Vanilla Almond Cake

My sister loves her afternoon tea and I love to bake. One day while I was visiting her, she asked me to bake her a cake that she could enjoy with her tea, so I set out on a mission to find the perfect tea time cake recipe!

Since she is very picky with her cakes, it took me a while to find a recipe that she would like. First, I baked her a coffee crumb cake which I didn't quite like because although the recipe called for simple ingredients, the method had a number of steps which made it complicated and I was looking for something simple yet delicious so I continued my search and stumbled upon a recipe for an almond cake. The original recipe was too sweet and consisted of ingredients that didn't satisfy my tastebuds so I made some changes and after much trial and error, I came up with this gorgeous and super simple vanilla almond cake. This cake is light, has the right texture and is the perfect snack to enjoy with your tea. I've made this cake multiple times and everybody just loves it (even people who don't care for plain cakes).

Numerous almond cake recipes call for the use of almond extract which like most extracts is a concentrated liquid. Almond extract is made up of almond oil and it gives baked goods an almond flavor. I personally do not like the taste of almond extract so I use non alcoholic vanilla extract instead. It gives the cake a less bitter taste as compared to almond extract.

There are a few things to keep in mind while preparing to bake this cake:

• Make sure to have all your ingredients at room temperature: this helps to trap air which then expands as your cakes bakes and results in a fluffy cake
• In order to get a cake that has a flat top, pop your baking dish in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before you pour the batter into it
• Keep a close eye on the cake after 25 minutes to make sure you don’t over bake since over baking will result in a dry and hard cake

When made without the almonds, this cake can also be used as a basic vanilla cake that can be frosted with buttercream or whipped cream.

Let's move on to the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup buttermilk or whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds
• 1/2 tsp butter for greasing pan or parchment paper

Instructions:

1. Remove odd pots and pans from the oven. Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C
2. Grease an 8-inch baking dish with butter (Or line with parchment paper). Set aside
3. In a bowl, mix the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
4. In another bowl whisk oil and sugar for 60-90 seconds.
5. Add eggs and vanilla to the mixture and whisk until well combined
6. Next, add the milk and whisk slowly until the milk is combined with the rest of the ingredients
7. Add the flour mixture (dry ingredients) to the eggs mixture (wet ingredients) and beat until you get a smooth batter
8. Pour the batter into the prepared dish, top with roasted almonds and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.