White Cake Layers

Oct 13, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Cakes cupcakes Vanilla: Extract Medium

Two bare, level rounds of white cake layers stacked on a cooling rack with one slice cut to show the crumb

Snow-white, delicate layers made with egg whites only, for wedding-style cakes, coconut cake and anything with a berry filling.

Prep 25 min

Cook 30 min

Cooling 1 hr

Total 1 hr 55 min

Yield 12 slices

Diet —

Ingredients

Adjust yield

slices

2 ½ cups (285.0 g)cake flour
1.0 tbsp (12.0 g)baking powder
½ tsp (3.0 g)fine sea salt
¾ cup (170.0 g)unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups (300.0 g)granulated sugar
5.0 (165.0 g)large egg whites, room temperature
1.0 tbsp (15.0 ml)pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp (1.0 ml)almond extract
1.0 cup (240.0 ml)whole milk, room temperature

Baking tools for this recipe

Convert to grams Scale it Change the pan

Dessert Builder

Build a dessert on this recipe

Pick a filling, a frosting and a finish from our tested recipes and get one complete recipe, scaled and with a shopping list.

Build a layer cake with it

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter two 8-inch round pans, line the bottoms with parchment and butter the paper; dust with flour and tap out the excess.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the butter and sugar 4 minutes until fluffy, then beat in the egg whites in three additions, and the vanilla and almond extract.
Add the flour in three additions alternating with the milk, mixing on low just until smooth.
Divide between the pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes until the tops are pale gold and spring back.
Cool in the pans 15 minutes, run a knife around the edges, turn out onto a rack, peel off the parchment and cool completely before filling.

Tips

Use clear vanilla extract if you want the whitest crumb; pure extract tints it faintly cream.
Beat the whites in gradually so the batter does not curdle.
The layers are done when a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs and the top springs back.

Made this?

Log it to keep your bakes, ratings and notes together in My Kitchen.

Be the first to share one.

Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make white cake layers?

Plan on 25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour to rest. The recipe makes two 8-inch layers (12 slices).

How should I store white cake layers?

Wrap cooled layers tightly and keep at room temperature up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 months; frost them cold from the freezer for the cleanest crumb.

Can I make white cake layers ahead?

Bake the layers a day ahead, wrap and chill; cold layers are easier to fill, stack and frost.

Can I use a different form of vanilla?

Yes. This recipe uses 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (15 ml). Each teaspoon of pure vanilla extract can be swapped for 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, the seeds of half a vanilla bean, or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder. Paste and seeds add the classic dark specks.

Snow-white, delicate layers made with egg whites only, for wedding-style cakes, coconut cake and anything with a berry filling.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.

312 Calories / serving

15.8g Fat

39.8g Carbs

3.3g Protein

34.6g Sugar

Whole recipe (12 servings): ~3744 cal · 190g fat · 478g carbs · 40g protein · 415g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.