White Almond Sour Cream Cake

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We LOVE this White Almond Sour Cream Cake! It is so moist and delicious with a velvety soft texture and fine crumb.

This cake has been one of our most popular cake recipes from scratch over the years, and is definitely one of my favorites! We have a cake mix version (WASC Cake) as well!

Delicious Scratch White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com

How to Make White Almond Sour Cream Cake

This delicious scratch White Almond Sour Cream Cake is a creamy and flavorful cake, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

This is thanks in part to the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing, which calls ingredients to be added in a different order than the traditional creaming method. The result is a slightly dense, velvety soft cake (as with our chocolate cake from scratch and orange dreamsicle cake).

You can find the full white almond sour cream cake recipe below, but here is a quick look at our steps!

  1. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch pans.
  2. In a small bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, almond extract, milk, & sour cream. Whisk until blended & set aside.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients (cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt) in the mixer for 30 seconds so the baking powder and salt will be well incorporated into the flour and sugar.
  4. Slowly add the pieces of butter a few at a time while the mixer is on medium speed. Beat for approximately 1 minute or until the dry ingredients are crumbly and moistened by the butter, giving it the look of coarse sand. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
  5. Next, slowly add approx. half of the egg mixture with the mixer on very low speed then increasing to medium speed for 1½ minutes. The batter will be thick and fluffy. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in two pourings, scraping the bowl and beating for 20 seconds after each addition.
  6. Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans.
  7. Finally, bake the cake layers at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans 10 minutes then turn out. Makes 7 cups batter

Recipe FAQs

You will notice in the photo that the white almond sour cream cake itself is not stark white, due to the fact that we use the whole eggs (rather than just the egg whites), and butter instead of shortening.  

This gives the cake a soft yellow shade. The egg yolks and butter add richness and flavor to the recipe, and so we do not mind the yellow crumb.

If you'd like to try a cake that is lighter in color, don't miss our delicious White Velvet Cake! It contains cream cheese which adds richness and seems to lighten the color as well! Our scratch White Cake is another great option too!

I just love the balance of vanilla with a hint of almond in this flavorful recipe. However, as subtle as the almond flavoring is, if you are truly not a fan of almond, you are going to notice it.

No worries! Simply leave out the almond flavoring and you will have an amazingly moist and flavorful White Sour Cream Cake! You can substitute additional vanilla for the almond extract if you'd like!

This White Almond Sour Cream Cake is amazing with so many different fillings and frostings. It is hard to pick a favorite! In the photo, we have frosted our cake with our Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe. 

You can find a listing of our favorite frostings in the Frostings and Glazes category of our Recipes section. Here are a few more ideas:

Yes! Just as with most of our cake recipes, from orange cake to lemon cake, pound cake, and more, these white almond sour cream layers freeze beautifully. Make life easier and work well in advance! They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months.

Once your cake layers have cooled (or almost cooled completely), wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap followed by foil. For more stability, we often freeze each layer on a foil-wrapped cardboard cake circle before wrapping. Into the freezer they go!

To Thaw: Move the wrapped layers from the freezer to the kitchen counter. Allow to sit, still wrapped, on the counter for 30-45 minutes before unwrapping. Thaw to desired amount for assembling the cake. (Some bakers like to assemble their cake layers while still partially frozen as they are less fragile.).

Sour cream adds a wonderful richness to cakes and it also enhances the texture. The boost of acidity softens strands of gluten in the cake batter, making for a more tender cake.

Some of our other favorite cakes that call for sour cream are: Chocolate Bundt Cake, Orange Dreamsicle Cake, Chocolate Cake from Scratch, and Pumpkin Spice Cake!

Amazing White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe from Scratch! Super moist and delicious! My Cake School Cake Recipes, Cake Tutorials, and More!

More Cakes with Almond Flavor

We've made several almond cakes over the years! While this White Almond Sour Cream Cake has a light almond flavor, others like our popular Almond Cake recipe have a rich almond flavor.

We also have an a great Almond Cream Cake, Almond Coconut Cake, Lemon Almond Cake, and many more!

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this recipe. Make sure to check out our full collection of Vanilla Cakes (which also includes yellow cakes and white cakes)!

Our Vanilla Velvet Cake and Vanilla Buttermilk Cake are two more popular options!

Keep this White Almond Sour Cream cake in mind the next time you need a birthday cake recipe, potluck dessert, bridal or baby shower cake, holiday cake recipe, and more.

We have hundreds more cake recipes and free cake decorating tutorials to share with you!

Amazing White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe from Scratch! Super moist and delicious! My Cake School Cake Recipes, Cake Tutorials, and More!

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

This super moist and delicious scratch White Almond Sour Cream Cake is rich with a velvety soft texture. Perfect when paired fruity frostings, chocolate frostings, vanilla buttercream, and more.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 0
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Ingredients

  • 3 Large eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.)
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract (8g)
  • 1 tsp. almond extract (4g)
  • c milk (73g)
  • 1 cup sour cream (242g)
  • 2 ½ c cake flour (285g)
  • 1 ½ c granulated sugar (300g)
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder (12g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened (170g) unsalted butter, slightly softened (Do not soften in microwave). It shouldn't be overly soft, but soft enough to easily dent when pressed.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch pans.
  • This recipe uses the reverse creaming method of mixing- the order of ingredients is a bit different than the traditional method.
  • In a small bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, milk, & sour cream. Whisk until blended & set aside.
  • Mix the dry ingredients (cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt) in the mixer for 30 seconds so the baking powder and salt will be well incorporated into the flour and sugar.
  • Slowly add the pieces of butter a few at a time while the mixer is on medium speed. Beat for approximately 1 minute or until the dry ingredients are crumbly and moistened by the butter, giving it the look of coarse sand. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
  • It is important to SLOWLY add approx. ½ of the egg mixture with the mixer on very low speed then increasing to medium speed for 1½ minutes -- the batter will be thick and fluffy. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, scraping the bowl and beating for 20 seconds after each addition. It is now ready to pour into pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pans 10 minutes then turn out. Makes 7 cups batter
4.43 from 57 votes (57 ratings without comment)

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317 Comments

  1. Hi Melissa! I am happy to have a subscription at Mycakeschool! I decided to have it because I was really interested in making one of your Christmas carving cake! I have some questions about this white cake before I try to make it. First: Is it imperative to use cake flour? Why am I asking? Because I tried twice and I really didn't like. Everyone says that the cake flour is great to make cakes because gives a tender result. But for me was the opposite. It was heavy and I didn't like the texture. But I have never used "real " cake flour, I substituted the all-purpose-flour for cake flour by using the proportion of cornstarch I read somewhere, and I also read a comment here that you made about it. Is this can be a reason or not at all? If so, I will definitely buy the cake flour then. Another thing is that I can't find sour cream here, but I read some comments on substitute for yogurt. I have here "slagrom" which is 35% fat, is this ok or it it better to use yogurt? I have also creme fraiche. Well, I appreciate your reply and once again thanks for this great website and everything nice here!=)

  2. Hi Marcela, If you found the cake to be too dense and heavy the problem was probably the reverse creaming method, some members do have difficulty it. Substituting all-purpose flour plus cornstarch should not have caused a problem. The next time you make the recipe I think you might prefer to use the conventional mixing method. Here is a link:

    https://www.mycakeschool.com/images/2015/11/White-Almond-Sour-Cream-Cake-.pdf

    The conventional mixing method will give to a lighter texture to your cake. I am not familiar with "slagrom" so I suggest you use plain yogurt instead of sour cream in the recipe. Let me know if you have other questions.

  3. Hi Melissa! Thanks so much for your reply! I will follow your advice and I will make the recipe using the conventional mixing method. And slagroom is whipped cream. Sorry, I didn't realize I haven't translated the Dutch word into English. I wanna take this chance to share with you my cake! Thanks a million for the wonderful "class"!=D Tell me your opinion about the cake, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!

  4. @Marcela- I don't know how we missed your sweet snowman cake but it is ADORABLE! You did such a great job, thanks for sharing it with us! xo

  5. I tried this cake tonight and while it tasted really good the texture was not anything like the picture. It was dense and had a streak through it that looked like it wasn't done. Did I over beat the batter or perhaps I mixed it on to high of speed? Your suggestions are appreciated and Thank You in advance! :)

  6. Great recipe, Thank you Melissa and Be Be. I am a huge fan of this recipe. I used pineapple flavoring instead of almond and came out superb. I got so many compliments for the taste and texture. I am posting the cake pic.
    You girls are doing great job. Big fan of your recipes.
    Thanks a lot.. ?

  7. Hi Tisha, I'm so happy you like the recipe! The pineapple flavoring sounds like a great option, we'll have to try that. Your cake looks amazing, beautiful work!! Thanks so much for posting a picture!

  8. Hello,
    Can I refrigrate the leftover batter for couple of hours?
    Is it ok to keep it on the kitchen counter?
    TIA

  9. Hi Tisha, when it is not possible to use the batter right away, I would refrigerate. If you can put it into the cake pans the batter will be baked in, that is the best way to refrigerate it.

  10. Hello Melissa and Be Be!! I have a question for you!=P I wanna make this cake for carving, not too much, but some carving, and I am wondering if I make it on this coming Friday ( Feb.9 2018) and freeze it until March 6, when I will be able to work with it, it will work well? I wanna make four cakes, but two white-almond sour cream, and two of your champagne pink cake. Do you think it will be okay freezing them and thaw to carving? Is there another possibility that you might consider too? Thanks in advance!