1 ½cupsall purpose flour,fluffed, spooned and leveled
½cupfinely ground almond flour
¾tspbaking powder
½tspcoarse Kosher salt(if using table salt, use half the amount)
⅛tspground cardamom
Icing
¾cuppowdered sugar
½tspalmond extract
¼tspvanilla extract
5-6tbspheavy whipping cream
2tbspchopped or sliced almonds
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a loaf pan with a parchment paper "sling" so the paper hangs over two sides. Then spray the paper and ends of the pan with non-stick baking spray.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan, and the butter has a layer of foam on top. Immediately remove from the heat and scrape the butter, including the browned bits, into a mixing bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Add the sugar to the butter and whisk until combined, then gradually add the milk, sour cream, extracts and eggs, whisking until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk the batter for about 15 seconds, until smooth.
Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it and the crust is golden brown and slightly cracked. It should take about 45-55 minutes to bake.
Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then grab the paper to lift the cake out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Cool until slightly warm or room temperature, before serving.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or freeze indefinitely.
Icing
For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, almond extract and cream until smooth, then drizzle over the cake while it's slightly warm.
Sprinkle with the almonds before the icing crusts over. Let the icing set completely before slicing.
Notes
Room Temperature Ingredients: Your cold dairy ingredients (butter, eggs and milk) need to be at room temperature before mixing this cake. Set them out several hours before you plan on baking so they can warm up.
Leftovers: Pound cake freezes extremely well, so leftovers can be wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container to enjoy later.