White Velvet Cake

So we've had red, we've had blue, why not make it white?  AND, I've been searching FOREVER for a white/vanilla cake recipe that is moist and crumbly, and I have to say this batter really nailed it!  Family enjoyed it as well.

I had tried another white cake recipe before with buttermilk (again, thinking this was the key to MOIST cake) and bleh! Cake was dense, mushy, and bleh!  I repeat, bleh.  So with this recipe, I was happily surprised.  Cake came out looking fluffy, crumbly, and moist.  Plus, my mother was very pleased (she's a hard woman to please!) Look!

Again, these were the leftover scraps - used to make another Flag cake :)

Then this is what happens when you have one dark pan and one light one.  I need to invest in SAME PANS!!

But, anyway, find the original recipe here, and keep reading for how I attacked this "bad boy."  Pictures are included, including how "fluffy" the oil/shortening actually gets!

First thing is first - DRY INGREDIENTS.  I sifted them together.  But first I sifted the flours separately before measuring.

I said this on the Red Velvet post, spoon your flour into the measuring cups to measure.  DO NOT pack flour into measuring cups.  This method make lighter - fluffier - cakes. :)

• 1 1/4 cups of sifted all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of sifted cake flour
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

Next, beat together at high speed the vegetable oil, vanilla, and shortening until fluffy.

• 2/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening at room temperature
• 3 tbsp of good quality vanilla extract (for WHITE cake, get clear extract)

My thought - fluffy?  What is fluffy, how long do I do this?  Look at the pictures below for a description.

This was after 5 minutes.  Well it became thick and pale, not so fluffy : /.  I was about to stop here not knowing if this is what the "fluffy" part meant.  I thought about it and decided to keep the mixer going for another 5 minutes to see if it would get "fluffier." Sure enough, it did! So I let it go for a couple minutes longer to see how "fluffy" it would get.

This is fluffy!  It will get here, no worries (after about 10-12 minutes)

You will then beat in the eggs, one at a time.

• 3 large eggs

Don't know if you've already heard this, but make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature.  My eggs had already been sitting out for a bit so they were at room temperature.

Still fluffy-ish :)

Lastly, alternate between dry ingredients and buttermilk - folding after each incorporation.  Start and end with the dry ingredients.

 The batter is a nice and thick.

Pop this into the 325 degree oven for about 30 - 35 minutes.  My pans were two 8 inch pans.  The cake came out quite nice and fluffy itself!

Enjoy!! Comment below with your experience, don't forget to check out the other velvet cake recipes that went into making the Fourth of July Flag cake :)  (Red and Blue)