Ingredients
- 2 1/2 c. All purpose flour
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 c. buttermilk or sour milk*
- 1/4 c. vegetable shortening
- 4 egg whites
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. almond, lemon or coconut extract
- or extract of your choice
- *for sour milk add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice to 1 cup of milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch or 2 9-inch pans or a 9x13 pan. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper or parchment paper cut to fit. Grease & flour the paper and pans. Other size pans can be used, just increase the amount of cake batter accordingly.
Thoroughly combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and soda in large mixing bowl. Add milk and shortening and beat two minutes. Add egg whites, vanilla and choice of extract. Beat an additional two minutes, scraping side of bowl as needed. Evenly spread batter into prepared pans and tap pans on counter several times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pans. Finish cooling.
One of my best secrets for keeping a cake extra moist is when I remove the cake from the pan and put it on the wire rack, I wrap the cake in a white kitchen towel and then place the entire wrapped cake on the rack into a white plastic garbage bag and tie shut. As the cake cools the moisture is absorbed back into the cake. It works every time. You can also freeze the cakes like this and when you take them out of the freezer, let them thaw out before you unwrap them.
White Buttercream
1 c. butter (2 cubes)
1/2 c. high ratio shortening (obtained from cake decorating stores)-- it holds up better than Crisco or other brands
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 Tbsp. flavoring of choice -- I use something called "Creme Bouquet" again purchased from a cake decorating store
2 lbs. powdered sugar (one bag)
Cream butter, shortening and cream cheese together until very smooth. Add flavoring and mix well. On low speed add powdered sugar and scrap down the sides of the bowl. Mix well. You can also sift the powdered sugar first if you wish, this eliminates any lumps that could be in the sugar. This icing holds up well and tastes very good.
Print this recipe
Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: My own recipe collection
Submitted By: Cheryl Williamson
rwllmsn@pacbell.net
Classic White Cake