Moist White Almond Cake with Silky Buttercream Frosting
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If you’re looking for a cake that’s soft, moist, and guaranteed to impress, this White Almond Cake is it. Made with simple pantry ingredients and plenty of almond flavor, this classic layer cake bakes up tender and fluffy every single time, then gets finished with a silky, cloud-like buttercream frosting that’s smooth, rich, and not overly sweet. This almond cake is perfect for birthdays, weddings, showers, or anytime you want a bakery-style dessert at home. Best of all, it comes together in about 45 minutes, making it just as practical as it is beautiful.
I love this cake so much that I served it at my wedding. I had it made of course. I like to bake, but left that one up to Glorious Desserts in Des Moines. Her almond cake is bad ass. My mom will order one for family celebrations and haul it 5 hours from Des Moines to Chicago for us…she’s the best.
But because I love almond cake so much, I had to have a recipe that I could make at home that I equally loved as much as Glorious Desserts.
This is it! I have made this cake plenty of times and no matter what, it’s everyone’s favorite. They actually say I don’t make it enough! My mother-in-law’s best friend made this cake for her wedding! She said it was outstanding. See! This is why I love to blog – sharing recipes and my love for almond cake inspired someone to make it for her wedding! That makes me smile. 🙂
This cake could not be any easier to make. It’s very straightforward and starts out with a cake mix that’s doctored up quite a bit. What you’re left with is a runny batter that turns into the lightest, fluffiest and moist cake that there is. The flavor is WONDERFUL. No egg yolks in this one so the cake is totally white and beautiful.
I topped it off with my favorite frosting recipe…a silky buttercream that’s made with flour. It can be slightly tricky to make, but follow the directions and you should be fine. I’ve never had an issue making it!
To give you a visual of the frosting – the flour mixture is to the left – it looks like cake batter actually and is sticky, the middle is what it looks like after it’s whipped – so fluffy! and the last is the final the product!
You can’t go wrong with this one my friends. If you need a cake, this is your recipe. You can switch it up if you don’t like almond…add lemon extract, just vanilla extract, orange extract, etc. etc. The best part of this cake is that it’s full proof and tastes amazing every time!
Wish I had a piece now!
White Almond Cake with Whipped Buttercream Frosting
This white almond cake with whipped buttercream frosting is outstanding. It's moist, has wonderful almond flavor and the frosting is so light and fluffy. The perfect cake for any celebration!
Ingredients
White Almond Cake
- 1, 15.25 ounce package white cake mix
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups room temperature water
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or refined coconut oil)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
Whipped Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 3, 8 inch or 9 inch round cake pans; set aside. You can also use 2 cake pans, the layers will just be thicker.
- In a stand-alone mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (Hand-held mixer would work, too), mix together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt.
- Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond extract, vanilla extract and egg whites. Mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened but some lumps still remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, and bake for 25-30 minutes. The tops should be lightly golden. Remove and let cool before frosting.
- To make the frosting, whisk 1 cup of milk with 5 tablespoons of flour in a medium sauce pan and place over medium heat until the mixture begins to sputter, whisking constantly. Continue to stir as the mixture thickens. You will know it’s done when it reaches the consistency of thick cake batter (This took only a couple of minutes for me, but it can take longer). Remove from heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract, and a pinch of salt, and set aside to cool completely - you can place in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
- In a stand-alone mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (hand-held mixer would work, too), beat 2 sticks of softened room temperature butter (1 cup) with 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar until light, fluffy, and white in color, about 3 solid minutes of beating on medium-high speed. You want the sugar to be totally incorporated and dissolved into the butter. If it’s a little gritty, don’t worry. The sugar will dissolve at the frosting sets.
- Next, add the cooled milk/flour paste to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat all ingredients for 1 minute on high-speed, scraping down the bowl halfway through. The frosting should be as light and fluffy as whipped cream. Frost the cooled cake and enjoy!
Notes
Cake will last up to 3 days in a container, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Unfrosted cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
This recipe can be made into cupcakes. Bake for 15 minutes then check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. It it comes out clean, they're done. If not, add a few additional minutes and try again. Frosting makes just enough for the cake. If you want a lot of frosting, I suggest doubling the recipe. Refrigerate cake if not eating right away then bring to room temperature before eating. It's delicious cold, but room temperature is ideal.
Cake Recipe: allrecipes.com Frosting: Can you stay for dinner?
Great cake but I don’t know what happened to my icing. It looked like cool whip and was ready to go but as I applied it it started melting and got grainy
oh no! May have over whipped it then. It can be a difficult frosting but when done right, it’s so good!
Did you use 8” or 9” cake pans?
9 inch. but 8 would work, too!
Pillsbury, but any white cake mix should work.
I just made this cake and it was AMAZING! My husband said it was the best cake he’d ever had. I put chocolate frosting on because I gotta have some chocolate in my life…but actually it was great without frosting! I made mine in a 9×13 pan and it took 50 mins at 325. This is my go to white cake recipe!
so glad you liked it!
Im using this for my brother wedding cake! is it okay to use part cake flour?
I would try to use all purpose flour instead.
i’m 15 and I love baking, got in the mood to bake something yesterday. Found this recipe on Pinterest and thought that it sounded very delicious. Today I invited my grandparents over to have some cake and my gramma said “you don good” 😂 this cake is so delicious and I had to make the cake mix because we didn’t have any. my neighbors are coming in a few to have some as well. but this recipe is so delicious I don’t even know words to describe it.
This is awesome! You go girl! I am so glad you liked it!
So refreshing to see a comment where the writer actually took some initiative and decided that she could use chocolate icing instead of vanilla and a different size pan ALL without having to ask first ! I just don’t understand the silly questions that people sometimes ask, ie, Can I make green icing instead of pink? Can I use more almond extract instead of vanilla? Can I use 4% milk instead of 2%? Please, women, use your heads!,
I’ve made this before and my fav is the frosting, so much better than overly sweet cream cheese frosting, this time I’m add strawberry purée to the cake and freeze dried strawberries to the frosting
me, too!
Some of the questions do sound silly to experienced bakers, but remember there are lots of people who don’t have the experience and truly don’t know what to do.
Hi .. Can I use Almond Powder instead of flour ..
You can try! I haven’t tested the recipe using almond flour.
I just made this and it is SO GOOD! It was so light and fluffy- my new favorite recipe!
What size of cake pans did you use?
9 inch!
I am most definitely a beginner baker and attempted this recipe last night for practice. I thought the instructions were clear and easy to follow! What a delicious recipe! I loved the way this turned out! Thank you so much!
I will be keeping this recipe on hand forever! ❤️
you’re welcome!
The cake has a good flavor, but BEWARE of the icing! Save yourself some calories and just sweeten some cool whip and you’ll have the same result. I tried everything to “strengthen” this frosting and it has the same consistency of warm cool-whip. I would hate to think what would happen if the cake was taken to a potluck or picnic! I would say it is easier to nail Jell-O to the wall than it is to work with this icing (and I have been decorating cakes for years!)
That’s too bad the icing didn’t work for you. It is an unusual recipe but it’s absolutely delicious when it’s done right!
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole?
Yes!
Can I bake this in a Bundt pan?
yes! Baking time will probably be different. Just check it often to make sure you don’t over-bake.
Why do you have to refrigerate cake if not eating the same day
It just ensures the icing stays nice a firm and holds the cake together nicely.
I made it today for the first time and it turned out PERFECT 👌🏻
yum!
I am making the cake today for a birthday party tomorrow. Should I put the cake in the refrigerator? I’m worried that the frosting will be too soft
Yes you can. Just make sure it’s covered well so it doesn’t dry out
Can you pipe this icing with rose tip? Does it hold shape well?
It’s not a traditional buttercream so it is softer. I haven’t actually tried it so I don’t feel comfortable sayin absolutely not, but again it is softer than a traditional buttercream.
Hi! Can I add pudding to the ingredients?
you can try! I have not done that before.
Did you add red food coloring to make the icing pink?
yes! Just a few drops.
Really?? I have decorated with this frosting for years and have excellent results. It can’t be warm considering the butter content but otherwise no problems!
II use this for almost all of my cakes, and everyone loves them. I made a small 3 tier wedding cake and 28 6″ cakes (1 for each table) for my daughter’s wedding from this recipe, and I’ve made 2 other large tiered wedding cakes with it. My friends literally line up for the cake cutting if I make the wedding cake! I do weigh my flour, though, as it makes the cake a bit lighter. Thanks for posting!
What brand cake mix did you use?
Pillsbury, but any white cake mix should work.
Can you substitute the white cake mix for chocolate cake mix and substitute the almond extract for vanilla do you think it would turn out like chocolate cake
Yep I do! I think you can sub any cake mix for this recipe.
What does cake go good with peanut butter icing?
This cake would not go well with peanut butter frosting but a chocolate cake would. I have a recipe for chocolate cake in my recipe index. Enjoy!
Did you put the full amount of vanilla extract in recipe as the extra almond extract?
HI Heather – I used the amounts in the recipe – 1 t vanilla and 1 1/2 t almond. 🙂