A Good Humor Crunch Cake Collection is not complete without the Toasted Almond Cake!
Bringing back childhood memories of chasing the ice cream man down the street in the summer
Only to be faced with the most difficult decision ever ~ Which one to chose?
Toasted Almond Cake is the last addition to my Good Humor Ice Cream Bar series!
The toasted Almond Cake completes this fabulous trio
Almond cake and white pound cake layers with almond and vanilla buttercream too!
Of course the signature crunch coating is the winning touch for all the Good Humor cakes!
That extra cake layer got all toasted up with a handful of almonds for the best crunch coating ever!
This cake came out exactly the flavors of the Good Humor Toasted Almond ice cream bar that I remember!
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Notes for Success:
In the video I mentioned my white cake mistake that turned out to be a true win!
I made a mistake on my math conversion from a one time recipe to double recipe of the white cake
With only half of the baking powder in the recipe. the resulting cake layers were dense and velvety and pound cake like in texture
However if you like your layers to be more fluffy (*umm, the way they are supposed to be?)
Just follow the white cake recipe as it was originally written below
Additionally I used almond flour for the almond sponge cake this time, and I have to say~ I did not love it
This cake came out a bit too dense and compact for my liking
Compared to the original version where I used finely ground whole almonds
I would recommend to stick to the original recipe as listed below
And grind your own almonds rather than using almond flour like I did in the video
It is best to follow weighs measure for everything especially the almonds since volume cups
Not to mention different varieties of almonds (sliced vs whole vs slivered) will give you different results every time
Also toasted almonds will give you a nicer flavor in the overall cake
Lightly roast them in a single layer on a sheet pan in a preheated 250°F oven for about 15 minutes
If you think this is just too many recipes for one cake, you can of course omit the white cake layers altogether and just make the almond sponge cake
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE
Toasted Almond Cake
Ingredients
For the White Cake:
- Vegan Butter 4 tablespoons (50g)
- Coconut Oil 4 Tablespoons (50g)
- Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Plant milk ¼ cup (50g)
- Water ¼ cup (60ml)
- Clear Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- Almond Extract *optional ¼ teaspoon
- All Purpose Flour 3 Tablespoons (24g)
- Cake Flour 1½ cup (180g)
- Baking Powder 2 teaspoons
- Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Cornstarch 1 Tablespoon (8g)
- Aquafaba ½ cup (118ml)
For the Almond Sponge Cake:
- Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
- Golden Flax Meal 3 Tablespoons (24g)
- Hot Water 6 Tablespoons (90ml)
- Vegan Yogurt ½ cup (150g) **or more plant milk
- Plant Milk *I am using soy milk 1 cup (237ml)
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoons (5ml)
- Almond Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- All Purpose Flour 3 cups (375g)
- Baking Powder 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Salt ½ teaspoon (3g)
- Raw Unsalted Almonds 1½ cups (186g) *See notes section!
For the Almond Buttercream:
- Vegan Butter 6 sticks (678g
- Sifted Confectioners Sugar 5 cups (600g)
- Almond Paste ½ cup (140g) *optional
- Almond Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Salt ¾ teaspoon
- For the Cake Crunch:
- 1 layer of extra cake plus any cake trimmings
- 1 cup raw almonds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease & parchment line your cake pans
- For the white cake recipe: Combine the softened vegan butter with the coconut oil and granulated sugar and mix on high speed with the paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy, be sure to scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl from time to time.
- Combine the plant milk with the water and extracts and set it aside.
- Combine the aquafaba with the cornstarch and whisk together so there are no lumps
- Once the butter mixture is creamed, add the aquafaba/cornstarch to it and whip on high speed to emulsify & the mixture will get very silky and smooth
- Meanwhile sift the flour with the salt and baking powder and add 1/3 of that to the creamed mixture, blend just until combined then add half of the milk mixture
- Blend just until combined then add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then the remaining liquid and last the remaining dry ingredients.
- Be sure to scrape the sides & bottom of the bowl and whip it on high for 10 seconds to blend well.
- Divide the batter evenly between your pans and bake immediately in the preheated oven that has been set to 350°F
- After you have loaded your cake pans into the oven, immediately lower the temperature to 325° and bake for a total of 30-35 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans and the turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely then wash the pans and re-grease & parchment line for the next cake recipe
- For the almond sponge cake Be sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Combine the flax meal & hot water together in a small bowl and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Grind the almonds in a food processor or chop as fine as possible by hand with a knife, set aside
- Combine the plant milk with the yogurt and the extracts and set aside.
- Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder & baking soda
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter and sugar on medium to high speed until light & fluffy, this may take 3-5 minutes.
- Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl from time to time to ensure an even mix.
- Add the flax paste to the creamed mixture and then whip on high for 20 seconds to emulsify
- Turn the speed back down to low and add 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until it is combined
- Add half of the plant milk mixture and mix just until combined
- Repeat with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the other half of the plant milk and then the last of the dry ingredients.
- Add the finely ground almonds and mix well
- Portion the batter into your prepared pans and bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 300° and bake for another 15-20 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, no raw cake batter.
- *I turn the oven temp down half way through because this is a very thick cake layer I do not want it to over brown on the outside & edges while the inside batter cooks
- Cool the cakes in the pans until they are cool to the touch, then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool the rest of the way
- Be sure to remove the parchment paper lining.
- Next prepare the buttercream recipe:
- Cream the almond paste smooth with the paddle attachment then add the softened vegan butter about ½ cup at a time until the entire mixture is smooth as possible
- Add the salt and then the sifted confectioners sugar and blend smooth
- Add the almond & vanilla extracts and whip on high speed for about 30 seconds
- For the Cake Crunch: take the trimmings from your cakes and one of the extra layers and grind it in a food processor with about 1 cup of raw almonds
- Spread out onto a sheet pan and toast for about 20 minutes at 350°F until browned and crisp
- Build the cake as shown in the video tutorial
Notes
Because of the tweaks that I made to both cake recipes~ the results were very close to European style Frangipane or Petit Four cakes, rather than traditional American style butter cakes
If you like this type of cake great! you will:
*Reduce the baking powder on the white cake recipe listed below to 1 teaspoon instead of 2
*Use 1 cup almond flour + ½ cup ground raw almonds & 2½ cups of all purpose flour instead of the grounds nuts 1½ cups of nuts & 3 cups of AP as listed below!
STORAGE:
Toasted Almond Cake can be left at room temperature for up to 3 days, for longer storage keep refrigerated wrapped well for up to 10 days
Best served at room temperature
When do we add the vegan yogurt in the almond cake recipe?
Dear Gretchen, you mentioned there is yogurt in the recipe. is it a mistake?
Hi Gretchen,
The recepie I’d great just think that you forgot to put the vinegar and almond extract and have unnecessary vegan yougurt. Also, I didnt want to crumble a full layer as I am using 8 inch pans. Could I just toast almonds and use cake trimmings or would that effect the taste? Thanks!
Hey! Thanks for pointing that out, let me get in here and check out this recipe (sometimes I copy paste from existing recipes) but forget to do minor tweaking! So thanks!
YES to adding whatever trimmings you like best! No need to make extra cake just to crumble!
Hey Gretchen! Could you please let us know if the yogurt listed is supposed to go in the cake? The amount of almond extract for the almond sponge wasn’t listed but was used in the video. Thanks!
Hi Sara, I am realizing that I am not getting notifications for these comments! I just now saw this 3 days later!
I apologize for not including the yogurt in the instructions, I mix this with the plant milk & honestly I have used all plant milk when I did not have yogurt and the results were the same
Thank you for pointing out the almond extract! I have corrected this recipe!
Hi Gretchen,
I am not vegan but would love to make this Toasted Almond Cake using three 9×2 layered cake pans. Can you please give me the recipe ingredients and measurements for making this cake using normal ingredients?
Thank you so much
Hi Lisa, I hope you will make it!! And you can stick to the recipe quantities as listed with no changes for 2-9″ pans instead of the 3-7″ pans that I always use.
As for “normal” ingredients? ~ If you mean cow milk/butter & eggs? I do not create my recipes from preexisting recipes that used animals ingredients. They are formulated specifically from scratch recipes, meaning I cannot simply tell you to convert backwards and use eggs in place of “whatever” since it will throw off the recipe. I would suggest that if you simply cannot live without eggs & dairy (even though these recipes are so amazing you would really be missing out on something great! I hope you will try!) you would then probably have more success just finding & using recipes that are not vegan.
Hi Gretchen,
I’m going to be making my cake tomorrow. I know that the recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of almonds. I purchased a 4oz pack of sliced almonds.. Do I use the entire 4oz bag since a 1/2 cup equals 4oz or do I measure a 1/2cup?
Yes that is correct to follow the weighs measure it’s more accurate
Are you saying to chop the entire 4oz bag?
Do I toast the sliced almonds before chopping?
Hi Lisa, sorry for the late reply it seems I am not getting notifications for these comments so I didn’t know you messaged me.
You can toast the almonds yes ~ toasting always brings out the best flavor in nuts. Just do it very lightly usually 250F for about 15 minutes
As for your other question re: how much almonds to use. I note that using weights measure is always the most consistent since volume cups measure will always give you a different result every time you measure, especially with an ingredient like nuts where you could be using whole VS sliced VS slivered which will all give you a different VOLUME cups measure, but scale is going to give you the exact weight all the time every time.
That said, I just measured 1½ cups of sliced almonds which gave me 186g just under 4 ounces. So if you have a scale, weigh it to 186g if you have cups measure only then use 1½ cups
I also noted that in the video I used a mixture of almond flour (store bought fine ground almonds) and also sliced almonds, which I did not like the almond flour~ it made the cake too dry whereas the raw nuts ground myself was much better
Sorry for the confusion around this recipe I have updated the notes section to make it more clear! Thanks!