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!
Questions & Reviews
This is my go-to recipe when I do any kind of cake or cupcake. However, I want to do a batch of chocolate and white cake but I don’t to make more than one recipe. Do you just add 1/4 cup or so of cocoa to half of the batter or have you tried this before? Please help. Thank you!!!!
Is this recipe updated to the smaller box cake size? I don’t know if I read that on your insta or a recent recipe, but I wanted to check before making it tomorrow. ?
I haven’t made any changes from the original recipe, but that being said, people are still making it with good results so I think it still works just as well!
This recipe sounds perfect. Have you made it in a fluted/Bundt pan? If so, how long did you bake it?
This was perfect!!! It took 10 – 15 minutes longer to bake than stated on the cake box for a Bundt cake. Nobody could believe it was a cake mix! The taste and texture were delightful:)
Can you make this cake in a 9 x 13 cake pan?
I’m curious about this too! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! Will it make 2 or 3 8-9″ round cakes? I usually use a mix for two 8 or 9″ pans – wondering if the extra ingredients make it so I can get three out of it? Need to feed 16 people. Thoughts?
Ashley, you can defrost it. I usually start frosting when it’s still chilled.
hey! one question can you wrap the cupcakes like you wrapped the cake (would it do the same)?? thanks for the recipe!
I’m not sure what you’re asking, Mary?
I had this recipe pinned for a long time and decided to try it out since my daughter said she wanted “good” white cake for her birthday. I just tested one and OH MY! Husband and I both agree we aren’t going to look any further. Delicious! And amazing texture!
oh I like that cupcake
i love eating that’s why im too fat now 🙂
but most of the time what i eat are any kind of chocolates
like milk chocolate ,French macarons, and macarons london and so on.
well anyway that cupcake recipe above is interesting i wanna try that at home.
This may be a dumb question-when you wrap the cake in saran wrap and freeze it, when you remove it from the freezer to frost does the saran wrap take out chunks of the cake when you remove it?
I’ve never had that happen to me 🙂 Just make sure your cake is completely cool and you shouldn’t have a problem.
I have a question … dumb I know but why are we adding the extra flour? Hopefully you will answer fast…. I need to make the cake now 🙂
Thanks!!!!
You’re adding all kinds of ingredients, and flour is an important part of a cake. I’m not sure what other answer to give you!
Followed your recipe exactly, except I made half a batch. I was making rainbow mini cupcakes and was able to make 3 dozen for my client. Worked out perfectly! However, I did bake at a lower temp (325) since they were minis. The cake is moist, spongy, and that almond extract gives it a little “je ne sais quoi”. Thank you!!!
Would love to try this for my twins 3 rd birthday party , is the Duncan Hines Classic suitable for this? As its the only D.Hines white moist I can find on amazon ?
Yep, that’s totally fine- any cake mix really, we just prefer the Duncan Hines.
I had been searching for a white cake recipe that was white, moist, and fluffy. This is it. I tried it yesterday for my church with a coconut lime frosting. They were perfect. The almond extract just does something great. Thanks so much for sharing.
This was SOOO good! I never thought I could like a non-chocolate cupcake so much! I used this recipe with your frosting recipe, and they were definitely a big hit! My daughter, who normally only eats the frosting from cupcakes, ate the entire thing!! And she was the birthday girl, so her opinion was the most important anyway! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
Made this cake for my daughter’s 4th birthday (with pink frosting, of course)–so good and so easy! I was a little concerned about how it would turn out since it was my first layer cake, but, thanks to your tip about putting it in the freezer, it turned out perfectly. Thanks again for another great recipe!
I can not find Duncan Hines White cake anywhere in my town anymore. Is there another brand I can use? I love this recipe.
Sure, you can use any other box mix you like, we just prefer Duncan Hines.
is the sugar included in the wet ingredients? cause I can’t tell.