This old-fashioned white velvet cake recipe is one you'll want to save to your recipe box. We find ourselves making it for pretty much every birthday and celebration. Our recipe testers loved the combination of moist cake and not-to-sweet milk-based frosting. Here's how to make white velvet cake, and homemade ermine frosting.
What Is White Velvet Cake?
White velvet cake is a distant cousin to classic Red Velvet Cake and Blue Velvet Cake, but without the cocoa powder and food coloring. The recipe keeps the buttermilk, resulting in a tender crumb that's moist and soft. Many of our recipe testers called this the "best white cake they've ever had." It's the perfect balance of textures and sweetness. We prefer to serve this vintage cake recipe with a homemade ermine frosting, but any frosting will work beautifully here.
What Is Ermine Frosting?
Ermine frosting, also known as boiled milk frosting, is a nostalgic recipe that's made with sugar, flour, milk, and butter. It's smooth, creamy, and has a strong vanilla flavor. We find that it's less like a heavy buttercream, and more like slightly-sweet whipped cream. First you'll cook the milk, flour, and sugar mixture, and then you'll beat in the butter. It's the perfect airy topper for the rich buttermilk white velvet cake recipe.
Ingredients
Ermine Frosting
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1 1/2 cups sugar
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1/3 cup all purpose flour
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1 dash salt
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1 1/2 cups milk
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2 teaspoons vanilla
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2 cups butter, softened
White Velvet Cake
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3 cups all purpose flour
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1/4 cup cornstarch
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2 teaspoons baking soda
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1 teaspoon salt
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3/4 cup butter, softened
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2 1/4 cups sugar
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5 egg whites
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1/2 cup vegetable oil
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2 teaspoons vanilla
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1 teaspoon almond extract
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1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Directions
Ermine Frosting
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In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, 1/3 cup of the flour, and salt. Whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap and cool to less than 80°F, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare cake layers.
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When the flour mixture has cooled, cut the 2 cups of butter in 1 Tbsp. pieces. Beat in butter, one piece at a time, with a mixer on medium-high until smooth, scraping bowl as needed. Make sure each piece of butter is incorporated before adding the next. Frosting may look curdled until all the butter is added.
Test Kitchen Tip: If frosting looks curdled after all your butter is added, the mixture may be too cold. To warm, remove the bowl from your mixture and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water to gently warm the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk during this time. (Note: You don't want the bowl to come in contact with the water.) Return the bowl to the mixer and continue beating until the frosting becomes smoother while beating. If the frosting is thin, the mixture may be too warm. Chill mixture for 15 minutes in the refrigerator and continue beating. Repeat this as necessary.
White Velvet Cake
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9x2-inch round cake pans. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper. Lightly flour pans. In a medium bowl, stir together the 3 cups of flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
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In an extra-large bowl, beat butter with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium until combined. Scrape bowl; beat 2 minutes more. Add egg whites, vegetable oil, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat until combined. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pans.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you don't have buttermilk, for each cup of buttermilk, add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. Stir; let stand 5 minutes before using.
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Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove layers from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
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Place one cake layer, bottom side up, on a plate. Spread with 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with second layer, bottom side cup; spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.
How to Store White Velvet Cake
Store in refrigerator up to 3 days. Before serving, let stand at room temperature 30 to 60 minutes or until frosting is softened.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 869 | Calories |
| 52g | Fat |
| 94g | Carbs |
| 7g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 12 | |
| Calories 869.3 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 52.5g | 67% |
| Saturated Fat 28g | 140% |
| Cholesterol 115.3mg | 38% |
| Sodium 820.8mg | 36% |
| Total Carbohydrate 94.4g | 34% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 3% |
| Total Sugars 65.6g | |
| Protein 7.4g | 15% |
| Vitamin D 0.4mcg | 2% |
| Vitamin C 0.3mg | 0% |
| Calcium 85.8mg | 7% |
| Iron 1.7mg | 9% |
| Potassium 157.3mg | 3% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 2g | |
| Vitamin D 15.2IU | |
| Alanine 0.3g | |
| Arginine 0.3g | |
| Ash 2.6g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.5g | |
| Caffeine 0mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0mcg | |
| Choline, total 23.1mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.1mg | |
| Cystine 0.1g | |
| Energy 3636.6kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 3.5mcg | |
| Folate, total 68.4mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 1.9g | |
| Glycine 0.2g | |
| Histidine 0.2g | |
| Isoleucine 0.3g | |
| Leucine 0.6g | |
| Lysine 0.4g | |
| Methionine 0.2g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 16.6mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.3mg | |
| Niacin 2.1mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 103.2mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.4mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0.4g | |
| Phytosterols 22.7mg | |
| Proline 0.7g | |
| Retinol 369.2mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 16.8mcg | |
| Serine 0.4g | |
| Theobromine 0mg | |
| Threonine 0.3g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 2.1mg | |
| Tryptophan 0.1g | |
| Tyrosine 0.3g | |
| Valine 0.4g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 1369.9IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 376.2mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0.3mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 21.8mcg | |
| Water 75.8g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.6mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
