March 29, 2017

White Layer Cake with Whipped Cream Buttercream

Name: White Layer Cake with Whipped Cream Buttercream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour (measured properly); 2 Tablespoons cornstarch; 1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 12 Tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature1); 1 cup heavy cream (room temperature1,2); 6 large egg whites (room temperature1); 2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 4 cups powdered sugar; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature); 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; pinch of salt; 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

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A perfectly moist and simple white cake paired with a light and fluffy whipped frosting.

Another month, another cake. Hop on in, folks– it’s about to get all sweet and heavenly up in here!

I’m back for March’s edition of Cake of The Month with a little elaboration on January’s yellow layer cake.

I mentioned in that post how yellow, white, and vanilla cake are often confused with each other and how they’re all different. I’ve also brought you vanilla cake in the past, so now we’re going to complete the trifecta with what I like to deem “wedding cake.”

I used this recipe to make many many cakes for customers back in my cake baking/decorating days, and it was often referred to as “that wedding cake flavor” when I would ask customers to be specific when asking for a “white” cake (spoiler alert: often times, they really wanted yellow).

Do you know the cake I’m talking about? Dense but not heavy, the perfect amount of moisture, a tight crumb that flows seamlessly into the filling and/or frosting surrounding it?

Hopefully you’ve tried the cake I’m describing, and you’re nodding your head in wedding cake delight. Are we on the same cake page now?

WHAT EXACTLY IS “WHITE” CAKE?

So white cake. It’s, well, white. It’s not quite angel food cake white, since it does use plenty of butter, but you won’t be adding any egg yolks to this cake batter, so the batter stays fairly white, especially in comparison to its cousin cake, the yellow cake.

Egg whites are the bulk of the glue that holds this whole cake business together, and you’ll need 6 of them for this two layer cake. I know, that’s a lot of wasted egg yolks, but save them! Or toss them in an egg casserole.

You’ll also do something a bit different for this white cake than you normally would for a cake batter. Instead of creaming together butter and sugar, you’re actually going to mix together your flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and then add room temperature butter right there into the mix.

You’ll wind up with a sand-like mixture. Here’s a visual for you:

To that sandy mixture, you’ll slowlyyyyy add your solution of heavy cream, egg whites, and a hefty dose of vanilla. Much like we did with our orange creamsicle cake, you’ll add half of this wet mixture to the dry, allow it to fully incorporate, then add the remaining half of the liquid.

WHY ADD THE LIQUID TO THE DRY INGREDIENTS SLOWLY?

Your batter can only absorb so much liquid at one time. In order not to overload it with too much at once, adding it in two parts ensures there’s enough room for everyone to be happy and work together properly. It may seem like an unnecessary step, but trust me, it is crucial in producing the perfect texture for this cake.

The cake will bake up nice and brown on the outside, but the inside will be a perfectly white color with a soft vanilla flavor perfect for pairing with just about any kind of frosting.

Grab my classic white buttercream, go for some chocolate buttercream, or even try out some orange cream cheese frosting. OOOOOOOOH, or fill it with homemade lemon curd and lather it up with lemon buttercream!

YES. DO THAT.

Or. ORRRR, my friend… Cover this perfectly white cake with some out-of-this-world whipped cream buttercream. Ohhhh, yes. Yes, this is the stuff you’re going to want to douse every last crumb of cake with, because it. Is. Magical.

TOP WITH WHIPPED CREAM BUTTERCREAM

You’ll find that the recipe for this whipped cream buttercream is pretty similar to my classic white buttercream. However, instead of just plain adding liquid to the butter/powdered sugar/vanilla extract business, you’re going to whip this buttercream with heavy whipping cream.

You’ll watch for the frosting to just start getting fluffy. Then, it’s perfectly whipped and ready to use.

GIVE THE BUTTERCREAM A TOUCH OF FLAVOR

Side note about the buttercream, you’ll add just a touch of almond extract to give the buttercream a bit of flavor flair. If you’re not into almond extract or you don’t have any on hand, that’s totally fine. Just know that the tiniest bit of it can add a whole new dimension to your buttercream game. Just think about it.

If you prefer your frosting a little thinner to make spreadability a bit easier, thin it out with some more heavy cream, but decrease the mixer speed to low at this point. You definitely don’t want to over-whip your cream, otherwise you’re well on your way to butter all over again. Not what you want.

As always, allow your cake layers to cool completely before assembling, and remember that no cake is complete without sprinkles. Lots and lots. And lots.

If you’re looking for a very easy, basic white cake, this is totally it. It is easily paired with many flavors and makes a great plain canvas for serving with your favorite ice cream or even fresh fruit.

There is no wrong way to eat white cake, wedding or no wedding, so definitely tuck this recipe away for safe-keeping.

And don’t forget, now you’re fully equipped with the cake trifecta (white, yellow, and vanilla), so while you’re at it, might as well make a weekend out of cake baking and eating!

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