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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!
So I made the cake and cooled it 2 to 3 minutes and took them out to cool on rack but one fell apart
This looks delicious. Do you think it would taste as good if I used blackberry instead?
If you’re a blackberry fan, then yes, I’m sure it’d be great!
Hello Lindsey! Great job on such a beautiful cake! I am starting a cake business, and I was wondering if I could have permission to reuse one of your photos of this cake. I do custom cake designs and I needed an example on my order form, but I would not be claiming that the cake was made by me. I understand if I cannot reuse your image, but I thought I would check. Thank you!
I would prefer not. I’m sorry.
I completely understand! Thank you anyway!
This is just the type of creation I’ve been looking for!!!
Elegant….pretty..without being ‘overdone’ the flavour combination sounds absolutely perfect..
I’m going to have a trial run..and this will no doubt become my ‘go to recipe’ once i can get together with my family to welcome our new Baby Granddaughter after lockdown!! I Absolutely can’t wait!!!!
I haven’t done any high altitude baking, so I’m not really sure.
I made this cake for the middle tier of my brother’s wedding cake last weekend. I used your chocolate cake recipe for the top and bottom tiers and used the raspberry buttercream for those as well. I just made your vanilla buttercream for the whole outside of the cake. It was a huge success. The whole cake got eaten. I loved the almond cake! But I always love your recipes and go to your website first whenever I need to bake anything! You are gifted! Thanks for sharing your gift!
Kim D.
(I wanted to add pictures here but I can’t figure out how to do that ????????♀️)
Thanks so much Kimberly! So glad you enjoyed the cakes – sounds delicious! I wish there was the ability to add photos, but there isn’t right now. If you have instagram, you could post a photo there and tag me (and use #lifeloveandsugar) and I can see it. 🙂
WHERE did you get that gorgeous blue cake stand?
You can find the cake stand here. 🙂
I would give this cake 3 stars. It is definitely on the very sweet side. My husband likes very sweet cakes with lots of sugar and he really liked it, but I am European and I prefer less sweet cakes. Would probably not make it again with this amount of sugar, maybe half.
I am interested in making this cake for a party Saturday evening but can only bake on Thursday. Can I still use this recipe? I would be concerned that it would have to sit in the fridge with the use of raspberries then dry out.
Yes, you could still use this recipe. I try not to refrigerate cakes if I don’t have to but with the fruit in the frosting, it’s probably good to refrigerate it if it’ll sit out for more than about a day.
Hola linsey te quedó hermoso el pastel, no puedo quedarme sin hacer esta receta, por favor sube el vídeo de la preparación, muchas gracias por compartirlo, saludos desde Guanajuato México. Soy tu fan????????????????
I prefer not to use shortening. Would I use the same amount of butter to substitute? And should i use salted or unsalted?
Yes, the same amount of butter. As for salted/unsalted there are a couple options. You don’t want to use all salted because that would be too much salt. You could use half salted/half unsalted, or just go with all unsalted and add your own salt. I’d start with 1/2 teaspoon and add a little more to your taste, if needed.
Made this cake for my daughter’s birthday, it looks beautiful and baked up perfectly. It definitely was way too strong of an almond flavour for me, but that’s personal taste. I also put in way less sugar in my buttercream, but again, that’s personal taste. The instructions for assembly were so helpful. My son told me I should get the world record for most beautiful cake ever made!
So glad it turned out well!
Thanks for the recipe.
This is a top 10 easy to make and great to eat cake.
I have a few criticisms:
1 – the almond is too intense with 1 tbsp. I made this 2 times and 1/2 tbsp was a better taste and my kids agreed.
2 – The icing is too sweet. It needs salt I actually used another icing recipe on the 2nd attempt and i added some sour cream to notch that down in sweetness. I will be making this again and I will use Italian buttercream to see if that is even better.
3 – The filling is also too sweet. The 2nd time I made this I actually used a raspberry jam with a raspberry dam on the outside and it was marvelous as the jam toned down the buttercream sweetness. Perhaps a curd or a whipped cream filling with a liquor would be a nice compliment…
Beyond those things noted above, this cake was marvelous in prep time, it baked well, had a great crumb, handled cutting well, great texture, was sufficiently moist. I am going to use this as a base for other variations (vanilla bean, lemon….).
thanks!!
Would be pretty in a heart shaped pan too. I ???? almond too! I may try this recipe for My birthday! Yum!
Hi there! I just made this cake and it looks and tastes amazing! The only thing that I don’t understand is that even though it is fully cooked and looks great on the fork, it turns really mushy once you put in your mouth? I thought maybe it was underbaked so I left it in the oven about 5 minutes longer and the toothpick was coming out clean and the cake had moved in from the pan. Any ideas what I could change up next time?
Can you substitute the milk with almond milk?
That should be fine.