24 May Buttermilk Almond Bundt Cake
Confession.
If there is such thing as a hoarder gene, I think I may have it. Not full on, TLC Hoarding: Buried Alive status, but I think there is a tiny little hoarder living somewhere in the back alleyways of my brain.
We are having a garage sale this weekend and I’m finding myself coming up with the most stupid excuses not to get rid of silly little things. I’ve always been a sentimental person, but come onnnn. I need to pull it together.
As I was sitting in my closet, among a pile of purses I haven’t used in years, my inner monologue went something like this:
Rational me: Katie, do you really need that stained coach purse from 2004 with gum stuck to the inside?
Hoarder me: It was my first “fancy” purse ever! It has meaning.
Rational me: No, no it doesn’t.
And then I shove it into the bottom of the “sale” bag before I have time to change my mind and put it back in it’s home at the very back of my closet. I spent a good hour playing this game tonight. That’s normal right? On a scale of 1 to hoarder, where does that put me?
Anyway, let’s talk Buttermilk Almond Bundt Cake. Let me start by asking, is it just me or does almond extract not really taste like almonds? I mean, I don’t really mind. Whatever it tastes like, I’m into it. And because of the oodles of almond extract and buttermilk in this cake, it smelled heavenly as it baked.
Another confession.
My cake turned out a little dry so I added an additional 1/4 cup of buttermilk to the recipe below and shaved a few minutes off of the cooking time. I honestly think it was because I was fighting my inner hoarder instead of watching the cake to make sure it didn’t over-bake. Don’t let my whoops scare you off, the flavor is divine.
My recipe is adapted from this recipe on AllRecipes.com, which has rave reviews. I wanted a rich buttermilk flavor so I substituted buttermilk for the regular milk. Since buttermilk has a high acid content I had to alter the amount of leavening agent in the cake. I eliminated the baking soda all together and added 1/2 tsp of baking soda. You can read about the chemistry of leavening agents here.
That’s all folks. Have a great Memorial Day!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup almonds, ground
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a bundt pan
- In a food processor, grind almonds into powder.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add ground almonds and mix thoroughly with a fork.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs one a time, mixing until well incorporated. Add extracts and mix well.
- Beat in the flour and buttermilk alternately, until just combined.
- Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack before glazing.
- In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, milk and almond extract until smooth.
- Your cake should be cool on a wire rack. Place wax paper underneath so that the glaze can drain.
- Pour glaze over cake and garnish with slivered almonds.
amanda
Posted at 17:48h, 16 JuneI had high hopes but this turned out woefully undercooked after baking for an hour. It came out like a solid pudding, I think it would be great if I had followed the cooking time on the allrecipes one, also not sure about the buttermilk. It looked brilliant and the flavour was great, shame it wasn’t really cake!
KWahlman
Posted at 20:40h, 16 JuneOh no! I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out well for you. Unfortunately, ovens vary so much that cooking time is only something I can estimate, based on the ovens in my home. Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, though!
Christine
Posted at 20:24h, 14 JulyI just made this cake today and it turned out incredible. Followed your recipe to the letter and it came out perfect. I honestly have not had a prettier bundt cake and it was so moist, not dry at all. My biggest compliment was from my son who said that I made the best cake ever. Thank you so much for the awesome recipe!
KWahlman
Posted at 20:35h, 14 JulyThis just brought a huge smile to my face! I’m so glad you and your little one enjoyed it!
Gena
Posted at 16:22h, 02 DecemberFantastic!! I used this recipe to make mini bundt cakes in my heavy duty Nordic Ware pan that makes six little cakes at a time. It made a total of 12 cakes and I didn’t change a thing except it only took 22-25 min. for them to bake. They were absolutely perfect and mouthwatering. I will use this recipe to make many Christmas gifts this year. I give it 5 stars!
KWahlman
Posted at 17:35h, 02 DecemberThanks Gena! I’m so glad they worked out in the smaller pan! Happy Holidays!
Courtney
Posted at 01:40h, 14 DecemberMy niece asked for an almond bundt on her 16th Birthday and we came across this recipe and gave it a try. YUM! I did make a couple of small tweaks just because that’s what I do with recipes, but I think even with none it would be just as fantastic! So moist, lovely delicate flavors and the perfect easy bundt. I have another one in the oven right now for a dessert auction for my non-profit arts education foundation! Thanks for this great recipe!
KWahlman
Posted at 11:29h, 14 DecemberAwesome! So glad you liked it, Courtney!!
Kathleen
Posted at 16:46h, 16 MarchYou say you eliminated the baking soda entirely, but it’s in the ingredient list. Somewhere thetre should be baking powder???
KWahlman
Posted at 09:05h, 17 MarchHi Kathleen! Sorry, that’s a typo. I eliminated the baking POWDER entirely, so use the baking soda that is listed! Apparently my proofreading was a little sloppy back in my early blogging days when I posted this recipe. Thanks for catching that!
Robyn Glenn
Posted at 16:48h, 16 SeptemberHi! I would love to use this cake to make layers for a naked cake for my sons birthday party. What flavor frosting would you suggest putting in-between the layers? Thank you!
KWahlman
Posted at 21:34h, 16 SeptemberHi Robyn! There are so many possibilities! I love to make birthday cakes personal to the birthday boy/girl so I’d try to incorporate one of your son’s favorite flavors. A couple of ideas that come to mind: chocolate buttercream with almond extract and orange zest, a simple cream cheese icing (try adding a little honey and cinnamon), or even a classic vanilla buttercream spiked with a little amaretto would be delicious!