High Altitude White Velvet Cake

September 3, 2020 by Heather Smoke 156 Comments

This high altitude white velvet cake is soft, fluffy and moist, flavored with real vanilla bean and frosted with silky vanilla buttercream.

You might also love these high altitude recipes for white velvet cupcakes, vanilla cake, and coconut cake.

This post has been updated with new photos in May 2026, but the recipe remains unchanged from when it was originally published in 2020.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The Best White Cake for Every Occasion. This white velvet cake is perhaps my favorite cake recipe I’ve ever developed, 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. This recipe is the same one I use for my high altitude wedding cake and buttermilk birthday cake. It also inspired my recipe for coconut cake, and these white velvet cupcakes.

Versatile Recipe. 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. It stays moist for days, and even freezes beautifully, if you need to make it in advance. There’s really nothing you couldn’t do with this cake.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. You’ll find in the recipe card that I’ve included low altitude / sea level adjustments for the recipe as well, so you can make this cake no matter where you live.

White velvet cake with tall pink birthday candles that were just blown out.

Ingredients

Butter.

Use unsalted 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. Beating the butter and sugar together also helps to lighten the color of the butter so the cake isn’t too yellow.

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 often buy real vanilla beans at my local Savory Spice shop.

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.

Slice of white velvet cake with gold candlesticks in the background.

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 position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray, and line the pans with circles of parchment paper.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid stand mixer) 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 cake 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 paddle 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 with tall pink birthday candles.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make cupcakes with this recipe?

Please use my white velvet cupcakes recipe instead, where I’ve adjusted this cake recipe to work perfectly for cupcakes.

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.

What can I use instead of 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.

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 a recipe 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.

Why do I need to use room temperature ingredients for baking?

Many cakes work better when you start with 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.

High Altitude Baking

I live in a suburb of 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. See my FAQs page for more information.

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.

Marble cake with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache drip and macarons. — Marble Cake

Naked vanilla cake on a marble and wood cake stand. — Marble Cake

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