Homemade White Cake with Penuche Frosting

My parents had a barbecue at their house for my Grandma's birthday and Father's Day. My mom made this great white cake (I put the pecans on!) with a caramel-y penuche (find out what penuche is here) frosting. It was to-die-for!! The cake was so moist and had the perfect soft texture, almost like angel food cake, but a little more dense. Everyone loved the cake, and my mom had to take it inside away from everyone (after they got a piece) to save some for my grandma to take home! :)

How cute is my grandma with her cake?!

My parents live pretty high up, so my mom used this Joy of Cooking High Altitude White Cake recipe. If you don't live above 5,000 feet, try this recipe for White Cake here. I think the cake was so good because of this special high altitude recipe though. Here it is!

High Altitude White Cake

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites

1 1/4 cup sugar, divided

2 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cube softened butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp milk, divided

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract, if desired (I'd highly recommend this! It made such a difference!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease and flour two 8" round pans and line with wax or parchment paper.

Beat egg whites together until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, beating on high. Beat until peaks are stiff, but not dry. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together cake flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Put butter in a large bowl.

Sift flour mixture over butter and add 3/4 cup milk, vanilla and almond extract, if desired. Beat on high for two minutes. Add egg whites to butter mixture along with 3 Tbsp milk.

Beat for about one minute on medium-low speed. Divide batter between two pans and spread evenly. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and let finish cooling on wire racks. Remove paper and frost as desired.

Penuche Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 3/4-2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Boil butter and brown sugar together for two minutes. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Cool to lukewarm. Stir in powdered sugar (starting with 1 3/4 cups), adding up to 2 cups if needed.