Easy Tiered Almond Cake

Cake: A spongy-flavorful dessert that we get to treat ourselves with during the holidays, gatherings, and of course- Birthdays! We all have our go-to cake or cupcake, and this Almond Cake with a Vanilla Meringue Buttercream is surely mine. To make the imaged cake, you will need to double this recipe and if you are looking to make two 8-inch rounds, this cake is perfect for that too! Even though I baked this cake without the use of diary and eggs, it is still moist, spongy, and does the job. What’s better than an organic cake made by yourself in the comfort of your own home? I hope that this recipe brings you, your family and friends a lot of good memories and birthday cheer!

Yields 45 servings for 6 and 7-inch or 60 servings 6,7, and 8-inch cakes

Ingredients

Cake (double recipe for tiered style):

3-1/4 cups King Arthur organic flour

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1-3/4 cups organic sugar

2-1/2 cup buttermilk (2-1/4 cup plain almond milk+ 1/4 cup lemon juice, mixed)

2-1/2 Tbsp. almond extract

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

Frosting:

2-1/4 cup organic cane sugar

3/4 cup filtered water

1 cup concentrated aquafaba (chickpea liquid)- Two 8 oz. cans garbanzo beans

1 cup butter of choice, cubed

1 cup vegetable shortening, cubed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and oil until light in color. Add the almond extract and buttermilk.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and powder. Add the salt and combine the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, a little bit at a time.
4. Beat until flour is well combined and cake batter consistency is achieved.
5. Cut out parchment rounds to fit the bottom of the cake pans. Be sure to grease the parchment also, this will help your cakes not stick.
6. Using two 8-inch round cake pan, distribute the batter between the two as listed below. If you are using a 6 and 8-inch pan for a 3 tier cake, you will need to triple the recipe and fill the cake pans up as provided below:
   • 6-inch: 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes; 3 cups batter
     7-inch: 350 degrees F for 40-42 minutes; 4 cups batter, optional
     8-inch: 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes; 5 cups batter
7. Bake cakes for 40-45 minutes (rotating half way through) or until a toothpick comes out clean and cake edges are slightly browned and pulls away from pan.
8. Place onto a wire rack to cool until bottom of the pan is cool to touch.
9. Flip the cakes out of the pan onto the rack and allow to completely cool (roughly 1-1/2 hours).
10. Using a knife, level the cakes so they are all even. Slice cakes in half, wrap in plastic individually, and place in fridge or freezer until ready to frost or leave out if you are making it that day.

Aquafaba Concentrate:

1. In sauce pan over medium-high heat, pour in both cans chickpea liquid AKA aquafaba (save chickpeas for my hummus recipe). Reduce liquid until 1 cup remains. Pour liquid into container and cool in refrigerator overnight (this step is very important).

Meringue Buttercream:

1. In your Kitchen-aid standing mixer, whip the concentrated chickpea liquid for 10-15 minutes until a medium peak has formed.
2. In the meantime, melt the sugar and water in a medium sauce pan on high-heat, 2-3 minutes. Once rolling boil starts, remove from heat and pour into the mixer with chickpea liquid. Make sure to turn the speed down when pouring. 
3. Turn the speed back up to high and whip together for another 8 minutes until meringue -like consistency forms.
4. Once completely cool, add the butter and shortening slowly a little bit at a time until completely mixed. If for any reason it separates, place more fat into the meringue. If it still doesn’t hold, place in the fridge for a couple minutes and re mix or heat the bowl if it appears “curdled”.
5. Add the vanilla and give a good mix. Once frosting has thickened and is a good consistency, you are ready to frost the cake.

Assembling:

1. Smear a small amount of frosting on the bottom your cake boards and place the leveled cake on it.
2. Place one 8-inch round layer down on the plate and add 2 ice cream scoops of the meringue buttercream in a smooth layer. Place the other 8-inch layer on top and use more meringue buttercream. Coat the outside as well for a crumb coat (light layer of frosting to keep crumbs from showing up in the final frosting layer). Place into the fridge to chill while you do the same process with the 6-inch round cakes.
3. Remove from fridge and add buttercream to the outside of the cakes for a final coat.
4. Put three wooden dowels into the bottom layer. Put the 6-inch cake on top and put another wooden dowel in the middle, smearing frosting to cover the hole. Frost the gaps and cracks once you are finished securing the cake.
5. Top with choice of fruit, frosting design, sprinkles, or any other toppings you’d like.

Chef’s tip: If you would like to make a three tiered cake, you will need to triple the recipe.