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This Raspberry Almond Layer Cake has three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake filled with fresh raspberry frosting. It’s such a pretty cake and it tastes even better than it looks!
Raspberry Almond Layer Cake
So there was a moment this past weekend where I realized what true love really is. It’s giving your spouse the “best” pillow even when you want it. Let me explain.
We were visiting my parents and therefore not using our usual pillows. The first night, we just grabbed the pillow that had been on our side of the bed and went to sleep. Yes, I noticed that his was softer and fluffier than mine, but I wasn’t going to steal it from him. I want him to be comfortable and I can deal with the less fluffy pillow – no problem.
Well then the next night, all of a sudden – through the dark – the hubs lets out a heavy sigh and says, “Do you like your pillow?”
“I mean, it’s a little flat, but it’s fine,” I said.
“Well mine is too fluffy, it’s hurting my neck. I didn’t want to say anything because I thought you wanted the pillow you have,” he says.
To which I laughed, because I of course I hadn’t said anything figuring he’d wanted the fluffy one. 🙂
So we switched and were both happy. But the point is that we had initially given up the pillow we wanted for the comfort of the other. See? True love. 😉
Speaking of true love, I’m in LOVE with this cake! I feel like it just looks like a cake you’d make for someone you love too. Those flowers!! I can’t even handle it.
The cake starts out with three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake. I feel like almond doesn’t get enough credit for how awesome it is. Vanilla tends to capture hearts, but almond deserves that spot too. It’s one of those flavors that gets me every time I have it. I’ll sometimes forget just how delicious it is and then it reminds me when I bite into it. So good!
How to Make a Raspberry Almond Layer Cake
The first step to a wonderfully fluffy cake is to fully cream the butter and sugar. You don’t want to skimp on this. The butter and sugar will come together and look lighter in color and have a thick and fluffy texture. It’s pretty cool. You’ll know it when you see it. 🙂
Once the cakes are made, you’ll make the two frostings. I’ve got raspberry frosting in between the layers and on top as decorations. Then the almond frosting is on the outside of the cake.
The raspberry frosting gets its pink color entirely from fresh raspberries. How awesome is that?! To ensure an uninterrupted shade of pink, I puree the raspberries in my food processor and then press the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. When added to the frosting, it’s a pure, beautiful shade of pink!
The almond frosting on the outside of the cake is added using the same method as in this tutorial for frosting a smooth cake. I then used the patterned side of my icing smoother to create the pattern in the frosting on the sides.
The roses on top are made with a closed star tip – I used the Ateco 844, but the Wilton 1M or 2D would work as well. I colored some of the remaining almond frosting with some green to add a few leaves as well.
This cake was a BIG hit! Everyone loved it! Not only is it fun to check out the pretty flowers, but the almond and raspberry together are so light and refreshing! It really is the perfect combo!
Raspberry Almond Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 57 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Raspberry Almond Layer Cake has three layers of moist, fluffy almond cake filled with fresh raspberry frosting. It’s such a pretty cake and it tastes even better than it looks!
Ingredients
ALMOND CAKE LAYERS
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (10ml) almond extract
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 4 tsp (15g) baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water, room temperature
RASPBERRY FROSTING
- 6 oz (170g) raspberries
- 3/4 cup (168g) salted butter
- 3/4 cup (142g) shortening
- 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar
ALMOND FROSTING
- 3/4 cup (168g) salted butter
- 3/4 cup (142g) shortening
- 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 2–3 tbsp water
Instructions
1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) .
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
3. Add sour cream and almond extract and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine the milk and water in a small measuring cup.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the milk mixture and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for about 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
8. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
TO MAKE THE FROSTINGS:
9. To make the raspberry frosting, first puree the raspberries in a food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
10. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
11. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. Add 5 tablespoons of raspberry puree and mix until smooth.
13. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add additional raspberry puree, as needed. Set aside.
9. To make the almond frosting, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
11. Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. Add the almond extract and 2 tablespoons of water and mix until smooth.
13. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
14. Add remaining tablespoon of water, if needed.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
15. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
16. Spread about 1 cup of raspberry frosting evenly on top of the cake.
17. Add the second layer of cake and another cup of raspberry frosting.
18. Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the cake with the almond frosting. Refer to my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if needed. Once frosted, use the patterned side of an icing smoother/comb and create the patterned lines on the sides.
19. Use the remaining raspberry frosting to pipe rosettes around the edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 844, but Wilton 1M or 2D would work as well.
20. Color some of the remaining almond frosting green and use it to add some leaves. Sprinkle the cake with some gold sprinkles, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1011
- Sugar: 106.8 g
- Sodium: 284.3 mg
- Fat: 54.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 128.5 g
- Protein: 6.5 g
- Cholesterol: 84.7 mg
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
What kind of shortening did you use?
Crisco brand vegetable shortening.
My cake turned out flat too. I went back and forth with myself should I make the cake the way it said or beat the egg whites like I think. Well I made the wrong decision. I followed the recipe. My daughter picked this out for her birthday cake I feel horrible.No time to bake another one!
It’s not the recipe. The egg whites are not beaten or whipped before adding. That wasn’t the issue. Most likely, the butter and sugar weren’t fully creamed together until lighter in color and fluffy.
This happened to me as well (as did to multiple others I see). I think the issue is that there is no baking soda in the recipe. This recipe contains sour cream (an acid) however the carbon dioxide created from the acid and baking soda is not enough to leaven the volume of batter in the recipe. That’s why baking powder should be used as well– to add necessary lift. I will test the cake next week with powder and soda and see what happens. My butter and sugar last time were fully creamed, but still the cake was extremely flat so hopefully the problem will get fixed!
You are right about sour cream being an acid and the science there. I can tell you though that I use the base of this recipe all over this site and most people don’t have an issue with rise, so I do think there’s something else going on that’s giving some people a problem. That said, I’d be curious to know if the baking soda helps. I’d try it, but given that I get a different result without it I don’t think my test would provide the same results that you’d get. I hope it works!
For those who are coming out with dense cakes, when you fill your pans, do you drop and spin your pans to even out the batter? That takes out some of the air, so I tried just spooning and smoothing the batter and my cakes came out light and moist.
Great suggestion! Thanks Stephanie!
If I use unsalted butter would that be okay? If not can I add salt, or should I just go buy salted butter? I only ask because I already have a plethora of unsalted butter lol
You can definitely use unsalted butter and add your own salt.
Oh my this cake is so beautiful I want to make it can I use almond flavor instead of almond extract?
I would think that’d be fine.
Oh, and maybe the cakes are flat for some people because the ingredients are not room temp? I made sure everything sat on my 70-degree counter for a couple hours. My batter was definitely airy and light when I put it into pans. It was not dense like a cake mix would be. Just a thought.
Made this for Mother’s Day. Followed directions exactly and cake was perfect. Rave reviews from family. Batter was super spongy before baking (kind of like angel food cake batter!) but baked up fine. Used 9-inch pans to make slightly bigger cake. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks Karen!
I made cupcakes with this recipe and they were fantastic. So smooth and tasty. I found a raspberry curd recipe that uses five egg yolks. I am going to try that next for a filling; I think they will pair together nicely and then I will only have one unused egg yolk.
Great idea! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Hi! How many cupcakes would this yield?
About 24 cupcakes
My cake fell and was very dense and flat despite following this recipe to a T. Maybe whipping up the egg whites and folding them into the batter instead would work better?
Was the butter and sugar fully creamed? That’s normally the issue I see.
Making these into cupcakes today. Wish me luck lol.
My cakes came out very flat as well, despite creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Why are so many having this problem? Can you cream them too long? I ran my mixer on medium speed for 5 mins, stopping a couple times to scrape the sides. Sad 🙁
I really do wish I knew why that happened for some people, but it’s very difficult for me to know without being there and seeing it or being able to recreate it. I’ve made variations of this cake no less than 100 times and I can’t recreate the issue. I’m sorry.
Made this twice in one week for 2 separate parties! Both times the cake came out perfect. I just thought the almond flavor on the cake was a little too strong so I put less than 1 T the second time I made the cakes. Overall great recipe though! Loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it Kate!
This looks awesome!!! We have a fun night at my school ( I’m 10, and I bake) and there is a cake walk. I am making this cake for it!!
My cakes are pretty flat and I beat thr cream and sugar good and proper! Hoping it still tastes delicious!
Is this supposed to be very spongy? I creamed he sugar and butter properly, but the batter seemed almost sticky and meringue like before baking. Did I over stir the eggs?
Hmm, that sounds strange. I’m not sure what would have happened.
Lindsey, I forgot to tell you I did not use shortening but used cream cheese instead in the frosting. It came out fabulous.
Note to raspberry lovers like me. Using all the raspberry because, well, more has to be better, MORE RASBERRY……..NOT. My frosting came out too soft. Well, I know I could’ve used more powdered sugar, but I’m disabled. So, making a cake by myself is painful and quite a feat; so, I just used it as is and it ended up looking like a science project, like a volcano. Well, I have to rest, get out of pain, then I will try it and let you know if I succeeded in the flavor category.
One thing I was wondering was why the cakes did not rise too much?? I followed the directions exactly
That’s a great note Amy. It would definitely make a softer frosting.
Are you sure the butter and sugar were fully creamed? That’s normally the culprit of a cake that doesn’t rise as well or falls after baking.