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4.77 from 38 votes

Cherry Almond Cake

Light, airy from-scratch maraschino cherry almond cake with pink almond and cherry flavored buttercream. Top with simple little cherry "flowers"!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cherry cake, layer cake, mothers day cake, pink cake, valentine's day cake
Servings: 15 servings
Calories: 710kcal
Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup milk 2% or higher fat
  • 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
  • 16 maraschino cherries finely chopped
  • 4 large egg whites

For the buttercream**:

  • 2 cups butter (softened)
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • Few drops of red food coloring (optional)

For decorating:

  • Maraschino cherries (drained and dried)
  • Sliced almonds
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cake:

  • Sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. 
  • Add the softened butter, milk and cherry juice. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in the chopped cherries.
  • Add the egg whites and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
  • Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you touch the center of it.
  • Allow the cakes to sit for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • While the cakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream.

Make the buttercream:

  • In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the butter for 2-3 minutes until it is almost white in color. 
  • Add in the powdered sugar, cherry juice, heavy cream and almond extract. Beat together for 2 minutes.
  • Add a drop or two of red food coloring if you'd like the cake to be a little pinker. Beat on low speed again for 2-3 minutes.

Assemble the cake:

  • Once the cakes are cool, place one cake on a cake plate. Put a layer of frosting on top of the cake. Then place the second cake on top of the frosting. 
  • Using a knife, spread frosting on the top and sides of the cake, covering it completely and getting the frosting as smooth as possible.
  • Decorating (optional): Use a knife or spoon and drag it up the cake sides, starting at the bottom and going to the top. This will create nice lines up the sides of the cake.
  • Use a coupler to attach Wilton tip #11 to a decorating bag. Fill the bag with buttercream and pipe simple stars around the bottom and top edges of the cake.
  • Place the drained and paper towel dried maraschino cherries on the top of the cake in the placement that you'd like them. Place almond slices around the cherry, sticking them into the buttercream so they look like flower petals around the cherry.
  • Refrigerate the cake until serving.

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on using all of the frosting and the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. To lower the calories, only make half of the frosting.
Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
**This makes a good amount of frosting to cover the cake. to lessen the calories, make half a recipe of frosting for a thin layer of frosting on the cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 710kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 370mg | Potassium: 150mg | Sugar: 86g | Vitamin A: 1015IU | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 0.4mg