White Almond Sour Cream Cake (often called WASC) is a white, tender, moist cake that has a fantastic from-scratch flavor. You would never guess this recipe is made from a doctored cake mix. Everyone loves it!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- This recipe is made from a doctored cake mix but tastes like it’s from scratch.
- It has a lovely almond flavor and gets rave reviews.
- It’s great for decorating because it’s sturdy for stacking and holds up to the weight of fondant.
- This recipe can be easily customized with different extracts, liquids and mix-ins.
White almond sour cream cake has been one of my favorite cakes to make for years now. It’s basically foolproof and always my go-to for a white cake recipe.
This recipe originated in the early 2000’s and became very popular on the Cake Central community website. Cake decorators wanted to enhance a white box cake to yield a more from-scratch flavor. It also needed to have a firm structure for making wedding cakes and tiered cakes.
You don’t need to be a cake decorator to make this cake. It bakes up SO easily and can be made for a simple birthday cake, a potluck sheet cake or cupcakes for a party. Just frost it with your favorite buttercream recipe and it’s amazing!
Ingredients
- box of white cake mix
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- salt
- egg whites
- water
- vegetable oil
- sour cream (full-fat)
- clear vanilla flavor
- almond extract
- cake release or shortening for greasing and flouring the pans
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: (Not pictured) Grease three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans with cake release and set aside. (If you don’t want to use cake release, you can grease the pans with shortening and flour them.)
Step 2: Preheat oven to 325°F.
Step 3: Add cake mix, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. (If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix by hand with a whisk.)
Step 4: Whisk dry ingredients together until combined.
Step 5: Add egg whites, water, vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla flavor and almond extract to the dry ingredients.
Step 6: Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber/silicone spatula. Continue mixing on low for 2 minutes.
Step 7: Pour batter evenly into your prepared cake pans.
Step 8: Bake cakes in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. (Start checking the cake after it has been in the oven for 25 minutes.)
Step 9: Remove cakes from oven and cool on a cooling grid for 10 minutes.
Step 10: Loosen cakes around the edges with a small spatula and invert onto the cooling grid. (I like to add paper towels because they peel off the cake instead of sticking to the wire grid.) Let cool for 1 hour or more, until cool to the touch.
Step 11: Once the cakes are cool, frost with your favorite buttercream. My favorite buttercream to use on this cake is Italian meringue buttercream but any type goes well with this delicious recipe.
Enjoy!
Hint: Make sure to mix the batter on low. Normally cake batter is creamed on medium speed, but the method for this cake is the reverse-creaming. Keeping the mixer on low limits how much air you incorporate into the batter. It keeps the crumb tight, fine and even. It also reduces tunneling and doming.
Variations
- This recipe can be made with a yellow cake mix. Instead of adding 4 egg whites, add 3 whole eggs.
- Lemon: Use lemon cake mix instead of white, add 1 tbsp of lemon zest and replace half of the water with lemon juice.
- Strawberry: Use strawberry cake mix and use strawberry extract instead of almond extract.
- Chocolate: Use chocolate cake mix, 3 whole eggs instead of whites and add 1/2 cup cocoa powder.
- White Chocolate: Melt and cool 8 oz of white chocolate and add to the batter.
Equipment
- stand or hand mixer
- large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer (If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix by hand with a whisk.)
- whisk
- measuring cups and spoons
- glass measuring cup
- rubber/silicone spatula
- three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans
- cooling grid
- small icing spatula (for loosening the cakes from the pans and frosting your cakes)
- pastry brush or paper towels (for applying cake release or shortening to the pans)
Storage
Room temperature: For an unfrosted cake, store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 3 days. For a cake frosted with standard buttercream, you can store it covered in a cool room for 1-2 days.
Refrigerator: Store unfrosted cake, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can also place the wrapped layers in an airtight container or sealable bag to provide extra protection. Store frosted cake in an airtight container or cake carrier for 5-7 days.
Freezer: For unfrosted cake, wrap each layer in plastic wrap, seperately, and then with aluminum foil. For entire frosted cake, freeze for 1-2 hours until the frosting is hard, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. You can also freeze cake in an airtight freezer container. Cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for 30-45 minutes.
Top Tips
- Make sure to use egg whites for a white and light cake.
- Use full-fat sour cream for a moist, rich cake.
Related
For more cake recipes, visit my cake page!
White Almond Sour Cream Cake
- stand or hand mixer
- large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer (If you don't have a mixer, you can mix by hand with a whisk.)
- whisk
- measuring cups and spoons
- glass measuring cup
- Rubber/silicone spatula
- three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans
- Cooling grid
- small icing spatula (for loosening the cakes from the pans and frosting your cakes)
- pastry brush or paper towels (for applying cake release or shortening to your pans)
- 1 box (14.25 oz) white cake mix I use Betty Crocker
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour (plus 3-6 tbsp more if flouring your pans)
- 1 cup (198g) sugar
- 3/4 tsp (9g) salt
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 1/3 cups (306g) water
- 2 tbsp (25g) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (227g) sour cream
- 1 tsp (4g) clear vanilla flavor
- 1 tsp (4g) almond extract
- 2 tbsp (25g) cake release or shortening for greasing and flouring the pans
- Grease three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans with cake release and set aside. (If you don’t want to use cake release, you can grease the pans with shortening and flour them.)
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add cake mix, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. (If you don't have a mixer, you can mix by hand with a whisk.)
- Whisk dry ingredients together until combined.
- Add egg whites, water, vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla flavor and almond extract to the dry ingredients.
- With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber/silicone spatula. Continue mixing on low for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter evenly into your prepared cake pans.
- Bake cakes in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. (Start checking the cake after it has been in the oven for 25 minutes.)
- Remove cakes from oven and cool on a cooling grid for 10 minutes.
- Loosen cakes around the edges with a small spatula and invert onto the cooling grid. (I like to add paper towels because they peel off the cake instead of sticking to the wire grid.) Let cool for 1 hour or more, until cool to the touch.
- Once the cakes are cool, frost with your favorite buttercream.
- Enjoy!
If you want a delicious and easy cake recipe to make for a birthday, holiday, potluck or just because you feel like eating cake, I really recommend this white almond sour cream cake. Let me know if you try it and love it!
Sweet regards,
Michele
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