• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Curly Girl Kitchen
  • about
  • faqs
  • recipes
  • portfolio
  • work with me
  • contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

High Altitude Chocolate Almond Drip Cake

September 9, 2021 by Heather Smoke 1 Comment

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Three layers of moist chocolate sour cream cake, with almond pastry filling, almond buttercream and rich dark chocolate ganache drip. The rich flavor of this high altitude chocolate cake comes from dark, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which is complemented beautifully by the sweet almond pastry filling. Nutty flecks of chopped almonds add texture and flavor to the fluffy buttercream. Topped off with a gorgeous chocolate drip, this cake is just so tempting!

Looking for more recipes like this one? You’ll love this chocolate almond tart, almond roca, chocolate hazelnut cake, and flourless almond cake.

A chocolate almond cake with ganache drip on a black and wood cake stand.

This site contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links.  This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services.  All opinions expressed on this site are my own.

Why You’ll Love This Cake

Uses Simple Pantry Ingredients. While there are a few different elements to this chocolate almond layer cake, the ingredients are simple. Most cooks and bakers will have everything on hand that you need for this cake.

Delicious Textures and Flavors. The soft and moist chocolate cake with the sweet, nutty almond pastry filling is just fantastic. Add some fluffy buttercream and creamy ganache, and there’s just so much to love.

A slice of chocolate almond cake on a white plate.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cake

  • Chocolate Cake. Since I have a whole post already written about my favorite high altitude chocolate cake, I don’t need to repeat everything in today’s post. But if you’d like to read about how to choose the best cocoa powder for your chocolate almond cake, as well as other chocolate cake FAQs, please give it a read!

Filling

  • Almond Filling. The filling is a prepared ingredient, called Almond Cake and Pastry Filling. If you can’t find it, you can leave it out, but it adds a nice nutty almond flavor. It’s very sweet, so a thin layer is all you need, and you’ll have leftovers to use for another recipe.

Buttercream

  • Butter. I make my buttercream with unsalted butter, so if your butter is salted, you should omit the extra salt.
  • Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
  • Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
  • Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almonds.
  • Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
  • Almonds. Crunch, texture and almond flavor.

Ganache

  • Chocolate. When making ganache, you need to use a good-quality dark chocolate. Chocolate chips may be easy, but they don’t melt very smoothly for ganache.
  • Heavy Whipping Cream. You need the high fat content of heavy whipping cream to make a rich, creamy ganache.
Closeup of ganache drip on a chocolate almond cake.

Instructions

Cake

  • Prepare and bake 1 recipe Chocolate Cake in three 8-inch cake pans.
  • Cool the cakes completely before assembling and frosting.

Buttercream

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
  • Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the sugar mixture by spoonfuls, mixing until combined but clumpy.
  • Add the extracts, and increase the speed to medium (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid). Whip for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until very light and fluffy. If the buttercream seems too thick for spreading, beat in a little milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 minute to get rid of air bubbles.
  • Fold in the chopped almonds

Assembly

  • Remove the cooled cakes from the pans, and place one cake on a cake board or cake pedestal.
  • Spread the cake with a thin layer of the almond pastry filling.Spread a layer of buttercream on top of the almond pastry filling.
  • Add the next layer of cake, and spread with almond pastry filling, followed by buttercream.
  • Add the third layer of cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. See this post for a tutorial on crumb coating a cake.
  • Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, smooth it out as much as you like, and chill the cake for 30 minutes.

Ganache

  • Chop the chocolate and scrape it into a bowl.
  • Warm the cream just until hot and beginning to simmer, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until it comes together into a smooth, creamy ganache.
  • Pour the ganache on top of the cake, and use a small offset spatula to spread the ganache out, pushing it over the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.
  • Let the cake sit at room temperature for about an hour for the ganache to set.
A slice of chocolate almond cake on a white plate.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

What cocoa powder should I use for my cake?

Use a good-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the best flavor.

Is this cake fluffy or fudgy?

This is a light and fluffy, not fudgy, chocolate cake with an incredibly moist, tender crumb.

Should I adjust this recipe if I don’t live at high altitude?

If you’re at sea level or low altitude, you may be able to make this recipe exactly as written, but then again, you might need to make a few minor adjustments, such as decreasing the flour by a couple of tablespoons, and increasing the leavening a little. If you’re at a higher altitude than Denver (by more than 1,000 feet), I’d advise increasing the flour by a couple of tablespoons, and slightly decreasing the leavening. This article has great guidelines on how to make specific adjustments for various altitudes.

What if I can’t find almond pastry filling?

If you’re not able to find it at your grocery store, you can buy it on Amazon. You can also try making it yourself, or just leaving it out of the cake.

Where did you find that cake stand?

Right here!

What’s the best chocolate to use for the ganache drip?

I like to use a good-quality bar of chocolate with around 55% cacao for a smooth, creamy texture and bittersweet flavor. Equal parts chocolate and cream makes a thicker ganache, but if you want your drips “drippier”, you should increase the cream just a little for a thinner ganache.

Other Resources

How to Make Perfect American Buttercream

How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost a Layer Cake

A chocolate almond cake with one slice cut.

You Might Also Like

Bars of English toffee stacked on a marble board.
English Toffee
Slice of almond poppy seed cake.
Almond Poppy Seed Cake
Cardamom almond star bread surrounded by Christmas cards and ornaments.
Cardamom Almond Star Bread
Almond cupcakes sprinkled with chopped almonds.
Almond Cupcakes

Favorite Products


Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!

A chocolate almond cake with ganache drip on a black and wood cake stand.

High Altitude Chocolate Almond Drip Cake

Heather Smoke
Three layers of moist chocolate sour cream cake, with almond pastry filling, almond buttercream and rich dark chocolate ganache drip.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings16

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment

Ingredients
 

Cake

  • 1 recipe Chocolate Cake

Filling

  • 6-8 oz Almond Cake and Pastry Filling (optional)

Buttercream

  • 2 cups (1 lb) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ tsp almond extract
  • ⅓ cup raw almonds, very finely chopped

Ganache

  • 3 oz good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
  • 3 oz heavy whipping cream

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Prepare and bake 1 recipe Chocolate Cake in three 8-inch cake pans.
  • Cool the cakes completely before assembling and frosting.

Buttercream

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
  • Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the sugar mixture by spoonfuls, mixing until combined but clumpy.
  • Add the extracts, and increase the speed to medium (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid). Whip for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until very light and fluffy. If the buttercream seems too thick for spreading, beat in a little milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 minute to get rid of air bubbles.
  • Fold in the chopped almonds

Assembly

  • Remove the cooled cakes from the pans, and place one cake on a cake board or cake pedestal.
  • Spread the cake with a thin layer of the almond pastry filling.
    Spread a layer of buttercream on top of the almond pastry filling.
  • Add the next layer of cake, and spread with almond pastry filling, followed by buttercream.
  • Add the third layer of cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. See this post for a tutorial on crumb coating a cake.
  • Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, smooth it out as much as you like, and chill the cake for 30 minutes.

Ganache

  • Chop the chocolate and scrape it into a bowl.
  • Warm the cream just until hot and beginning to simmer, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until it comes together into a smooth, creamy ganache.
  • Pour the ganache on top of the cake, and use a small offset spatula to spread the ganache out, pushing it over the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.
  • Let the cake sit at room temperature for about an hour for the ganache to set.
Keyword Cake, Chocolate, Chocolate Almond, High Altitude Cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/

Filed Under: Cakes

Previous Post: « Heirloom Tomato Galette
Next Post: High Altitude Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Cinnamon Butter »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda D

    February 23, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    5 stars
    I made this cake for my birthday last weekend, and it might just be the best cake I’ve ever had. Days later, we’re all still talking about how delicious it was, especially the almond frosting. It was easy to make following the instructions, just took some time between all the steps. I will be finding reasons to make this again, and I’m already thinking of other ways to use the almond frosting.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Welcome

I'm Heather, and welcome to my Colorado kitchen, where you will find high-altitude tested recipes for beautifully photographed cakes, baked goods and sweets. I believe that the kitchen is the heart of a home, and everyone is welcome in mine. So stay a while, sip a cup of coffee, and bake something delicious with me!

A graphic on how to make perfect American buttercream.
A graphic on how to stack, fill, crumb coat and frost layer cakes.

Recipe Index

  • Breads, Biscuits, Muffins and Doughnuts
  • Breakfast
  • Brownies and Bars
  • Cakes
    • Buttercream
    • Cake Decorating
    • Classic Cake Flavors
  • Candy and Snacks
  • Cheesecakes
  • Christmas and Thanksgiving
    • Christmas Cakes
    • Christmas Cookies
  • Cookies
  • Crisps, Crumbles, Cobblers and Puddings
  • Cupcakes
  • Drinks
  • Halloween
  • How To Guides and Resources
  • Ice Cream and Frozen Treats
    • Frozen Custard
    • Ice Cream Sandwiches
    • No Churn Ice Cream
    • Popsicles
  • Jams and Sweet Sauces
  • Pies and Tarts
  • Savory
  • Uncategorized
A graphic on how I improved my food photography with Foodtography School.
A graphic on how to make flaky pie dough.

Recent Posts

  • High Altitude Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
  • High Altitude Pastel Party Birthday Cake with Lambeth Piping
  • Flower Shaped Strawberry Lemon Sandwich Cookies
  • High Altitude Pecan Caramel Sticky Buns (Caramel Rolls)
  • High Altitude Red Wine Chocolate Cake
  • High Altitude Carrot Crumb Coffee Cake
  • High Altitude Mini Eggless Funfetti Cake for Two
  • High Altitude Flourless Monster Cookies (GF, Dairy Free)
  • Soft and Chewy High Altitude Chocolate Chip Blondies
  • High Altitude Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies (Dairy Free)

Archives

  • about
  • faqs
  • recipes
  • portfolio
  • work with me
  • contact

Footer

I'm Heather, and welcome to Curly Girl Kitchen, where you will find high-altitude tested recipes for beautifully photographed cakes and sweets. I believe that the kitchen is the heart of a home, and everyone is welcome in mine. So stay a while, sip a cup of coffee, and bake something sweet with me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Privacy Policy

About

FAQs

Work With Me

Contact

Copyright © 2023 Curly Girl Kitchen on the Foodie Pro Theme