White Velvet Buttermilk Cake

White velvet cake is a pretty red velvet sister. Red velvet cakes have been around for a long time and are probably one of the most popular cake flavors of all time. But not everyone wants to eat red food coloring or maybe they have special dietary requirements that do not allow them to eat red food coloring. Whatever the reason, the options are always good.

Many people wonder if you can leave the color of red food and get white velvet and the answer is yes, somewhat. You also have to leave the cocoa powder. All the things that make delicious red velvet cakes can be left alone.

sidenote ... the more I spell the word "velvet" the more strange it seems ... velvet. VELVET velvet. Start looking wrong.

What is White Velvet Cake?

The white velvet cake is basically red velvet without red. This is the base of the buttermilk cake which produces a VERY soft, smooth and moist cake. If you leave all the colors and cocoa powder you have a nice white velvet cake. Neat huh Buttermilk gives this southern inspired cake, the texture is rich and soft

Traditional red velvet cakes have a little cocoa powder in them. Some will tell you that red velvet is actually a chocolate cake (wrong) or it's just a white cake with the addition of red food color (very wrong). Cocoa powder does add a little taste to the cake but it's not enough to call it chocolate so that when you leave it, it doesn't really affect the taste.

red velvet cake
What's Great About White Velvet?
So one of the BEST things about this recipe in my opinion is the texture. The crumbs are very soft and healthy ... soft! I like how it looks when you cut it. Soft and soft. This is like magic!

Ingredients

White Velvet Cake Ingredients

• 12 oz cake flour
• 12 oz granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 5 oz egg whites room temperature
• 4 oz vegetable oil
• 10 oz buttermilk room temperature or slightly warm
• 6 oz butter unsalted and softened
• 2 tsp vanilla

Ermine Frosting Ingredients

• 14 oz granulated sugar
• 3 oz flour
• 16 oz whole milk
• 16 oz unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT, the temperature ingredients are listed above are the temperature and the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly.

Heat oven to 335º F / 168º C - 350º F / 177º C. I use lower tenders to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking.

Prepare two 8 "x2" (or three 6 ") cake pans (with a little leftover batter) with a goop or preferred pan spray cake. Fill your pans about 3/4 of the way full of batter.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of mixer stands with paddle attachments. Mix 10 seconds to combine.

Combine 1/2 cup of milk and the oil together and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk, egg whites and vanilla together, whisk to break up the eggs and set aside.

Add your softened ingredients to the ingredients and mix on low until the mixture resembles a coarse sand (about 30 seconds). Add in your milk / oil mixture and let mix until dry ingredients are moistened and then bump up to med (setting 4 on my kitchenaid) and let mix for 2 minutes to develop the cakes structure. If you don't let your cake mix on this step, your cake could collapse.

Scrape your bowl and then reduce speed to low. Add mixture in three batches, letting the batter mix for 15 seconds between additions.

Scrape down the sides again to make sure everything is poured into prepared pans. Take the 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean but the cake has to shrink from the sides of the pan.

IMMEDIATELY TAP PAN FIRMLY on countertop to release the steam from the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking.

Let cakes are cool for 10 minutes inside the pan before flipping them out. The cake will shrink a bit and that is normal. Flip onto a cooling rack and let cool fully. Chill my cakes before handling or you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them to trap moisture in the cake. Thaw the countertop while still wrapped before frosting.

Ermine Frosting Instructions
Whisk together your flour and sugar in a medium pan over medium heat sauce. Cook for about 2 minutes to toast the flour.

Slowly add in your milk, whisk to combine and bring your heat to medium-high. The Whisk continuously until the mixture is thickened and pudding like. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool.

Add your butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on high until light and fluffy. Slowly add in your cooled mixture of one time time as you whip. Incorporating slowly insures a smooth buttercream.

Add in your vanilla and salt until everything is creamy and then you can frost your cake.

Subscribe to receive free email updates: