Wilton White Cake

So just over a week or so ago I was strolling through K-W Surplus with a friend, we were looking for a fingertip Fiskars fabric cutter as recommended to me by other friends, when I found a Wilton shaped bundt cake pan for $7.99! At that price, it had to come home with me! And I did find the cutter too.

It came with a recipe for a white cake that I made this past weekend. It occurred to me as I was mixing a rather gummy batter, that I measured then sifted the flour and added it all. By then it was too late to correct so I baked it anyway hoping it wouldn't turn out too dry or brick-like.

It baked up wonderfully and came easily out of the pan:

Do you recognize that shape, yes they are tulips, so pretty!

And the cake, while a bit dry, tasted good and is so white:

I posed the sift before or after question on Facebook and got conflicting answers so I searched it out on the world wide web. I found this answer on the Joy of Baking:

If your recipe calls for 1 cup sifted flour this means you sift the flour before measuring. However, if the recipe calls for 1 cup flour, sifted this means you sift the flour after measuring.

So according to the recipe below I should have measured the flour before I sifted it! I will definitely try this recipe again with the proper flour meaurement(recipe halved for my pan):

This Classic White Cake recipe uses egg whites but no yolks to maintain a purer color. Certainly a must for a traditional all-white wedding cake, it’s also easier to tint than a yellow cake.

Ingredients:
•6 cups cake flour sifted
•2 tablespoons baking powder
•1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
•3 cups granulated sugar
•2 cups milk
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•12 egg whites


Makes: 12 cups of cake batter.


Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom of pans

Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Set aside. With mixer at slow speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternately with milk. Beat well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.