High Altitude White Velvet Cake

Name: High Altitude White Velvet Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, (softened to room temperature); 2 cups granulated sugar; 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped ((or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)); 6 egg whites, (room temperature); 3 1/4 cups cake flour, (spooned and leveled, then sifted); 3 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt ((if using table salt, use half the amount)); 2 1/2 cups whole buttermilk, (room temperature); 2 cups unsalted butter, (softened to room temperature); 4 cups powdered sugar; 1 tbsp meringue powder ((optional)); 1/8 tsp coarse Kosher salt ((if using table salt, use half the amount)); 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract; 2-4 tbsp milk or cream, (if needed)

September 3, 2020 by Heather Smoke 115 Comments

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This high altitude white velvet cake is perhaps my favorite cake on my blog. Usually, I’m pretty partial to chocolate cake, but this white cake is really something special. This cake has a classic “birthday cake flavor”, and is terrific with any flavor of buttercream and filling. It has a subtle buttermilk flavor that’s perfectly sweet, with real vanilla bean, and a buttery, velvety soft cake crumb. It’s so, so good, and it’s the only high altitude white cake recipe I need anymore. If you don’t live at high altitude, though, don’t go anywhere! I’ve included low altitude / sea level adjustments for the recipe as well, so you can make this cake no matter where you live.

I’ve tested this particular white velvet cake recipe of mine dozens of times, and I’m so proud of it. It’s a butter based cake, with a light but rich texture and a beautiful crumb. The flavor of the cake is exquisite, and an excellent foundation for so many different flavors of buttercreams and fillings. You can fill it with fruit compotes or shaved chocolate, creamy ganache or lemon curd. Frost with a fresh strawberry buttercream, fluffy toasted coconut or a rich chocolate buttercream. There’s really nothing you couldn’t do with this cake.

Looking for more high altitude cake recipes? Don’t miss this brown butter carrot cake, chocolate fudge cake with ganache, and cookies and cream cake.

White velvet cake on a sage green cake stand, with taper candles in the background.

A slice of white velvet cake on a white plate, with a silver fork..

A slice of white velvet cake with a bite taken out of it, on a white plate.

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Ingredients

Butter.

Use unsalted, softened butter so you can control the amount of salt in the cake. The butter adds moisture and richness, and when creamed with the sugar, produces a very light, tender cake crumb.

Sugar.

Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and adds moisture. Too little sugar, and your cake will be dry and tasteless; too much sugar will make a sticky gummy cake.

Vanilla Bean.

I used real vanilla bean for the best flavor. You can also use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. I’ve been buying vanilla beans on Amazon, and they’re surprisingly inexpensive right now!

Egg Whites.

The egg whites contain protein and add structure to the cake batter. Using only the whites, rather than the whole egg, helps to keep the cake nice and white. The egg whites do not need to be whipped separately. They are simply beaten into the butter and sugar.

Cake Flour.

Cake flour has a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, and makes an incredibly light and fluffy cake. Cake flour is a must for white velvet cake.

Baking Powder.

Leavens the cake and makes it rise.

Salt.

Adds flavor and balances the sweetness.

Buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a fantastic ingredient for cakes, and I love to use it in my cake recipes. It adds a slight tang, and creates a really beautiful soft and tender cake crumb in white velvet cake.

Instructions

Since white velvet cake is a butter-based cake using softened butter, you’ll use the traditional creaming method to mix the cake batter. Beating the butter and sugar incorporates air, making a very light cake, but also lightens the color of the butter for a very white cake. Then, the egg whites are added to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, so they properly emulsify into the batter. Lastly, you’ll add the dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, for a smooth, luxurious batter that bakes up beautifully light, soft and white.

Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean on medium speed for 10 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.
Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, beating each for 10 seconds before adding the next. Scrape the bowl down and beat for 10 more seconds.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl well and incorporate any stray bits of flour.
Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
Set the pans on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt and mix until combined.
Add the vanilla and milk, increase the speed to medium high and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy.
Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Fill, stack and frost the cake with the buttercream.

White velvet cake, on a sage green cake stand, with a piece being lifted out by a silver cake server.

Troubleshooting Common Cake Making Issues

I get so much feedback on my cake recipes. Most of it is positive, but inevitably, there are those that have some trouble getting perfect results. Now, there are so many factors that can affect how a recipe, especially a cake recipe, works for one person and not for another. And since I’m not in your kitchen with you, I can’t know for certain what went wrong. But I will share my best tips with you to help you become a better baker and achieve wonderful results in your home kitchen.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

Will this cake recipe work as cupcakes?

Not all cake recipes work well as cupcakes, and vice versa. So unless a cake recipe has been tested as cupcakes, there are no guarantees that it will turn out. I have not personally tried baking this recipe as cupcakes.

What about ingredients substitutions?

Once you start making changes, all bets are off. Some changes are minor, and won’t affect a recipe much, such as substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream, or adjusting the spices. But swapping oil for butter, substituting gluten free flour for cake flour, reducing the sugar, adjusting leavening, etc – these are major changes that will affect your cake. You could end up with a dry, dense rubbery cake that falls flat or has an odd texture.

If you want to make changes to the ingredients, I’d suggest starting small. Don’t try to change too many things at once, or it’s unlikely that you’ll be perfectly happy with the results.

Can I add sprinkles to this cake to make a Funfetti cake?

I don’t recommend it. I tried it with this recipe once, and the sprinkles caused the cakes to fall. I’d suggest you use my tested Funfetti cake recipe instead.

Where can I buy vanilla beans?

I used real vanilla bean for the best flavor in this cake. You can also use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. I’ve been buying vanilla beans on Amazon, and they’re surprisingly inexpensive right now!

What can I use instead of the buttermilk?

If you’re not able to get buttermilk, you can make your own sour milk. For every 1 cup of buttermilk, combine 1 cup whole milk with 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar, and let sit for a few minutes to curdle.

Can I cut this recipe in half to make a smaller 6-inch cake?

Even something like cutting a recipe in half could have unintended results. For a batter that needs nothing more than whisking together dry and wet ingredients, I’d say go for it. But for today’s white velvet cake recipe, I’ve experimented with making just half the batter, and the problem is this: since you use the creaming method of beating the butter and sugar, smaller amounts of the ingredients don’t fill the bowl sufficiently to allow the paddle to beat everything together. With only half the butter and sugar, the ingredients have the tendency to just stick to the sides of the bowl. So if I want to just make a smaller 6-inch cake, I make the full recipe, but divide the batter between six 6-inch pans, and freeze three of the cake layers for another cake.

Why did my cake take longer to bake, or baked too quickly and burned?

Your oven is probably not calibrated correctly, and you should use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is preheating to the correct temperature. My old gas oven ran low, and I had to set it to about 60 degrees hotter than what I was aiming for, something that I quickly discovered after we bought our house and suddenly everything was taking twice as long as it should have to bake. And speaking of ovens – you’re not in the bad habit of frequently opening the door to check on things, right? Good. Don’t open the oven door until your cake is nearly ready, and then, just briefly to check for doneness.

What should I do with the leftover egg yolks?

Since this recipe uses only egg whites, you’ll have 6 leftover yolks, which is perfect for a batch of homemade ice cream. There’s also spaghetti carbonara, Caesar salad dressing, hollandaise sauce, chocolate pudding or a banana cream pie.

Can egg whites be frozen?

They absolutely can be frozen. Whenever I make one of the above recipes that uses just egg yolks, I put the extra whites in a freezer bag, labeled with the quantity and date, and freeze them until needed for this white cake, an angel food cake, or French macarons.

TIP: Be in the habit of reading a recipe through, from start to finish, and then reading it again, before you get started. Follow the instructions. Don’t change things to “try to make it your own”, and then get frustrated that it didn’t turn out.

Should I use room temperature ingredients?

Yes, cakes like room temperature ingredients. If your dairy products (eggs, milk, butter) are cold, they won’t emulsify correctly in the cake batter, which will affect the texture of your baked cake.

Why doesn’t my cake look as white as yours?

Did you cream your butter and sugar for the full 10 minutes? Creaming the butter and sugar for a long time lightens the color of the butter for a nice white cake. Different brands of butter, especially European butter, can also be more yellow, which affects the color of baked goods.

Why did my cake fall or sink in the middle?

You might have opened the oven door too early / too frequently. If you’re at a higher altitude than Denver, then you’ll need to make a few more adjustments, like reducing the leavening, to make the recipe work at your altitude.

Why didn’t my cake rise?

If you don’t bake often, it’s possible that you have expired ingredients in your pantry. In particular, check the expiration dates on your baking powder and baking soda. Replace them if they’re no longer fresh, or they may not leaven your cake correctly, resulting in a cake that doesn’t rise.

Why is my cake dense and rubbery instead of fluffy like yours?

Be sure you used cake flour, not all-purpose flour. Be sure you’re measuring your flour correctly by fluffing the flour in the canister first, lightly spooning it into the measuring cup, and sweeping the excess flour off the top with a knife. If you use a measuring cup to scoop flour out of the bag, you’ll pack too much flour into the cup, resulting in a dry, dense cake.

Do you have the weights measurements for the ingredients instead of volume measurements?

Yes, I do, see the notes section on the recipe card below.

Can I bake this cake in advance and freeze it?

You sure can! You can wrap the baked cake layers separately in plastic wrap and freeze for 3-6 months until you’re ready to assemble and frost your cake. Let the cake layers thaw at room temperature before frosting.

High Altitude Baking

I live in Denver, Colorado, which typically has a very dry climate. We’re also over 5,000 feet above sea level, so all of my recipes on my blog are tested at high altitude. If you live at a lower altitude, or at sea level, you may need to experiment with some adjustments in order to achieve your own perfect results. Generally speaking, for high altitude baking, we use a little more flour and liquid, and a little less sugar and leavening agents, so at low altitude, you would do the opposite. This is a great article on making adjustments for altitude.

Low Altitude or Sea Level Adjustments

I’ve received feedback from a baker in Ohio who successfully made the following adjustments for baking this cake at low altitude.

“I live in Ohio and these are the alterations I made to the recipe to make up for the altitude. It turned out SO AMAZINGLY PERFECT. Tender and velvety and fluffy. Definitely a new go-to recipe for me!”

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 egg whites, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups cake flour (if using all-purpose, remove 6 T of flour; add 6 T of cornstarch)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Buttercream Flavors to Use

Honestly, the sky is the limit when it comes to frosting this cake! I’ve included a recipe for a silky, fluffy vanilla buttercream below. If you want to mix it up, then please read through my comprehensive post on How to Make American Buttercream. You’ll find recipe variations, and so many tips, for making perfect buttercream.

Chocolate buttercream would be fantastic. Or you could fill the cake with fresh fruit compote, and frost with a whipped mascarpone frosting. Strawberry buttercream would be delicious. Or cream cheese.

A slice of white velvet cake on a white plate, with a silver fork., and the cake and candles in the background.

White velvet cake on a sage green cake stand.

Caramel cake on a white cake pedestal. — Caramel Cake

Naked vanilla cake with blush buttercream on a pink cake stand. — Caramel Cake

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