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A two-tiered almond wedding cake with a white chocolate rose.

High Altitude White Almond Wedding Cake

Heather Smoke
Almond wedding cake for a diy wedding, that's soft, moist and fluffy, frosted with almond buttercream.

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 33 votes
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings25

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer with Paddle and Whisk Attachments
  • 8-inch cake pans (2)
  • 6-inch cake pans (2)

Ingredients
 

Cake

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp almond extract
  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 3 ¼ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
  • 3 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 2 ½ cups whole buttermilk, room temperature

Buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp meringue powder
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 2-4 tbsp whole milk

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of your cake pans with non-stick spray.
    For the tiered cake shown in this post, you'll need two 8-inch pans and two 6-inch pans. Alternatively, you can bake this cake in three 8-inch cake pans for a single-tiered cake.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar for 10 minutes on medium speed (#6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer), scraping the bowl occasionally.
  • Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
  • Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, beating each for 10 seconds before adding the next. Scrape the bowl down and beat for 10 more seconds.
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
  • With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl well and incorporate any stray bits of flour.
  • Divide the batter between the pans. You should divide the batter by scooping 2 cups into each of the 8-inch pans, 1 cup into each of the 6-inch pans, and then evenly dividing any leftover batter between the four pans.
    Bake on the center oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
  • Set the pans on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
  • With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt and mix until combined.
  • Add the vanilla, almond extract and milk (as needed for desired consistency), increase the speed to medium (#4/6 on a Kitchen Aid Mixer) and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy.

Assembly

  • Carefully remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one of the 8-inch cakes on a cake board. It's helpful to use a cake decorating turn table for assembling and frosting your cake.
    Frost the top of the cake with a layer of buttercream. Top with the 2nd 8-inch cake and frost all over with a very thin "crumb coat" of buttercream.
  • Center one of the 6-inch cakes on top. (There's no need to use dowels or supports, since this is a pretty petite cake as far as tiered cakes go.)
    Frost the top of the cake with a layer of buttercream. Top with the 2nd 6-inch cake and frost all over with a very thin "crumb coat" of buttercream.
  • Place the crumb-coated cake in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
  • Frost the cake all over with a pretty, swirly layer of buttercream. It doesn't need to look perfect - the random swoops and swirls are what make this cake so gorgeous.

Notes

Optional:
  • Using all butter in the buttercream will make an ivory buttercream.  If you want a brighter white buttercream (as pictured in this post), substitute vegetable shortening for half of the butter.
  • For even more almond flavor and a little crunch, try adding a handful of finely chopped almonds in between each layer of cake.
  • To make the white chocolate rose, see this video tutorial by Ann Reardon.  Place the rose on the cake before the buttercream crusts over, so that the buttercream acts as "glue" to adhere the flower.
  • If placing real flowers on your cake, be sure they are clean, non-toxic and pesticide free.  Wrap the stems in floral tape before inserting them into your cake.
Storage and Making Ahead:
  • Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days.
  • If baking, decorating and assembling the cake in advance, place the entire assembled cake in a cake box or airtight cake carrier.  Freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Sea Level Ingredient Adjustments (tested by a baker in Ohio):
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 1/4 cups cake flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
Cake Ingredients by Weight:
  • 1 cup unsalted butter = 8 oz / 227 g
  • 2 cups granulated sugar = 15 oz / 425 g
  • 6 large egg whites = 6.6 oz / 190 g
  • 3 1/4 cups cake flour = 13 oz / 368 g
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder = 13 g
  • 2 1/2 cups buttermilk = 20 oz / 567 g
Keyword Almond, Cake, High Altitude Cake, Wedding
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