Happy Easter! This towering high Chocolate Almond Layer Cake will make a cute addition to your Easter brunch buffet. Almond cake layers with a rich, semi-sweet chocolate ganache buttercream. Who can resist?! Using 5-inch cake pans will achieve the towering affect, but the cake can easily be made with 6-inch pans for a lower, wider cake.
Cake
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup Unsalted Challenge Butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon almond extract
Buttercream
- 4 egg whites
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅔ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 sticks Unsalted Challenge Butter, room temperature
- 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Make the Cake
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1
Preheat oven to 350° and grease three 5-inch (or 6-inch) round cake pans.
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2
In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together until pale and thickened, about 1 minute.
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3
Combine flour, almond flour and baking powder, set aside.
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4
Mix together milk, melted butter and almond extract, set aside.
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5
With the mixer running, add the wet ingredients.
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6
Once the batter is well combined, turn the mixer on low speed and add the dry ingredients. Mix for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don’t overbeat.
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7
Pour batter into the prepared baking pans.
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8
Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of the layer comes out clean.
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9
Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a thin knife, then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper.
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10
Let cool completely before covering with frosting.
Make the Buttercream
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1
Make a ganache by melting 2 sticks of butter and the chocolate chips in a microwave save dish. Stir until well combined and place in freezer for about 20-30 minutes to cool down.
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2
Bring the water and granulated sugar to a boil.
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3
At the same time, beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and once they start to get frothy, add the cream of tartar. Keep beating until stiff peaks form.
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4
Once the syrup reaches the soft boil stage (you will need a candy thermometer), pour it into the egg whites with the mixer running on slow speed.
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5
Keep beating the meringue for about 15 minutes on high speed until it cooled down and has reached a glossy and dense consistency.
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6
Once the ganache is cooled down and hardened a bit, add it to the buttercream and beat for about 5 minutes.
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7
Sift powdered sugar and cocoa together and add to buttercream, beat until well combined.
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!
Make sure neither the meringue nor the ganache are too hot when mixing with the butter, otherwise the buttercream will get runny. In that case, place in the fridge and beat again.
Decorate the Buttercream
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1
Cut off the tops of all 3 cakes and layer with the buttercream.
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2
Decorate with candied eggs or candied almonds.
