Description
Ina Garten’s classic white cake delivers pure elegance with simple ingredients and professional baking techniques. Silky layers promise celebration-worthy dessert perfection for home bakers eager to recreate her signature style.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
- 1 ¾ teaspoons (8.75 ml) baking powder
- ½ cup (113 g or 4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preparation: Adjust oven rack to center position and warm to 350°F. Meticulously grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan, ensuring comprehensive coverage to prevent adhesion.
- Creaming Process: Utilize electric mixer to whip butter and sugar until ethereally light and fluffy. Introduce eggs systematically, blending after each incorporation to achieve a silky, homogeneous mixture. Infuse vanilla extract, stirring until perfectly melded.
- Dry Ingredient Integration: Sift flour and baking powder through fine-mesh strainer to eliminate potential clumps. Delicately fold dry ingredients into butter mixture, alternating with milk. Stir gently to create a smooth, velvety batter without overmixing.
- Baking Technique: Elegantly transfer batter into prepared pan, smoothing surface with rubber spatula. Tap pan gently to dislodge any trapped air pockets, ensuring uniform texture.
- Oven Transformation: Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and set. Verify doneness by inserting toothpick into cake’s center – it should emerge pristine and crumb-free.
- Cooling Protocol: Allow cake to rest in pan for 10 minutes, facilitating structural stabilization. Carefully invert onto wire rack, permitting complete cooling before serving or embellishing.
Notes
- Soften Butter Perfectly: Ensure butter is at room temperature, soft but not melting, for optimal creaming texture and volume.
- Sifting Is Crucial: Always sift dry ingredients to eliminate lumps and create a smoother, more consistent cake batter.
- Egg Technique Matters: Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly to prevent batter separation and ensure even incorporation.
- Avoid Overmixing: Stir batter just until ingredients are combined to maintain a tender, light cake texture and prevent toughness.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg