White Cake Recipe

White layer cake topped with raspberries and covered in shredded coconut.

The perfect celebration cake! Three layers of soft white cake covered in a silky buttercream frosting flavored with vanilla and a hint of fresh lemon. Options to add raspberry jam filling and garnish with fresh raspberries and shredded coconut.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 23

Total Time 58

Servings

Calories 688kcal

Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Cake:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour*
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
2 large eggs room temperature
2 large egg whites room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 generous teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
⅔ cup full fat sour cream
¾ cup milk preferably whole or 2%, room temperature

Frosting:

2 cups unsalted butter softened, but still cool to the touch
6-7 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy plus more, if needed
2+ tablespoons milk
2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest or more, to taste

Assembly:

½ cup raspberry jam optional
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut optional garnish
fresh raspberries optional garnish

Instructions

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease the pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (preferred) or a hand mixer, beat sugar, oil, eggs, egg whites, vanilla, and lemon zest until combined. Add the sour cream and beat until combined. Add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. While still beating, slowly add milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Be careful not to overmix it.
Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Tap/gently drop the pan on the countertop a couple times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If necessary, rotate the pans once during bake time to ensure even browning. Place the pans on wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

Using a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and half of the powdered sugar until well-combined (starting out the mixer low and increasing to medium-high). Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar, followed by vanilla, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons milk.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat well for 1-2 minutes. If necessary, add more milk to thin it out or more powdered sugar to thicken. Taste the frosting and add more lemon zest, if desired.

Assembly:

Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. Top with approximately ½ cup of frosting, spreading into an even layer. Top with 3-4 tablespoons raspberry jam, spreading into an even layer. Don't spread the jam too close to the edges of the cake, you don't want it to squeeze out, leave about a 1-inch border. Repeat with the second cake layer, topping it with frosting and jam. Add the third cake layer. At this point you can proceed with frosting the top and sides of the whole cake OR you can place the cake into the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps the jam and frosting to firm up so that the cake layers don't slide around while you're trying to spread the remaining frosting.
Once you have frosted the sides and top of the cake, press shredded coconut onto the sides (if desired). I decorate the top of the cake with swirls of frosting (using a large open star tip) and fresh raspberries. You can decorate it however you like. Place the cake in the refrigerator until the frosting has firmed up. Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

*To properly measure flour: Fluff the flour several times with your measuring cup to lighten it up, scoop a heaping portion, then level it off with the back of a knife. Don't pack it into the measuring cup.

EGGS AND MILK: To quickly bring eggs and milk to room temperature place the four eggs in a bowl of really warm tap water for about 5 minutes. Microwave the milk to take the chill off, about 15 seconds.

This cake is best served at cool room temperature. The cake will be more moist and soft if it is not cold straight from the fridge.

Nutrition