High Altitude Mini Almond Poppy Seed Cake
A mini almond poppy seed cake with vintage buttercream piping, in a small size that's just enough for four people.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 4-inch Round Cake Pans (x2) (or two 6-inch round cake pans)
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp poppy seeds
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 tbsp whole milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
Buttercream
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp meringue powder, optional
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- ¼ tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the insides of two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.You can also use two 6-inch round cake pans, but the cake layers will be very thin. If using 6 inch pans, your cakes will need 5-10 minutes less to bake.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds.
- Separately, whisk together the melted butter, oil, milk, egg, vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined. Divide the batter between the pans.
- Bake the cakes for about 20-22 minutes, until the centers of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cakes, then turn them out of the pans. Let cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- Using an electric mixer (either stand or hand-held), beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- If needed, slice a small portion of the domed top off the cakes before frosting.
- Stack and frost the cakes with the buttercream, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Fit a disposable piping bag with tip 1M and fill with buttercream. Add some decorative vintage piping on the cake, if desired, and decorate with bows.
Notes
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
This cake is wonderful with a jam filling between the layers. Apricot or raspberry jam is especially good with almond cake.
If decorating the cake with bows, remove the bows (as well as the wires securing them) before cutting and serving the cake.
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