perfect not-too-sweet almond "wedding" cake recipe

October 24, 2020 3:12 PM

Seeking recipe for not-too-sweet, firm vanilla/almond cake. I'd love it to have a lovely, fluffy texture (but still firm, unless that's impossible -- either texture is OK, both would be great). I don't care if it's white or yellow. Will frost with orange frosting. Recipes I find don't specify "not too sweet".

I can get cake flour if needed, also almond flour if that will help.

I think I remember that wedding cakes do well with a firmer texture to hold their shape -- as long as I'm doing this, it would be nice to achieve that too. Will probably use 8" pans, might end up making only 1/2 cake this time.

I'm thrilled to be attending my friend's Zoom wedding tomorrow, and she's invited the attendees to have a sweet dessert at the same time as they eat their cake, and I like cake... so... I figure I'll make a cake.

My dude has requested orange frosting -- there are a bunch of recipes out there that look good, but if you have an orange frosting recipe to recommend, I'm into it.

Thanks in advance!

posted by amtho to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

I haven't made it myself, so I can't speak to a specific recipe, but you may want to look at Persian love cakes: they're generally made with a mix of almond and wheat flour, and are usually flavored with some kind of citrus and rose water. They can be extremely ornamental, but of course you can be as ornamental as you want.
posted by General Malaise at 4:28 PM on October 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

‘John’s Turkish Orange Cake’ is easy and delicious - firm and not too sweet. Frosting is not usually required although orange frosting would work well:
link (Icing sugar = powdered sugar.)

I’ve used that recipe successfully several times. It doesn’t include vanilla as an ingredient though I’m sure you could add it. The orange flavour is quite strong, so any vanilla influence would likely be subtle.

You can find other similar recipes by searching for ‘Turkish orange cake’ or ‘orange and almond cake’.
posted by The Patron Saint of Spices at 4:31 PM on October 24, 2020

Response by poster: Just to clarify: I'm not looking for an orange cake; just a vanilla (or almond) cake that isn't too sweet. (The only orange flavor will come from the frosting, which I'll handle separately.)
posted by amtho at 4:40 PM on October 24, 2020

I really like this recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/05/classic-vanilla-butter-cake-recipe.html

I find that I tend to want it a bit sweeter but you could probably shave the sugar down a bit more and still be fine. It sounds like a lot but it makes a big cake.
posted by brilliantine at 5:25 PM on October 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Olive oil cake is not too sweet and pairs well with orange. I think it would be wonderful with an orange frosting.
posted by jennstra at 5:27 PM on October 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Rose Levy Berenbaum's _Rose's Heavenly Cakes_ is on kindle sale right now and she wrote it specifically with an eye towards recipes that are not not overly sweet.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:29 PM on October 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Add some almond extract to a French yogurt cake, and you'll be in great shape.
posted by knile at 8:53 PM on October 24, 2020

I can second the notion of giving a look at the Persian love cake, I made one recently and it was very strong but divine. I myself was going to recommend it as a comparison to think about, until I saw General Malaise's comment, even though it is very rosey and fruity. The reason being that the almond flour is subtle but transformative. I bet that you could make a very 'plain' white/vanilla sheet cake or layer cake, but with almond flour it will be noticeable and not too sweet about it. Imagine a white cake with almond flour and almond dust in the icing.

For other almond ideas I have had some very nice amandines, which is basically an almond croissant the way you'd do a chocolate croissant. You could use amandine's almond paste for an icing or between layers.
posted by panhopticon at 9:22 PM on October 24, 2020

On mobile, but check Stella Parks for two things - one, to learn how to toast sugar, which tames its sweetness, and two, she has an angel food cake which you could use almond extract in, plus I’m sure she has a vanilla cake. Recent stuff by her is on serious eats; the wayback machine might have her former blog.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 12:59 AM on October 25, 2020

No specific recipe recs, but for modifying recipes:

I have found that standard cake recipes tend to have half as much sugar as flour by volume (it's actually the same amount of sugar as flour by weight). I have also found that in a recipe with these proportions I can cut the sugar by a third without affecting the chemistry of the recipe and resulting in a cake that is sweet enough but not too sweet.

Typical American buttercream frosting recipes have twice as much sugar as butter, but I have made frosting with half as much sugar as butter and still got something usable and way more tolerable to my palate.
posted by Jenny'sCricket at 2:10 AM on October 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

Genoise sponge is a good one to use if you want a firmer texture. Here's a plain one from Paul Hollywood which will be great if you have weighing scales. You can flavour it with almond essence.
posted by plonkee at 6:41 AM on October 25, 2020

If you have a Joy of Cooking, there is a wedding cake recipe in there that is really pretty perfect.
posted by honeybee413 at 7:15 AM on October 25, 2020

plonkee's suggestion of a genoise sponge is a good one.

If you don't have weighing scales, here's the late Laurie Colwin's recipe from her More Home Cooking essay collection, with thanks to Nan of Letters from a Hill Farm for transcribing it. I've never made this particular recipe, but I've made several others from Colwin (esp. the biscuits and beef stew), and she's never steered me wrong.

Recently I became addicted to the kind of classic, basic sponge cake English women of a certain age can make in their sleep. It is generally used as a plain tea cake, spread with raspberry jelly and dusted with powdered sugar. It is absolutely delicious, and, best of all, it has four ingredients. ... I use a 7-inch round tin, but an 8-inch square is fine.

Cream 1 stick of sweet butter and 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat in 2 eggs (or 1 yolk and 2 whites). Beat until light and fluffy with either a whisk or an electric beater. Fold in 1 cup of flour to which you have added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon vanilla, if you like. (You can do without the baking powder or the vanilla). Note from virago: Because you want a vanilla cake, increase the amount of vanilla to 1 tablesppon. Bake in a buttered tin for 20 minutes to half an hour. You can eat this cake plain, with stewed fruit, or with ice cream, but it is best with jam and powdered sugar. For grown ups, bitter marmalade is very nice. Your actual work time is about ten minutes, which produces one of the best cakes you'll ever eat.

posted by virago at 7:38 AM on October 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

Thinking about almond cakes that are not too sweet and firm yet tender and hold their shape well got me thinking about French “financiers” - typically small individual tea-cake sort of things, but can be made larger. Found a Martha Stewart recipe here that does that and also does include an orange topping (which you can probably replace with any frosting you’ve decided on).
posted by sesquipedalia at 8:16 AM on October 25, 2020

Madeira cake is made with almond flour and usually some lemon zest that might work well with your frosting plan. I didn’t find it too sweet, but they’re not typically frosted either.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:21 AM on October 25, 2020

I notice that Laurie Colwin left a couple of details out of her sponge cake recipe, and I've gone back to fill them in, courtesy of baking aficionada Jean of Delightful Repast (who calls it Victoria Sponge):

1. The butter should be soft -- make sure you get it out at least 3 hours before you start making the cake.

2. The baking temperature is 350 degrees.

3. Don't underbake the sponge cake -- a toothpick or a broom straw inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.

4. Let it cool for an hour before doing anything else to it.

I don't know whether "aficionada" is a recognized word, but if it is not, iy should be.
posted by virago at 1:07 PM on October 25, 2020