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Short-Order Kitchen

Gram's Classic White Layer Cake

By Wes Ellis3 min read
Recipe card
Servings
16 to 20
Prep
45 minutes
Cook
25 to 30 minutes
Method
Oven + double boiler
Heat
350°F
Difficulty
Medium
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 4 of the thread Something sweet

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Three 9-inch layers, lightened with 8 whipped egg whites folded in at the end.
  • The frosting is seven-minute frosting: whites and sugar beaten over simmering water until it looks like marshmallow.
  • Everything at room temperature. Pull the butter, milk and eggs out an hour or two ahead.
  • Keep it on the counter, not in the fridge, and eat it within a day.
THE RECIPE · GRAM'S CLASSIC WHITE LAYER CAKE

Ingredients

Cake layers

Seven-minute frosting

You'll need

  • Three 9-inch round cake pans
  • Stand or hand mixer
  • Double boiler (or a heatproof bowl over a pot)
  • A clean, grease-free bowl for the whites
  • Rubber spatula

Directions

The cake

  1. Set out the butter, milk and eggs 1 to 2 hours ahead so everything is at room temperature.
  2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round pans.
  3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times.
  4. Beat the butter with 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Stir the vanilla and almond extract into the milk. Add the dry ingredients to the butter in three parts, alternating with the milk, and mix just until smooth.
  6. In a clean bowl, whip the 8 egg whites to soft peaks. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar a little at a time and keep beating until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks.
  7. Stir about a quarter of the meringue into the batter to loosen it, then gently fold in the rest until no white streaks remain.
  8. Divide between the pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops spring back and a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.

The frosting

  1. Put the egg whites, sugar, water, cream of tartar and salt in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.
  2. Beat on high the whole time, about 7 minutes, until thick, glossy and holding stiff peaks.
  3. Take it off the heat and beat in the vanilla.
  4. Frost right away, between the layers, then the top and sides. Swirl it up with the back of a spoon. It sets as it cools.
Notes Store covered at room temperature and serve within 24 hours. The fridge makes the frosting weep and go chewy.

wesellis.com/blog/grams-classic-white-layer-cake-recipe/

This is Gram's white cake. Three tall layers, a crumb so soft it's almost fluffy, and a big cloud of seven-minute frosting on top. It's not a weeknight cake. It's a birthday cake, a holiday cake, a "somebody's coming over and I want to show off a little" cake.

It asks for some patience. The reward is a cake that tastes nothing like a box mix.

What makes it different

Two things, really.

  • The meringue. Instead of whole eggs, the batter gets eight egg whites whipped with half the sugar and folded in at the end. That's where the height and the light crumb come from.
  • Seven-minute frosting. It's egg whites and sugar beaten over simmering water until they turn into something like marshmallow fluff. The outside firms up into a thin, slightly crisp shell while the inside stays soft. Hardly anybody makes it anymore, which is a shame.

The parts people rush

Heads up

Room temperature isn't a suggestion here. Cold butter won't cream properly, and cold milk makes the batter seize up. Give yourself an hour or two.

Sift three times. It feels fussy. It's also why the crumb is so fine and even, so just do it.

Cream the butter and sugar properly. Three or four minutes, until it's pale and fluffy. That air is part of the lift.

Fold, don't stir. You spent all that time whipping air into the whites. Stir in a little meringue first to loosen the batter, then fold the rest in gently, turning the bowl as you go. Stop as soon as the white streaks disappear.

Tip

Make sure the bowl and beaters for the whites are completely clean and dry. Even a little grease or a speck of yolk and they won't whip up.

The frosting

Keep the mixer running over the simmering water for the full seven minutes. No breaks. It'll go from soupy to shiny and thick, and when the beaters leave stiff peaks, it's ready.

Then work fast. It starts setting as it cools, so frost the cake right away and make big swirls. Those swirls are the best part: they firm up into little crisp ridges.

Keeping it

Leave it on the counter, covered, and plan to eat it within a day. Don't refrigerate it. The fridge makes seven-minute frosting weep and go chewy.

It serves 16 to 20, so it's ideal for a crowd. Or a small family that doesn't mind cake for breakfast. This is a breakfast blog, after all.

Note

My first write-up of this cake left out the oven details. The 350°F and 25-to-30-minute bake are the standard for a three-layer white cake like this one. Start checking at 25 minutes.

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