White Almond Sour Cream Cake

Name: White Almond Sour Cream Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 80 min
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)); 1/3 c milk ((73g)); 1 cup sour cream ((242g)); 2 1/2 c cake flour ((285g)); 1 1/2 c granulated sugar ((300g)); 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder ((12g)); 1/2 teaspoon salt ((3g)); 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened

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!

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch pans.

In a small bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, 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.

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.

Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans.

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.

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)!

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!

Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!

4.43 from 57 votes (57 ratings without comment)

317 Comments

Linda M. says:

November 4, 2018 at 10:54 pm

Looks delicious! How long would I bake cupcakes for?

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BeBe says:

November 5, 2018 at 7:46 am

Hi Linda, For standard size cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, check at 18 minutes. The cupcakes will bake with a very slight dome.

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Linda Mays says:

November 5, 2018 at 8:33 am

Thank you! I’m so glad I found your site. I’m going to follow you on Pinterest ?

Reply
Mihaelia Antoniadou says:

January 4, 2019 at 4:42 pm

I want to try this recipe but it is difficult to find sour cream here in Greece... can I substitute this with buttermilk, sour milk or yoghurt?

Reply
BeBe says:

January 4, 2019 at 5:06 pm

Hi Mihaelia, Yes, you can substitute yogurt for the sour cream. I prefer greek yogurt or regular plain yogurt. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.

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Vernette says:

February 5, 2019 at 1:50 pm

Can I turn this cake into a three layer cake?

Reply
Paula M. says:

February 8, 2019 at 7:43 pm

I just made this cake using the conventional method. I did a test run and made: 1-8", 1 6" and 1 cupcake. I like taller layers so I used a bit more batter per pan. Each layer rose to about 1 1/2" tall. There was a small dome in the 6". I like taller layers of cake in my cakes, but each layer could easily be torted. The cupcake was great. Slightest dome. No sticking to the paper liner. Dense but fine crumb, but fluffy too. Light color inside. Not white, but not yellow, and lighter than other vanilla's I have made. I used the 2 tsp of vanilla, but changed the almond to 3/4 tsp. Very subtle. All in all, this will probably be my go to for vanilla and white. Thank you Melissa and BeBe!

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Paula M. says:

February 9, 2019 at 12:58 am

A question regarding my last post..to make this cake whiter in color, would the taste and texture change a lot if I eliminated the yolks, adding the whites only? I know I could use clear vanilla as well. Very good cake!

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BeBe says:

February 9, 2019 at 1:49 pm

Hi Paula, I 'm happy you enjoyed the WASC cake. Without trying it, I am not sure how much the taste and texture would change. I think you would like our white cake recipe, it has only egg whites and 2 Tablespoons less butter than the WASC. We refer to our recipe as a white cake but a true white cake has no butter, using shortening instead. We like the white cake recipe very much. It can be rewritten into the conventional mixing method, if you like. Link below

https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes-tutorials/white-cake-recipe-from-scratch-new-version/

Reply
Paula M. says:

February 17, 2019 at 2:49 pm

Thank you so much for your reply BeBe. I like your picture with your name!
I would like to try your suggestion of the white cake with egg whites, but I do prefer the traditional method of mixing as opposed to the reverse method. Do you by chance have this recipe written as conventional? Thank you!

Reply
BeBe says:

February 17, 2019 at 9:05 pm

Hi Paula, Someone else requested the traditional method and it is posted in the comment section of the White Cake recipe. Look for the post made 10-16-17. I like both methods and usually use the traditional but I like the Reverse creaming also. We have been working on the reverse creaming to simplify it so members will find it easier to follow. The Yellow Cake recipe is the one I have been working on and I think we will be posting it soon. I think it is quicker to make a cake using that method. It has a finer crumb yet a soft taste. I

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Carmel says:

February 28, 2019 at 9:53 am

Hi there,

I LOVE this recipe and get so many rave reviews when I use it (mind you I have never actually used the almond extract). I was just asked to make a lemon cake and I thought why not try this recipe with lemon extract instead of almond. Would it work? Do you know if I would use the same amount or a little bit more than a tsp? Thanks!

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