Perfectly Simple Cake/ Cupcakes (more dense cake)

White Almond Sour Cream Cake
2 boxes white cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp real vanilla
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 cups (16 oz) sour cream
8 large egg whites

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on a low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees until cake tests done.

This recipe makes: All pans are 2 inch deep
One 14" round and one 6" round or
One 16" round or
One 12" round and one 10" round or
One 12 X 18" sheet cake or
One 12" round and one 8" round and one 6" round

Half the recipe makes:
Two 8" rounds or
Two 6" rounds and 6 cupcakes

Double the recipe makes:
one 18" round + one 10" round
all 4 sizes in the Wilton petal pan set


For chocolate cake: use chocolate mixes, omit almond extract and substitute 6 whole eggs for the whites. Same applies to Marble Cakes.

For liqueur flavors: substitute alcohol (such as champagne or Kahlua) for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe

For berry flavors: Substitute one 3 oz pkg Jell-o instant Pudding in a coordinating flavor for part of the sugar in the recipe. Use a 16 oz pkg frozen berries, thaw reserving the juice. Substitute the berry juice for part of the water in the recipe, and stir the berries in at the end. *You'll need to add a little extra batter to each pan for this version.* I found I needed at least another cup and a half of batter for a 10 inch round when using the fruit version.