High Altitude Almond Amaretto Cake

This high altitude almond amaretto cake is brushed with amaretto liqueur, and frosted with piped drop flower almond buttercream. If you love almond cakes and pastries, this tempting almond cake with amaretto is a must bake!

You might also love these high altitude recipes for classic almond shortbread cookies, almond poppy seed cake, cardamom almond star bread, and almond biscotti.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

So Much Almond Flavor. If you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that there’s no such thing as too much almond extract. It’s a flavor I absolutely adore. And this cake has plenty of almond flavor with almond flour and almond extract in the cake, not to mention the amaretto liqueur brushed over the cake.

Amaretto. And while we’re talking about how good almond flavored cakes and pastries are, it only makes sense to enhance that flavor with amaretto. Amaretto is a sweet almond flavored liqueur with subtle hints of cherry, but it doesn’t necessarily contain almonds. It can be made from apricot kernels, almonds or peach stones, or a combination of all three. By brushing the liqueur onto the baked cakes, you get more flavor as well as a very moist almond cake.

Smaller Size. Today’s cake is a three layer, 6-inch cake, which serves 8 people. See the recipe variations section below for how to make a larger, standard sized cake for up to 16 people.

Moist and Buttery. With brown butter, whole milk and sour cream, this almond amaretto cake is slightly dense, rich, moist, tender and buttery. If you’re looking for a lighter, fluffier almond layer cake recipe, then please see my almond poppy seed cake.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

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

Ingredients

Cake

• Butter. To add the most incredible flavor to this cake, don’t skip the step of browning the butter first.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Eggs. Gives the cake structure and helps the batter to hold together.
• Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
• Whole Milk + Sour Cream. Adds fat and moisture for a moist, tender cake.
• Flour. I used a blend of all purpose flour and cake flour for a slightly lighter texture in my almond amaretto cake. The flour gives the cake structure and strength.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almonds.
• Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises when it bakes.
• Cardamom. A spice commonly paired with almonds in Scandinavian baked goods, cardamom adds a lovely complementary flavor to the almonds.
• Almond Flour. The almond flour not only adds more almond flavor, but also moisture and a nutty richness that makes this cake just so good. You can also use very finely chopped almonds if you don’t have almond flour, although the texture of the cake won’t be quite as soft as if you use almond flour.
• Amaretto. The amaretto liqueur will not be added to the cake batter. Instead, you’ll be brushing it over the baked cakes for flavor and extra moisture.

Buttercream

• Butter. I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted and just omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown milk solids form at the bottom of the pan. This process might take about 10 minutes. First the butter will hiss and splatter as the water evaporates, then as it quiets down, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter. This means the butter is done.
• Immediately remove from the heat, and scrape the butter, including the brown milk solids, into a large bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.

• In a bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter with the granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, milk and sour cream, until combined.

• In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder and cardamom. Add the almond flour, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed.

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking just until moistened.

• Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched, or a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Set the pans on a wire rack, covered with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
• Prick the cakes with a toothpick or cake skewer, then use a pastry brush to brush the Amaretto liqueur over the cakes, letting it soak in before assembling and frosting your cake.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla extract and almond extract for 1 minute, until smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing on low until combined. Whip the buttercream on medium high speed for 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down several times while mixing. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute.

• Assemble the cake layers, filling and frosting them with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before frosting with a final coat of buttercream.
• For the drop flower design on today’s cake, fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with buttercream. Pipe drop flowers all over the cake, until it’s completely covered.

Recipe Variations

8-Inch Layer Cake. For a larger, three-layer 8-inch cake that feeds up to 16 people, double the cake recipe. You will not need to double the buttercream, though. If you’re just frosting the cake all over with a simple coat of buttercream, the buttercream recipe will yield enough for an 8 inch layer cake. If you’re piping the drop flowers, you’ll need to scale the buttercream recipe up by 25%.

Sheet Cake. Bake the cake in a 9 inch square baking dish, or double the recipe for a 9×13 inch pan.

Bundt Cake. This is a recipe that would work great in a bundt pan. You can make the recipe as is for a small 6-cup bundt pan, or scale it up for a 10-12 cup bundt pan.

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

How should I store leftover cake?

You should store this cake in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can this cake be frozen?

Yes, you can freeze the fully assembled and frosted cake in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature for 5-6 hours.

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