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Home / Sweet Almond Cake 😋😋😋

Sweet Almond Cake 😋😋😋

Sweet Almond Cake

This sweet almond cake is perfect for anyone who loves the taste of almond extract. It may look like a regular vanilla cake, but it tastes so much more unique with almond extract in both the cake and the buttercream.

Almond extract is usually used in very small amounts, like 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon because of its strong flavor. However, for this cake, a total of 4 teaspoons were used to mix the cake batter and buttercream. The almond extract gives the cake a delicious sweet almond flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the cake flavor.

Here are some of the steps I took to get the perfect consistency;

1. Butter & Sugar – This recipe starts by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This process creates air bubbles in the butter that help the cake rise in the first place.

2. Cake Flour – Using mostly cake flour in this recipe results in a very light texture. Cake flour has less protein than wheat flour, which means less gluten is formed when mixing the batter. And the more gluten, the firmer the texture.

3. Egg Whites – To keep the cake from feeling too heavy or too thick, I use mostly egg whites in this recipe. The egg whites help hold the cake together, while the egg yolks add richness. Using mostly egg whites along with one egg yolk gives the cake a light yet moist texture.

4. Baking Powder – The baking powder is what makes this cake rise. Most baking powders are double-acting, meaning they activate when mixed with the wet ingredients and reactivate when heated in the oven. These two rising steps help lighten the cake and give it lots of little air pockets throughout.



Cake Assembling Tips

Once the cake is baked, let it cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Then, remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cooling rack and let it cool in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. The key to a great layer cake is to use a cold cake. If it’s even slightly warm, there’s a good chance the buttercream will melt between the layers. Once it’s cooled, the cake is ready to bake. What I like about this recipe is that the cake bakes pretty evenly, so there’s no need to smooth the top before stacking. Spread the buttercream evenly between the cakes, allowing the buttercream to stick out over the edges. Then, once all three layers are stacked, run an offset spatula around the sides to smooth out any excess buttercream. The excess will help fill in any large gaps between the cakes.

Pour the remaining buttercream in the center of the top of the cake, then use an offset spatula to smooth it out to the edges. Let as much of the buttercream hang over the sides of the cake as possible without letting it completely fall off. Then, take the excess buttercream and spread it down the sides. It doesn’t have to be even, but make sure the entire cake is covered. Rotate the cake while pressing the cake scraper against the sides of the cake to remove as much buttercream as possible without damaging the cake.

Use an offset spatula to smooth out the top of the cake, scooping any excess buttercream straight up. Now let the cake cool while you make the drip cake.

Sweet Almond Cake Ingredients ;

•  1 cup ( 220g ) unsalted butter (room temperature)

•  1 1/2 cups ( 300g ) granulated sugar

•  1 cup ( 125g ) all-purpose flour

•  2 cups ( 230g ) cake flour

•  3 tsp baking powder

•  1 tsp salt

•  4 large egg whites (room temperature)

•  1 whole egg (room temperature)

•  2 tsp almond extract

•  1/2 tsp vanilla extract

•  1 1/4 cups (305ml) buttermilk* (room temperature)

Almond Buttercream

•  1 1/2 cups (330g) unsalted butter (room temp)

•  2 tsp almond extract

•  4 cups (480g) powdered sugar

•  2–3 tbsp milk

    White Chocolate Drip (optional)

    •  1 cup (160g) white candy melts

    •  1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream

    •  White - white icing color

    •  1/2 cup sliced almonds



    Instructions.

     - Sweet Almond Cake -

    * Preheat your oven to 350F and grease (3) 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
    * In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
    * Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until it turns light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
    * Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl about halfway through. Then mix in the almond and vanilla extract.
    * Once combined, alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk. Dry, milk, dry, milk, dry. Mix well until everything just comes together.
    * Divide the batter evenly between your three pans and bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
    * Let the cakes cool inside their pans for about 20 minutes before removing them. Keep the parchment paper on and allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack. I like to make my cakes the day before so that they can chill overnight in the fridge (wrapping each layer in plastic wrap). This makes them nice and sturdy for assembling. If you don’t have that time, you can pop them in the fridge for at least 2 hours before building your cake.

    Almond Buttercream
    * Once the cakes are completely cooled, make the buttercream. Mix together the room temperature butter and powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
    * In between the cups of powered sugar, mix in the milk one tablespoon at a time. You shouldn’t need more than 3 tablespoons max. Then once you get the right buttercream consistency, mix in the almond extract.

    White Chocolate Drip
    * Stack cakes with an even amount of buttercream between each layer. Then apply an even coat of buttercream all around the outside of the cake. Scrape off as much excess as possible without damaging the cake to get the naked cake look. Then place the cake in the fridge to chill while you prep the white chocolate.
    * In a microwave safe bowl, add in your candy melts and heavy cream. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. If it’s not completely melted at that point, you can microwave for another 30 seconds.
    * The secret to getting a bright white drip is the Wilton white-white icing color. I mixed in around 15-20 drops to get the opacity I wanted.
    * At this point, the drip mix will be pretty thin so let it sit in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes to thicken up a bit. When it’s ready, it should have some slight resistance when running your spoon through it but it will still rapidly disappear into itself.
    * Pour the drip into the center of the chilled cake. Leave about 1/2 inch around the edge of the cake and use an off-set spatula or spoon to guide it to the edges of the cake so it can drip down.
    * You can serve it cold or at room temp – it tastes great either way.