Light, moist and velvety, this Almond Cream Cake has a homemade cooked, whipped frosting that pairs perfectly with the almond cake. Decorate the cake simply with sliced almonds.
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Almond Cream Cake Recipe
If you’re looking at this cake and happen to remember the pinkalicious cake we recently posted, you’ll think that we’re in an almond kind of mood. It’s true. We do love our almonds. What is sad is that this Almond Cream Cake has been sitting in my “to-do” pile for 3 months. Anyone else have a to-do list like this?
It’s not that I wasn’t excited about sharing it with you, or that it didn’t taste as good as the other treats we’ve been sharing. Quite the opposite, actually. I wanted to give this cake the credit that it was due, and with the busyness of the holidays, I kept pushing it aside until I had more time.
Well, your wait is over, my friends. Let me tell you about this cake.
Homemade White Cake
First of all, it’s a completely homemade white cake. That means from scratch. No boxed mix. I love boxed cake mixes because they turn out perfectly nearly every time. But making a cake from scratch has always been this challenge that I’ve wanted to tackle.
In finding a delicious recipe for white cake (which happens to be my favorite flavor), we had several failures. I wanted a moist cake, but I wanted it to have a light crumb and be thick, but not heavy. We tossed aside several different attempts, but when I saw how this cake baked up? I knew this was it. For a homemade cake, this one beat the rest. It’s velvety and moist. Can you see the texture in this photo?
Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
The recipe uses cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. All purpose flour has more protein in it (10-12 grams in all-purpose as opposed to 8 grams in cake flour), which forms gluten when you mix it. This causes the cake to be more “holey”. The less gluten there is, the more tender the cake is. The starch in the cake flour helps to stabilize the cake. There’s more science behind the reasons you should use cake flour when baking a cake. Although I like learning the science behind baking and sharing it with you, sometimes it is just easier to let the experts explain it. You can read more of the science behind cake flour here.
Whipped Frosting
The second special part of this cake is the frosting. Although we love our buttercream recipe, I was wanting to try something a little different for this cake. I’ve always loved whipped frosting because it is less sweet than many store-bought buttercreams. I searched for a delicious whipped frosting and came across this recipe that got rave reviews. It’s a cooked frosting…something I had never tried before! This frosting takes a bit of time to make, but one spoonful and you may just be hooked.
How to Make Cooked Flour Frosting
When you make the frosting, it is important to follow the directions carefully. You’ll want to cook the milk and flour together over medium heat until the mixture is very thick and resembles mashed potatoes. Don’t undercook this! It took about 10 minutes for me to get my mixture to this texture. Stir constantly while it is cooking so it doesn’t burn on the saucepan.
At this point you’ll probably be questioning how in the world this is going to taste good on your precious cake. Trust me. It will.
Let the flour and milk mixture cool to room temperature and add the almond extract. You can speed up the process by placing the pan on ice if you’d like. It cools within minutes if you use this trick. Also, stir the frosting a few times while it is cooling. This will prevent a film from developing over your frosting. Stirring it and even placing plastic wrap right on top of the frosting will help to keep your frosting smooth.
While this is cooling, take the granulated sugar and put it through your food processor to make the grains of sugar finer. Why do this? In the next step, you’ll cream the butter and sugar together until there is no graininess left. It will take less time if you process the sugar first. Or you can use a superfine sugar such as this one.
Once the butter and sugar are completely creamed together (beating about 5 minutes), add the cooled flour mixture and you are going to beat the mixture with the wire whisk attachment for a good 5 minutes. The mixture will go from having a separated look to coming together into a beautiful whipped cream. Just when you think it isn’t going to work it will start getting fluffy and look like a delicious whipped frosting. Go ahead. Sneak a little taste. Just be warned that you may not be able to stop eating it.
We wanted a nice, thick layer of frosting on our almond cream cake. If you’d just like a thin layer of frosting you can halve the frosting recipe.
Decorate a Cake with Almonds
You can leave the almond cream cake a pure, snowy white if you’d like, or press some sliced almonds onto the sides. Arrange a few whole almonds on the top . Make it your own and be proud of it!
I’d say our first try at making cooked frosting was a success. What about you? Have you ever tried homemade whipped frosting or from-scratch cakes? I’d love it if you shared any other hints for homemade cakes or whipped frosting with us!
Tools for Making This Cake
- Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
- Cake Flour:A must-have for anyone who loves to bake from scratch.
- Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
- Ninja Express Chop: Mini food processor…this is one of my most-used kitchen tools!
- Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
- Wire Cooling Racks: This will help your cakes cool more quickly.
Almond Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups cake flour* (345 grams) spooned & measured carefully
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk 2% milkfat
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 cup egg whites plus 3 tablespoons*
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 cups butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Sliced almonds and whole almonds for decorating
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment until they are stiff and form peaks. This may take a minute or two. Pour the egg whites into another bowl and place them in the refrigerator until you're ready to add them to the batter.
- Using the same bowl that you used to beat the egg whites, place the softened butter in and cream the butter for about 2 minutes (using the beater blade attachmenuntil it is white in appearance.
- Add the sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy (about another 1-2 minutes).
- In a small bowl, combine the flour (measured carefully*), salt and baking powder. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the milk and almond extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the milk.
- Add the stiffly beaten eggs to the cake batter. Fold the egg whites in gently. Do not overmix at this point. If you do, your cake will become more dense.
- Grease and flour 2 9" round cake pans. Pour the cake batter equally into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes at 350 degrees for 25-27 minutes or until the top bounces back when you touch it.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and remove them from the pans to a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk over medium-low heat until it thickens. Stir it constantly, lowering the heat to low if needed. The consistency should be very thick, like mashed potatoes. This step took about 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and set the pan in a bowl of ice for 5-10 minutes to quicken the cooling process. The temperature of the mixture should be at room temperature.
- Stir in the almond extract.
- If you have a food processor, process the white sugar for a minute or so so that the granules become finer.
- While the mixture is cooling, cream together the butter and processed sugar using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Do this for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely creamed and there is no graininess left.
- Add the cooled flour mixture and beat it until it all combines and looks like whipped cream. This will take about another 3-5 minutes of beating. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl while the mixture is beating together so that everything gets well incorporated. Once the mixture has the texture of fluffy whipped cream, you are ready to ice the cake.
- Once the cakes are cool, place one cake on a cake plate. Spread frosting on top of that layer, then place the other cake on top of the frosted cake. Use the remainder of the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.
- Decorate the sides and top with sliced and whole almonds, as the picture shows, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Kim says
January 19, 2019 at 9:32 pmThis icing is all I’ve ever used for Red Velvet Cake. It’s really is the best compliment to that particular cake.
I look forward to trying the cake recipe. It sounds delicious!
Susan Buoniconti says
January 20, 2019 at 6:16 pmCan this cake be made in a tube pan?
Susan
Julie Clark says
January 21, 2019 at 10:24 amI’ve not tried that. Sorry!
Dorine says
April 8, 2019 at 1:12 pmI am thinking of using the egg yolks to make the cake richer and wondering what would be the outcome. Any idea
Julie Clark says
April 10, 2019 at 9:08 amI’ve not tried it. Sorry!
Mary Elizabeth Carter says
January 20, 2019 at 10:07 pmWhew! Just finished. It looks great. The icing had tiny lumps about the size of tapioca but tastes great. Now that I read the comments I know what do do next time. I am going to freeze mine for a party on Feb. 5
Nina says
January 30, 2019 at 10:09 amCan I make this cake in 3 six inch pans?
Thanks
Julie Clark says
January 30, 2019 at 12:12 pmI think that should work
Rebecca says
February 9, 2019 at 8:12 pmCan I use cake/pastry flour instead of white flour with the same measurements?
Julie Clark says
February 27, 2019 at 8:03 pmI think that would work.
Amy says
February 16, 2019 at 11:00 pmJust finished making this! Amazing! I have never made a cake from scratch before. This came out perfect.
Erica H says
February 20, 2019 at 12:44 pmI followed all instructions and cake was too dense. Why use granulated sugar instead of confectioner’s? I think less butter with confectioner’s would produce a smoother result (and not use an entire pound of butter!).
Julie Clark says
February 22, 2019 at 6:34 amIt’s a buttery cake,which is what makes it so good.:) Yes, some have used confectioner’s sugar, but I still think you would need the same amount of butter.
Aimee says
March 20, 2019 at 1:59 pmDo you think this would work doubled? I need to fill four 8” cake pans
Julie Clark says
March 20, 2019 at 5:39 pmI’d probably make 2 recipes separately instead of doubling the recipe.
Abby says
March 21, 2019 at 5:27 pmI’ve made this recipe before and loved it! Do you think it could be made into cupcakes?
Julie Clark says
March 22, 2019 at 6:51 amI do! I haven’t tried it, but I believe it will work. Lower the baking time and watch them closely.
Anonymous says
April 4, 2019 at 1:33 pmI made them into cupcakes yesterday! Took about 15 minutes and came out delicious .
Alexis R. says
April 3, 2019 at 10:08 pmThis cake turned out so well. I added strawberries to the middle and top. My family loved it. (PS I even accidentally over beat my egg whites and it still turned out super fluffy!)
Susan Mac says
April 6, 2019 at 7:50 pmCan I make this a day ahead?
Julie Clark says
April 7, 2019 at 4:20 pmYes!
Debbie says
April 6, 2019 at 9:46 pmThis looks great. I need a cake for a camping get together and need to make it a week early so I can do it at home. Will this freeze well? Would you make the frosting after defrosting the cake? Thank you.
Julie Clark says
April 7, 2019 at 4:21 pmThe cake freezes well. yes, I’d wait to decorate until it is defrosted for best results.
Alesa says
April 25, 2019 at 11:38 amDoes this cake need to be stored in the refrigerator? Thanks! It looks great
Alesa
Julie Clark says
April 25, 2019 at 11:52 amIt’s ok at room temperature for a day, but then we refrigerate. Thanks!
Ayla says
May 10, 2019 at 11:33 amWould this cake be good with Swiss Meringue butter cream frosting?
Julie Clark says
May 10, 2019 at 1:28 pmIt would be amazing!
Jenny says
May 16, 2019 at 3:58 pmI made this cake twice and both times the cake was perfectly flat. Is it supposed to be flatter than most cakes? I’ve never made an almond cake before.
Julie Clark says
May 16, 2019 at 5:20 pmDo you mean it wasn’t domed? Or didn’t rise at all? I do find that this is more flat than a box mix cake, but it still rises.
Jenny says
May 16, 2019 at 5:31 pmYes, no dome at all. It’s about an inch and a half in height. I tried replacing my baking powder with new, but that didn’t do the trick either. Just checking to see how high this cake is supposed to rise. Thanks 😃
Julie Clark says
May 18, 2019 at 11:55 amIt’s not a crazy high rising cake and does not usually have a dome for me. You did whip the egg whites and then fold them in at the end, right?
Carmen says
May 23, 2019 at 5:20 pmAre you using processed egg whites that come in a pourable carton or egg whites that have been separated from a whole egg? If using the latter how many eggs would you have to crack and separate to come up with 3/4 cup of egg whites.
Julie Clark says
May 25, 2019 at 7:51 amWe’ve used both. We normally buy the carton egg whites just because it is easier. But if you are using whole eggs you’ll want about 5-7. It really just depends on the size of the egg.
Christine says
May 26, 2019 at 12:00 amGreat recipe! I use powdered (dried) egg whites, reconstituted with water. They whip up better than fresh egg whites, are shelf-stable, cost-effective, easy to measure (mixing instructions are included for 1-12 egg whites), and you don’t have to find recipes to use up the yolks from fresh eggs. The egg whites in cartons don’t whip up very well and are expensive. I buy powdered egg whites online from Amazon.
Bette goldmann says
May 28, 2019 at 10:59 pmWhat adjustments would you make for high altitude?
Therese Norton says
May 29, 2019 at 2:06 amI made this cake for my son’s 42nd birthday and for Memorial Day – we had a bunch of people over to celebrate. I separated my eggs, whipped the whites, refrigerated them while I got everything else ready, used cake flour, bought new 9″ nordic ware cake pans. Baked for 27 minutes. Cake sprung back. Took them out to cool on separate racks. After a few minutes they started to shrink, to my horror. They literally imploded. I tried inverting them to remove from the pans and they wouldn’t release despite the greased and floured pans. Then they tore away in pieces. The layers were still liquid inside! as the cakes cooled, the cakes literally began to turn liquid in the centers. I’m now a wreck because I was so excited about making this cake and the buttercream icing. This is my 3rd fail with recipes where you have to fold in beaten egg whites. Same thing happened to two separate pound cakes. What am I doing wrong?
Julie Clark says
June 13, 2019 at 8:30 amThat is really strange!! Were the egg whites fluffy and holding stiff peaks? I really have no idea about this…it’s really odd!
Kathy Roberts says
May 30, 2019 at 1:27 pmI have been using this recipe for more than 50 years and it’s always a big hit! It was called Baker’s Frosting. I can’t even remember where it came from originally. The original recipe calls for half butter and half shortening but I now make it with butter.
Terri says
June 6, 2019 at 4:11 amMy grandma made this when I was a kid She passed away in 68 I’ve never seen so many unanswered ? or different amount of egg whites It’s just a good really old cake and frosting recipe Not rocket science
Fatima says
June 13, 2019 at 1:25 amDid anyone have problems with the frosting? I couldn’t make it… It’s awful! It looks like the butter just separated from everything else… Did it twice, both times happened the same 🤷♀️
Julane says
June 13, 2019 at 8:14 pmI have made this icing for years for Red Velvet Cake and this will happen if the butter gets too hot. This can be several things: 1) the flour/milk mixture was too hot; 2) mixed too long and mixture got hot from beater friction; 3) butter was too warm when you started mixing frosting. Also, use only real butter, margarine has too much water in it and icing can separate.
Chantal says
June 24, 2019 at 12:56 amHi! I have used this recipe several times and it always turns out perfect! Question… Could I easily change this to a vanilla cake by using vanilla extract instead of almond? Have you tried?
Thanks!
Julie Clark says
June 24, 2019 at 9:20 amYes! We do that all the time 🙂 Thanks!
Lindsay says
June 26, 2019 at 12:32 pmHi, I was just wondering if it should be salted or unsalted butter for the recipe? I’m going to make this for our family get-together for the 4th
Julie Clark says
June 28, 2019 at 8:55 amWe use salted because that’s what we keep in the fridge. Either will work!
Nelissa Birlean says
July 6, 2019 at 3:01 pmNice fluffy cake but I wish it was more moist.