White almond cake is a classic, but many of the recipes I found online were the three-layer variety. As a person who doesn’t have three round cake tins (why exactly, I don’t know), I wanted a simple two-layer option and found this recipe at Sally’s Baking Addiction. It’s a basic white cake, but I made it into an almond version for my mom’s (early, because my brother and nephew were in town) birthday celebration this past weekend.

I added strawberry buttercream between my two layers, but wish I’d gone with a much thicker layer of it – it tasted delicious, but there just wasn’t enough. The cake itself is delicious and really tender, so I’ll absolutely make it again. It seems like a great base cake for other flavor ideas, so stay tuned.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

For the strawberry buttercream

• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 to 1 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• About 2 tablespoons fresh strawberry puree, to taste*

For the almond buttercream and decoration

• 1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 tablespoons almond extract
• 2/3 cup flaked almonds, toasted and cooled

*The more puree you add, the thinner your buttercream will become, so add sparingly along with additional powdered sugar to make a soft, but sturdy buttercream. 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round baking tins with baking spray, line with parchment circles, and spray the parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes, until fluffy; scrape down the bowl a few times. Add egg whites and beat on high to combine, then beat in sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. With the mixer running on low, slowly add dry mixture until just incorporated, then add milk. Don’t over-mix; once you’ve added the milk, turn off your mixer and finish incorporating everything by hand.

Divide batter evenly between the cake tins; bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely in the baking tins.

Once cakes are cool, make the buttercreams. For the strawberry, beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, then add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add strawberry puree and beat to completely combine; set aside until you’re ready to assemble the cake.

To make the almond buttercream, beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, then add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine completely.

To assemble, place one cake layer on your serving plate; pipe a circle of almond buttercream at the edge of the cake and fill with strawberry buttercream; this will keep the strawberry from leaking out when you cover the cake in the almond buttercream. Top with the second cake layer, then frost the top and sides with the remaining almond buttercream. Press toasted flaked almonds up the sides of the cake.

A view from the side, with toasted flaked almonds on display.