Julie Clark
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Almond Cream Cake
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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.
This classic white cake has a gentle almond flavor. Both the cake and frosting are both have a simple sweetness, not sugary, which makes it very easy to keep going back for “just one more.”
Instead of the light, airy crumb you get from a box mix, this cake has a more velvety, bakery-style texture. It’s sturdy enough to slice cleanly, yet stays soft and moist all the way through.
This almond cream cake makes the best homemade white cake.
We posted this almond cream cake recipe back in 2015, and it has been one of our top recipes ever since. It is just as delicious as our cherry almond cake and chocolate strawberry cake that are reader favorites.
First of all, this almond cream cake is a completely homemade white cake. That means from scratch. No boxed mix.
In creating a delicious recipe for white cake (which happens to be my favorite flavor), 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. Its velvety and moist and you can see the texture in the pictures.
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. The less gluten there is, the more tender the cake is.
You might also like our vanilla cupcakes and raspberry tarts with mascarpone cream.
Enjoy! -Julie
Flour in the frosting?
Yes. And it’s a must-try for a silky smooth frosting. Although we love our buttercream recipe, I was wanting to try something a little different for this almond cream cake. I’ve always loved whipped frosting because it is less sweet than many store-bought buttercreams.
This cooked flour whipped frosting takes a bit of time to make, but one spoonful and you may just be hooked.
Almond Cream Cake
Light, moist and velvety, this Almond Cream Cake has a homemade cooked, whipped frosting that pairs perfectly with the almond cake. Top with sliced almonds.
Servings 15 servings
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup egg whites plus 3 tablespoons, 6-7 large egg whites*
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups cake flour* spooned and measured carefully
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups salted butter room temperature
- Sliced almonds and whole almonds for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 2 8" round cake pans.
- 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. ¾ cup egg whites
- Using the same bowl that you used to beat the egg whites, place the softened butter in and cream for about 2 minutes (using the beater blade attachment) until it is white in appearance. Add the sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy (about another 1-2 minutes). 1 cup salted butter, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- In a small bowl, combine the flour (measured carefully*), salt and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, combine the milk and almond extract. 3 cups cake flour*, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup 2% milk, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Add the dry ingredients 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 over mix at this point. If you do, your cake will become more dense.
- Pour the cake batter equally into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes 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 layer 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. ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 cups 2% milk
- 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. 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
- If you have a food processor, process the white sugar for a minute or so so that the granules become finer. 2 cups granulated sugar
- 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. 2 cups salted butter
- 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. Sliced almonds and whole almonds for decorating
Video
Notes
- This is about 6-7 large egg whites. *Some are having problems with the cake being too dense. This can happen when you mistakenly add too much flour. When you measure the flour, spoon it from the flour container gently into the measuring cup. Do NOT pack it down at all. This technique will help you not put too much flour into the cake.
- If you only have unsalted butter you can use it, but add ¼ teaspoon salt.
Nutrition
Calories: 650kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 444mg | Potassium: 178mg | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 1215IU | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 0.5mg
How to Make Cooked Flour Frosting
When you make the frosting, it is important to follow the directions carefully.
- 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 almond cream cake. Trust me. It will. Here are the steps after the flour & milk mixture is cooked.
- Let the flour and milk mixture cool to room temperature and add the almond flavor. 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.
- Whip the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes, then add the cooled flour mixture. Beat the mixture with the wire whisk attachment for a good 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. 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. 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!
Recipe Variations
- This almond cream cake is excellent with a raspberry sauce filling inside.
- Instead of the cooked flour frosting, try a buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting.
- You’ll also love our orange chiffon cake that has egg whites folded into the batter to make a fluffy cake.
Next, try our dark chocolate cheesecake, pumpkin poke cake, almond raspberry bars, cranberry almond cookies, or almond apple bread pudding.
I have a customer asking for cream cheese frosting… would I be able to just replace the butter when cream cheese and do it this way??? Looks so delicious!
This cake I made into a birthday cake for my aunt and it’s so creamy and yet too too sweet!!! Just how we like it!! So easy to make!!!
My first time making this cake. Seemed like A LOT of work. However, later I tasted the delicious results. Will definitely make it again. After reading reviews, I will shake the milk and flour in a jar for mixing before cooking. I will cook the flour and milk for a shorter time. My “mashed potato consistency was probably stiffer than it should have been. The cake is soft as is the delicious frosting. It was worth the effort.
I made this cake for Easter. It came out perfect. Cannot wait to share with my family. I followed all your notes and suggestions. Dry good recipe. Will make again. Thank you.
Can you do this as a lemon cake
Made this twice already and my family loves it. Thank you for this recipe!
This cake is one of my favorite cakes I have ever had. The almond flavor is incredible and the unique frosting is rich and creamy. I decorated my cake with little marzipan fruits.
Great recipe. I made this for a neighbor’s Birthday. My family ate the pieces I had cut off and went crazy. I will now be making one for them. I did add a good bit more almond extract in both the cake and icing because Almond is my favorite!! Thank you for a great recipe.
My sister-in-law is allergic to almonds. Can I substitute vanilla extract for the almond in both recipe parts?
I am wondering if one could substitute 3 8″ pans for the 2 9″, adjusting the cooking time, of course, I imagine the layers would be slightly thinner, but I’m fond of 3 layer cakes. 🙂
I made this for a big birthday party last weekend. I followed everything to a T. When I took the egg whites out of the fridge and poured them in, there was some liquid on the bottom. I knew right then and there that didn’t seem right. And then it took FOREVER to fold the egg whites in! Literally more than 5 minutes. They just weren’t blending in at all. It was super weird. So then my cake, which looked and smelled beautiful was super hard and dense and not that good. I was so bummed when my family cut… Read more »
Does the frosting really use 2 cups of butter or is it 2 sticks?
Good morning! I just came across this recipe for a cake and icing it sounds and looks amazing. I want to make this for my boyfriend’s mother she will be turning 75 and I want it to taste good and look amazing. I was asked to make it for her so i want it to be perfect for the taste and the look . My cakes have been so moist they just fall apart. That’s what I don’t want to happen with this one . So my question is I need the icing to be where I can pipe it… Read more »
For a non-baker this was a long process (not difficult) but apparently well worth the effort. A friend who LOVES almond cake said this was the AMAZING!
where is the cake recipe?