Beat for two minutes until fluffy.
For Cake: Pour into greased, floured pans (fills two 8 or 9″ rounds) and bake according to cake package directions.
Tip: When cakes come out, cool for 5 minutes on wire rack, then cover with two sheets of plastic wrap (in a “+” sign), turn them out and wrap the plastic around them. Allow to cool all wrapped up (keeps the moisture from evaporating out) then pop in freezer on a cutting board to keep them flat. Once they are frozen, they are super easy to frost and defrost in about a half an hour.
For cupcakes: fill paper liners 3/4 full and bake according to box directions. Makes 36 cupcakes.
Thanks Sis!
Wow, you got that up fast 🙂
A note on flavors: ANY flavor cake mix turns out great with this. The almond is a must, even if it seems weird (like in carrot cake). The great thing is that even with the chocolate mix, you don't need to add any extra chocolate flavor.
This is my favorite way to start a cake and I don't consider it a doctored cake mix… I just consider the cake mix one of the ingredients 😀
Cheri- that's awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Alexis- I use a standard cookie scoop (ya know, the kind with the spring-loaded handle) to make it both clean and even. Works like a charm!
Looks dee-licious. I have a question, how do you get your cupcake batter plopped in without making a ginormous mess?
My daughter puts her cakes in the freezer too.. I think she will like your recipe. deb
Oh those are lovely. I'll have to give them a try soon. Thanks for sharing!
Kayci- my sister has made this same recipe with chocolate and it's great. Even with the almond extract too! The egg whites are just for keeping the cake white, so you could also use 2 whole eggs instead of 4 whites for chocolate.
Double Dipped Life- yup. Strangely enough the cooking time seems to be the same 🙂
This sounds great! 1 question though- the cooking time is the same, even though you've added more ingredients?
Thanks!
Aren't you a lifesaver! I have to make rainbow cupcakes tomorrow, which, with the dividing of the batter, makes less cupcakes than 24, and I need at least that many. I was going to cheat with the cake mix, since it's for kids, who will care more about the frosting and the rainbow effect 😉 But now they'll have better tasting cupcakes too! I'm excited to try this – thank you!
Those look tasty! Do you have one for chocolate?? 🙂
This is a great idea of add-ins.
As much as possible, I try to bake from scratch. But, if ever I'm stuck…this would be a great solution.
You said you were looking for a good white cake recipe from scratch? If, I'm not mistaken…the one I have used in the past with excellent results was from Cook's Illustrated.
Hope this was helpful ;o)
Flavourful wishes, Claudia