I know there’s a lot of controversy over using cake mixes vs. baking from scratch, but I have to tell you – I am a cake mix girl! The recipes are reliable and my clients absolutely love the flavor! This White Sour Cream Cake is delicious, sturdy, and it never fails me!
For the recipe below, I measure out the cake mix by the cup. Since cake mix brands are all different, I figure that’s an easier way to handle the recipe so that anyone can use it. Anyone who has access to a cake mix, that is.
The recipe is also versatile in that if you wanted, you could change up the flavors, using the same proportions, and get something completely different. Use chocolate cake mix instead of white and you have a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake.
Add almond extract instead of just vanilla and you have a traditional Southern “Wedding Cake” flavor. Or use lemon or orange extract to get a citrus flavor that makes the cake taste like summer!
The possibilities are endless! For the cake I’m sharing here, I used vanilla buttercream, but it also pairs beautifully with cream cheese buttercream or lemon frosting.
White Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups of white cake mix (approximately 20 ounces by weight)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 3 large whole eggs (use 4 egg whites if you prefer a super white cake, but I find the whole eggs still yield a very pretty white cake)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl.
- Add the liquid ingredients and beat on low speed for 2-3 minutes, until well combined. This recipe will not rise as much as other cake recipes, so fill your pans about 3/4 full.
- Bake at 325°F (time depends on the size pans used*).
- Bakes in 8″ round pan for 38-43 minutes or cupcakes for 18-19 minutes.
This recipe yields enough batter for (2) 8″ round pans that are 2″ deep. I used less batter per pan and made a 3-layer cake.
Happy Baking!
I made it and then realized there was no baking powder or anything in ingredients. It was like hard gel. Not impressed sorry
I am sorry too, Julie! This happens sometimes and it’s ok! Hope my next recipe will please you too! Thanks a lot for reading!
I have a cake mix that already has the words super moist…I assume it has pudding mix in it…can I use this and get a good result?
I have not made your cake but sounds delicious. If you want it to rise more, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to dry mix before adding liquids. Also, have you tried using milk instead of the water?
Rose- I made this cake for my family for “quarantined Easter” this year, and let me tell you… it was a hit. As I type this I find myself waiting on my second attempt of this cake recipe to finish baking for our “quarantined Mother’s Day.” My Grammie is “The Paula Deen” of our family and she’s been raving about this cake since I made it. I really appreciate you for sharing.
I have made this many times now and it is a real hit. Thanks so much for sharing this!!
I am getting ready to make this tomorrow and just verifying it’s 4 cups of cake mix plus the cup of flour. I saw another recipe online that was almost identical, but with only 2 cups of cake mix. The rest of the measurements and ingredients the same.
Thanks!
Jami
Do you ever use a seven minute frosting on this cake? If so does anyone have a great idea how to make this a fail proof icing?
Just a little personal advice to commentors that are asking about which cake mix to use. Duncan Hines is the best cake mix to use. I’ve been baking cakes for years. I made the worst mistake one time using Pillsbury. All my faith is in Duncan Hines.
Amen, sister!!! My mom always swore by Duncan Hines. As a young bride I decided to try Pillsbury once. NO comparison. Duncan Hines all the way!!
How about reading the ingredient list on the side of the cake mix box. Do you really want to eat this or serve it? A scratch cake is not all that difficult and at least you know what you are ingesting or offering . Yes so many people today only know the taste of cake mixes and so may prefer that as a result. But I can tell you that I only bake from scratch and very often and I am always asked what makes it so good. 7
There is this thing called doing what’s best for you. I bake from scratch as well but sometimes I like to experiment because box mixes can be a bit tasty when done right…how dare you come on someone else’s blog and tell others what they should be doing. That’s played out. I know your comment is old but…that was very rude.
Dorothy, Would you mind sharing your scratch cake recipe? Thank you!
I always bake my cakes from scratch, the way my grandmother showed me, because I dont want to ingest the chemicals in boxed mixes or the artificial flavor. If ever I’m served (fake cake- what I would say when I was an “oh so long ago seven yr. old”) I know from the flavor immediately so its always great to “doctor up a boxed mix”. And I always make my frostings. However to each their own.
No reprimandings here. All I know is the cake Rose posted looks really good. Happy baking everyone!
I tried this recipe last night….I used the white Pillsbury cake mix. I have no idea what I did wrong, but the cake turned out VERY spongy!!! Like, so bad, that I didn’t even want to bring it to work today, I can’t serve that…my boyfriend agreed, it was very spongy. It looks fine, actually looks really beautiful, but then biting in it…ummm, that’s a no!
Do you know what I might have done wrong? I did four eggwhites, and not three whole eggs. But I followed the rest of the recipe…went over it several times.
I made this cake on 9/29/2016 for my daughter’s college graduation party. The cake was absolutely awesome!! The cake was moist and the icing,OMG!! I was glowing and just eating all the raving comments up. Today I’m making cupcakes for my niece since I had icing leftover. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will no longer buy birthday cakes. I will make them myself.
So glad you are enjoying the recipes! Love to hear you are making your own cakes now!
What did you use for the icing?
I have a question, when you say cake mix in the ingredients, do you mean one like Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines?
I was a little worried when I was mixing this cake together but oh my gosh did it taste great!!! My cake was the hit of the party. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Oh good – I’m so glad to hear it!
looks beautiful! Thank u! Do u know what the baking time would be for Cupcakes or mini Cupcakes? 😉
I bake cupcakes for 18-19 mins at 325°F. I rarely do mini cupcakes, but I think maybe 10-12 minutes? Don’t hold me to that!
I think you’re right on this cake mix thing even if I’m sad to say so! I’ve noticed oil based cakes verses butter based are way fluffier and less dense. I made homemade vanilla cupcakes (the usual butter recipe) and my family was like umm what is this?! Probably because they’re box mix peeps! But I had to agree with them…I like my cake fluffy! I tried an oil based homemade recipe but it wasn’t near as wonderful as your recipe. Thank you for bringing vanilla cake back into our lives! We were sticking to chocolate until I found this!
I need to make a lemon cake with a blueberry filling for a wedding. Do you think that I could use this recipe and add lemon flavoring in the batter? Then fill the layers with a blueberry compound or curd?
Thank you
Probably, but I always recommend a trial run when altering a recipe!
Hi. I’m going to make this cake but I need a 10 inch cake (not sure if I’m going to do 3 layers or 2…probably 3). Not sure how to make the batter for that…any suggestions??? Thank you so much!!
You’ll need approximately 1 batch per 10″ pan (you may have a little leftover).
Thank you. I’m going to try it this week. Thanks again for your quick reply, I really appreciate it! 🙂
What kind of icing do you use with this cake?
I prefer to use vanilla buttercream: https://rosebakes.com/VanillaButtercream or cream cheese buttercream: https://rosebakes.com/adventures-in-baking-cream-cheese-buttercream-for-decorating/.
so…I’m in the middle of mixing this cake and just read the comment regarding the tops being soggy after freezing. This is a little disconcerting to me since I was planning on freezing the cakes until next Friday (one week and a day). Hope you can tell me if I might be able to expect the cake to last that long on the fridge if they are wrapped and stored in an airtight container…
I’ve frozen these cakes many times with no problem. I let them cool enough that I can handle them, then wrap them in plastic wrap and foil or plastic wrap, then drop them back in the pan (so they don’t get smooshed inn my freezer). I let them thaw in the frig overnight before using them.
Rose, this looks divine. I cannot wait to try it. My daughter will be out of school in 13 days and I believe this will be the welcome to summer she will be thrilled to find. Thanks for a fab post!
Hi Rose
I am making the sour cream cake today for one of the tiers of my daughter’s wedding cake.
Can you suggest a good web siite for how to paint or colour the fondant in gold?
I’d recommend airbrush or edible gold paint – Rainbow Dust is a good brand.
What is cake mix? I am in the uk
I am a complete idiot? I don’t see the recipe anywhere!
Go to Nosh-up, type in white sour cream cake. That is where I found the cake. U maybe able to type it in Pinterest.
Hi Cynthia – I’m so sorry. There is a glitch on the backend of the site – I’ve emailed the admin and I’m hoping to get the recipes restored asap!
I am making this cake TOMORROW for my daughter’s birthday and need the recipe! I made a trial cake a couple of weeks ago but didn’t print off the recipe! It’s a wonderful recipe! If you can’t this page fixed, can you email me the recipe??
Hopefully the missing recipes will be fixed soon but this white almond sour cream recipe here is very similar: https://rosebakes.com/WhiteCake
Cynthia- my recipe here is very similar: https://rosebakes.com/WhiteCake
You were asking for a white velvet cake recipe. I just used the recipe called White Velvet Wedding Cake from CakeBoss.com for a wedding reception cake. Everyone really complimented the cake. The secret ingredient that you may be looking for is butter. It starts with a Pillsbury cake mix, uses cake flour, sour cream and butter. I used all egg whites to make it really white. I also used vanilla and almond flavoring. It was yummy.
I make this quite often but always have an issue with a thin film of soggy top after the cakes have been stored in the fridge over nite or after being frozen. Any ideas why this happens and how to stop?
I almost never freeze my cakes and I usually only refrigerate them after frosting, so this is not something I’ve really had a problem with.
What icing do I use???
I use vanilla buttercream: https://rosebakes.com/crusting-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-my-favorite-for-decorating/
OR cream cheese frosting: https://rosebakes.com/adventures-in-baking-cream-cheese-buttercream-for-decorating/
I do enjoy baking from scratch, but I have to say: if it works, it works! A lot of people are really partial to brownie mixes as well, and usually have a favorite. They are reliable, that’s for sure. My only problem with cake mixes is the smell of vanillin (artificial vanilla) because to me it smells like vanilla air freshener. Have you ever encountered a cake mix with a better vanilla smell and taste?
I usually just use vanilla extract but I like the idea of using different extracts. I’ll have to get some!
The possibilities really are endless!
I’ve been using Kakeladi’s WASC cake recipe for years. It’s fantastic.
Hi,
WASC has been on the net in several places for years now. Thank you for sharing it again for those who may not have seen it.
Before all of the “cake mix companies” changed their packaged weight a couple of years ago, one (1) 18.25 oz. size white cake mix could be used with this recipe without having to measure by the cup. It may be just as easy to find a good scratch recipe and use that instead. This way you won’t be getting all of the chemicals and ingredients in our baked goods that sometimes we can’t even pronounce.
I think it very sly and unfair that these companies continue to reduce the size of their products but continue to increase the price. If you notice, they did not change the size of the packaging so unless you read the weight each time you purchase, you may be fooled into thinking it is the same amount. Only after you use it and the cake doesn’t come out the same will you know that something has changed. Maybe if enough consumers complained about this tactic the manufacturers would stop this practice. I now have to open two (2) packages of some products to get the amount my recipe calls for—who wins in this situation—surely not me. We should stick together and maybe they will listen.
Bake something yummy!
Can this be made with yellow cake mix? I realize it won’t be called a “white” almond sour cream cake then. ha ha! Thank you.
Yes – it actually works with any cake flavor! You can change up the extracts too!
Can you please tell me what type of cream you used to decorate it.
Thanks
I used a basic vanilla American buttercream: https://rosebakes.com/crusting-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-my-favorite-for-decorating/
Can we use yellow cake mix? I realize it won’t be called “white” almond sour cream then. ha!
Yes – you can use any flavor you like! 🙂
I am such a fan of the altered cake mix recipes – I can always count on a successful outcome with them and they are so versatile. I also bake from scratch – but sometimes have mixed results. I am reluctant to confess that I use mixes in many of my recipes because of the scratch vs cake mix debate, although people who taste my cakes usually rave about them.
Thanks for support for us doctored mix bakers! p.s. love your version, yummmmm
I’m a die-hard cake mix girl and I don’t mind telling people. I feel like we all just need to be confident and comfortable with what works for us! Thank you for stopping by!
What is white cake mix ? I’m in Australia so can u convert the recipe to suit me ?
I use a store-bought boxed cake mix – Pillsbury is the brand I prefer.
Maybe I missed it. Where can I find the “white cake mix” recipe or the brand if you are using store bought?
Thanks!!
I prefer Pillsbury White cake mix.