Cherry Chip Cake with Almond Buttercream Frosting
The ultimate celebration cake! Soft moist cakes layers with bits of cherries in every bite, coated with a bright white almond buttercream that is delicous. A match made in heaven.
Ingredients
Cherry Chip Cake
- 2 cups (226 grams) cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites at room temperature
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cup (315 ml) buttermilk
- 5 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
Almond Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 cups (900 grams) powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cherry Chip Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 8-inch cake tins with butter or vegetable shortening and flour, line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Whisk cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl, set aside.
- Drain cherries, reserve the juice, and remove stems from cherries. With a food processor or with a sharp knife chop cherries until fine; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high speed until light an fluffy (about 3 minutes.) Then, add eggs in one at a time. Next, add in vanilla and almond extracts and mix on low until combined.
- Add five tablespoons of reserved maraschino cherry juice with buttermilk and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Spoon in about ¼ of the dry ingredients and pour ¼ of buttermilk mixture into the mixer. Mix until fully incorporated. Repeat by adding the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk in small additions until all is incorporated, then beat for about one minute.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans and bake about 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick from the center comes out with a few crumbs. Let cakes cool in pans for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack, then remove cakes from pans and finish cooling cakes on a wire rack.
Almond Buttercream
- Cream room temperature butter on medium high in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about one minute. Scrape down the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients: powdered sugar, heavy cream, almond and vanilla extracts. Whip on medium high until fluffy and a spreadable consistency.
Assemble Cake
- On a large plate or a cake board, place your first cake layer down. (If there is a dome on top of your cake, level with a serrated knife) Spread ⅓ of the buttercream evenly on top of the first cake layer. Top with the second cake layer and frost with remaining buttercream. Garnish with cherries if desired. Let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm and serve!