almond blackberry cake________________________Scented with almond extract and lightly frosted with vanilla buttercream and a swirl of blackberry preserves.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, whole milk, or oat milk
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 cup blackberry jam
vanilla buttercream
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp milk, to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 2 9-inch cake pans or 3 6-inch cake pans.
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow in hue, about 2-3 minutes. Whip in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Blend in the almond and vanilla extracts.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Measure the buttermilk (or whichever milk you choose) into a pyrex measuring cup or some other easy-to-pour-from vessel.
- Alternate mixing 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/3 of the milk into the butter mixture until both are used up.
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Gently tap the bottoms against the counter to loosen any air bubbles and distribute the batter more evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until center is just set and a toothpick removes clean with only a few crumbs.
- Cool cakes for 5 minutes in the pans, then slide a knife around the perimeter of each layer to loosen and turn onto a wire cooling rack. If you have casualties, it's ok! That's what frosting is for. Cool for about an hour before frosting.
- When the cakes are cooled, prepare the frosting. With the stand or hand mixer, whip together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. If the frosting is grainy and thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and spreadable.
- Level each cake by carefully slicing the top off with a sharp serrated knife. If your cakes are flat, ignore this step, you lucky bastards. Spread about 1/4-1/2 cup buttercream atop one layer, then 2-4 tbsp blackberry jam (measurements depend on if you used 6 inch or 9 inch pans). Set second layer atop and repeat. If you have a third layer, repeat frosting steps. Set cake in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- With the remaining buttercream, lightly frost the outside of the cake. The jam from between the layers will mix in with the frosting and create a pretty ribboned effect. If desired, swirl small amounts of additional jam into the frosting.
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge up to a week, or the freezer up to a month.