Divine Almond Cake // Updated with Variation
February 26, 2017 | By Jeremy Scheck | 2 Comments
Adapted minimally from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible, this delightful cake is buttery and light with a soft almond flavor. It’s not too sweet—good for breakfast or dessert—with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of jam. When I tasted this cake’s batter, I almost didn’t want to bake it. It’s that good. This definitely one of my new favorite recipes. I served this cake with homemade strawberry jam.
A note on adaptations: An ingredients list cannot be copyrighted, so to consider a recipe “adapted” technically all you have to do is rewrite the method in your own words. While it’s legal, it’s in bad taste to not provide any and all credit for help, inspiration, and complex recipe development. Baking is a precise science and it takes a lot of work from people like Rose Levy Barenbaum to develop these flagship recipes. I always attribute credit to the original recipe developer when I use recipes that are not completely my own, and I hope people do the same for me. I wanted to address this because After School Bakery is a platform for me to share all my favorite recipes, and while I create a lot of these recipes, a lot are also adapted and shared from my favorite bakers. My slight adaptations to the ingredients of this recipe were swapping the “unblanched sliced almonds, toasted and finely ground” for Bob’s almond flour (made from blanched almonds) and the sour cream for whole milk Greek yogurt because it’s healthier and I prefer the flavor.
Divine Almond Cake // Updated with Variation
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup (160g) whole milk Greek yogurt, set 2 tablespoons of the 2/3 cup aside as they will be used separately
- 1 tsp pure almond extract
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1–2/3 cups (166g) cake flour
- 1/3 cup (35g) almond flour/meal (such as Bob's brand)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1–1/2 sticks/12 tbsp (170g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Instructions
- Grease a 9" springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, grease again, and dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Whisk together the eggs with 2 tablespoons of the yogurt, the almond extract, and the vanilla extract.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with electric hand beaters, mix thoroughly on low the cake flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine and aerate.
- Add the butter and remaining yogurt, and mix in on low until they incorporate. Then, increase to medium–high and beat for 2 minutes until the batter lightens in color. Beat in the egg mixture in 3 additions, beating well after e
- Each addition, and scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan with the help of a rubber spatula and smooth the top.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and springs back when lightly pressed.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the pan, and cool to just warm on a wire wrack before serving with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, jam, or fresh fruit.
- Store covered at room temperature for a day or two, in the refrigerator for a few days, or in the freezer for a couple months.
Notes
WHITE CHOCOLATE - TANGERINE VARIATION
- 1/4 tsp lemon or orange extract
- 2 tangerines
- 1 cup good quality white chocolate chips
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
I’ve been planning to make this for months and never got around to it until today and it was phenomenal!!!! The perfect amount of sugar !! I literally think it’s one of the best cakes I’ve had. I did mess up on the textural element though — I mixed everything in at a completely different order because I wasn’t paying attention — so be sure you read the instructions carefully! But I don’t think I could tell the difference — it was so delicious!!!
This is amazing! This cake is in my rotation of go-to recipes now because it’s so simple and perfect. I make it with sour cream instead of yogurt because I always have that on hand. It’s absolutely delicious with fresh whipped cream and strawberries! 10/10