Jun 28, 2011

Cake Recipe - Just In Time for the Fourth

While I was visiting my parents in NY last week, my girls asked if we could make a dessert together (you've probably noticed, I have a little bit of a sweet tooth, so of course I said yes!).  We decided to make the Almond-Scented White Cake with cream cheese frosting from Williams-Sonoma and add layers and layers of berries for color to resemble our American flag, perfect for the fourth of July!

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The cake was a HUGE hit.... we all loved it and definitely ate more than once piece.  Needless to say, this cake didn't sit around too long.

Ingredients for the cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup milk
5 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
Raspberries
1 1/4 cups sliced almonds

The girls love helping in the kitchen, so they sifted the dry ingredients while I mixed the butter, sugar and liquids together, then the egg whites... then we combined everything together and finally our cake mix was ready for the oven.

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The recipe called for two 9" round cake pans (sliced in half horizontally once cooked), but to make it easier, I used three 8" disposable cake pans so I wouldn't have to slice anything.  I poured the batter into the cake pans and put them all in the oven at the same time to bake at 350ºF for about 22 minutes (until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean).

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Once the cakes were finished baking, I let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes.  Then I took the cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

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Once the cakes were completely cooled, I made the frosting and decorated the cake (the girls had disappeared by now.... well, until they heard the mixer again.  Then they were asking to taste spoonfuls of frosting).

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:
1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

I mixed the cream cheese and butter together using an electric mixer, then added the confectioners' sugar.  Once the mixture was smooth, I beat in the vanilla and almond extracts until it was well blended.

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I put one 8" cake on a platter and spread the cream cheese frosting on the top...

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Over the cream cheese frosting, I spread raspberry preserves...

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Then added another cake layer on top of the preserves...

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.... and spread another layer of frosting and preserves, then added the final cake layer and more frosting...

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Once the layers were done and the top frosted, I spread frosting along the side...

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Then pressed the almonds around the sides (and cleaned up the edges)...

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... then added a ring of fresh raspberries around the bottom of the cake...

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... then quartered strawberries and stood them upright around the top edge of the cake, then piled fresh blueberries in the middle...

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When the cake is cut, the layers are soooo pretty!

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This cake was absolutely delicious.... it was moist, creamy, fruity and perfectly sweet!

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I'll be making this again for the fourth (and more throughout the year -- could be a great Christmas dessert too!).... and the husband (who is not usually a cake-eater) can't wait (me neither!)!  If you'll be making this too, Williams-Sonoma has an easy print-out of their Almond-Scented White Cake recipe here.

What will you be making for the fourth?

Linking up to Beauty and Bedlam, Not Just A Housewife, Skip To My Lou, Hope Studios, Savvy Southern Style, Somewhat Simple, Paisley Passions, Lady Behind the Curtain, The 36th Avenue, House of Hepworths, Trendy Treehouse, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Not So Simple Housewife, I Heart Naptime, Sumo's Sweet Stuff and Lady Behind the Curtain.

29 comments:

  1. That looks incredible! Every 4th of July I make what I call "Sparklers" pretzels rods dipped in melted chocolate, then rolled in sprinkles. I only make them once a year, so the kids love them. We take them to our local fireworks and eat and watch!

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  2. This looks so good! I might try it for Monday... thank you so much!

    Yummy!

    Love,
    Traci @ Ordinary Inspirations
    (come see my frappe recipe!)
    http://www.ordinaryinspirations.blogspot.com

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  3. Wow, that looks incredible! I love the toasted almonds on the side! Berries are really good this time of the year so this recipe is a keeper. ~Yvonne

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  4. @Suzanne - such a great idea.... I think I'm going to add the chocolate pretzel rods to our menu for the fourth :)))

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  5. This looks wonderful. Thanks for the recipe and thanks for joining WUW.

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  6. This cake caught my eye at Savvy Southern Style! What a beautiful cake, and it looks so tasty, too!!!

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  7. WOW!
    I'd love for you to share this at my link party... I am doing a post about red, white and blue treats and this would be perfect!

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  8. looks wonderful, happy holiday to you~

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  9. This looks so good. What a beautiful cake! I have a recipe link party "Cast Party Wednesday" I would love it if you came over and shared some of your recipes with us.
    Thanks,
    I hope to see you there!

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  10. Thanks for the invite! All linked up :)

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  11. Hello! I am visiting from Savvy Southern Style! This cake looks beautiful and delicious. I just printed off the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  12. You just got a STICKER from me at The 36th Avenue...

    The post will be up on an hour or so ;)

    Thank you for sharing!

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  13. @Desiree - Thanks so much for the feature!!!

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  14. I love this idea! I'm now hungry!

    I'm visiting over from funkyjunkinteriors. I'm hosting my first ever blog party and its all 4th of July-all Red, White, and Blue! I'd love for you to link up and share with me!

    http://notsosimplehousewife.blogspot.com/2011/07/4th-of-july-link-party.html

    Hope to see you over at my place soon!
    Kaitlin
    http://notsosimplehousewife.blogspot.com

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  15. @Kaitlin - Thanks for the invite.... the recipe is linked :)

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  16. YUM! this looks amazing...both delicious and beautiful! I am featuring this recipe on my blog tomorrow, so feel free to come check it out and grab a featured button if you would like! Also, I am your newest follower and would love it if you would follow my blog too! Happy 4th!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  17. @Nikki - Thanks so much for the feature!!!

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  18. Thanks for linking up your recipe at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you come back tomorrow and share some more of your awesome recipes!
    Thanks,
    I hope to see you there!

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  19. I'll be there... thanks for the invite :)

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  20. Thank you so much for linking this up! It is simply beautiful! I would love a slice of that right about now! I love it! So cute! Perfect for my first blog party celebrating the 4th of July!

    I'm hosting my first ever weekly blog party and it starts today! It is called {re}create into something new! So please link up anything that you have reinvented, repurposed, recycled, revamped, reused, reorganized or redone! http://notsosimplehousewife.blogspot.com/2011/07/recreate-into-something-new-blog-party.html

    Thanks again!
    Kaitlin--The Not So Simple Housewife
    http://notsosimplehousewife.blogspot.com

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  21. I'd love to... thanks for the invite!

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  22. Thank you for sharing your recipe with me at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you will come back tomorrow and share more of your recipes.
    Thanks,
    I hope to see you there!

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