Almond Flower Cake

Almond Flower Cake

Cake:

· 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar

· 8 ounces cream cheese

· ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

· 2 eggs

· 2 teaspoons almond extract

· 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· 1 1/3 cups whole milk

Cream cheese buttercream:

· 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 1 tablespoon meringue powder

· 4 – 4 ½ cups powdered sugar

Almond Flower Garnish:

· 3 ounces Marzipan

· 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

· Sliced almonds

Bake the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350. For cupcakes, line muffin pans with 30 paper liners. For a layer cake, spray the bottoms of 3 eight-inch pans with non-stick baking spray, line with parchment paper, then spray the paper as well. Set aside. (I wanted to make both cupcakes and a small cake, so I divided the batter between 24 cupcakes and 2 six-inch round pans.)

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and almond extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the flour, stirring just until moistened.

Divide batter between the pans. Bake cupcakes for 14-15 minutes, cakes for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack, covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel. When they cakes cool, the surface will settle very flat, which is normal for this recipe.

Make the Buttercream:

To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla for several minutes with the whisk attachment until smooth and combined. In a separate bowl combine the meringue powder and powdered sugar, then add by spoonfuls to the mixer while mixing on low. Beat on medium high for several minutes until light, creamy and fluffy.

Pipe or frost the buttercream onto the cooled cake and/or cupcakes.

Garnish:

To garnish, use a quarter teaspoon to scoop equally sized portions of marzipan, then roll into small balls between your hands. Coat each marzipan ball in the granulated sugar.

To make the almond flowers, place a sugared marzipan ball in the center of each cupcake or around the cake, then arrange 6-7 almond slices around each ball to look like flower petals.

Recipe and Design from Curly Girl Kitchen