This Burnt Almond Cake tastes just like your favorite bakery’s burnt almond cake! It features fluffy almond cake, almond pastry cream, and almond frosting, covered in candied almond slices.
The city where I grew up, San Jose, doesn’t have a nationally known signature dish. It’s more suburban sprawl than cutting-edge culinary destination. However, there are certain foods that I will always associate with San Jose. During high school I practically lived on falafels from Falafel Drive-In, and to this day I swear their spicy falafels and banana shakes are the best I’ve ever tasted.
In the sweet realm, I can’t talk about San Jose without talking about burnt almond cake, made famous by Dick’s Bakery and Peter’s Bakery.
People tend to divide into two camps—you’re either on Dick’s side, or Peter’s side. There’s no equivocating, and there’s no neutral territory. For myself, I’m a Peter’s Bakery girl. This small hole-in-the-wall bakery was near my house, and I actually had my wedding cake made there, so of course I stay loyal, and would defend the superiority of Peter’s burnt almond cake over Dick’s any day of the week.
I haven’t tasted or thought about burnt almond cake in years, but I recently read something that referenced a different almond cake recipe, and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about the cake that reminds me so much of my childhood. I had to make one myself.
If you’re not familiar with burnt almond cake, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. (And also why anyone sane would put the word “burnt” in a cake title in the first place.) Put simply, it’s a fluffy white cake filled with almond pastry cream, frosted with buttercream, and coated with a thick layer of caramelized almonds. My version has almond flavor in every single component, so if you’re an almond fan who’s tired of vanilla or chocolate (or passion fruit!) having all the fun, allow me to introduce you to your new love.
Just to be clear, this is my version of a burnt almond cake, not a recreation of the bakery ones. (I feel like I need this disclaimer so that crazed Dick’s and Peter’s fans don’t track me down chanting “Not the same! Not the same!”) It’s been ages since I’ve tasted the real thing, and I don’t remember the details well enough to be confident of getting things right.
That doesn’t mean that it’s not AWESOME, though. The almond-flavored white cake is moistened by both an almond simple syrup and the creamy almond pastry cream layers. The buttercream is one of those wacky flour-based ones (newly obsessed with them) that has the light texture and flavor of whipped cream but the stability of buttercream. And the homemade caramelized almonds are the crowing touch, adding a great crunch, a bit of chew, and a whole lot of flavor from the deep, darkly caramelized toasted nuts.
No, it’s not the cake of my childhood—but at the risk of boasting, I think it’s even better. And the fact that I can make it in my own kitchen any time I want? That’s the best part of all.
💛More Almond Desserts to Try
- Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Cranberry Curd Almond Cake
- Raspberry Rhubarb Almond BarsPersimmon Almond Rosette Tarts
- Chocolate Raspberry Almond Truffle Tart
- Raspberry Almond Spiral Cake
Strawberries and Cream Layer Cake
Blueberry Layer Cake
Burnt Almond Cake
Ingredients
For the Almond Cake:
- ⅔ cup large egg whites, (from approximately 4-5 large eggs)
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 10.5 oz cake flour, (3 cups)
- 10.5 oz granulated sugar, (1 ½ cups)
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Simple Syrup:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp amaretto, or 1 tsp almond extract
For the Almond Pastry Cream:
- 1 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
For the Almond Buttercream:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 12 oz unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, I used superfine so it dissolved quickly
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Caramelized Almonds:
- 6 oz sliced almonds, (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
To Make the Almond Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two 9” cake pans with parchment, and spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg whites, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside for now.
- In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to mix and sift the ingredients. Add the softened butter and the remaining 3/4 cup milk to the bowl, and mix on low speed until the flour is moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 90 seconds.
- Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the egg white mixture in 3 parts, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
- Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the tops spring back lightly when pressed. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then gently invert them out of the pans, invert them again until they’re right-side up, and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
To Make the Simple Syrup:
- Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir them together until the sugar dissolves, and heat the sugar syrup until it just starts to boil. Remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in the amaretto or almond extract.
To Make the Almond Pastry Cream:
- Combine the gelatin and cold water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to let the gelatin absorb the water. Once absorbed, microwave the bowl for 10-15 seconds, until the gelatin is liquid. Set aside for now.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, egg, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of sugar. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Heat the milk over a medium burner until it just starts to boil. Start whisking the egg mixture, and while you’re whisking, drizzle a little hot milk into the eggs. Continue to whisk and drizzle until you’ve added about half of the milk. Switch to whisking the milk, then pour the eggs into the milk mixture while whisking.
- Return the pan to the burner and heat the cream, whisking constantly. Use a rubber spatula to periodically scrape the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t scorch. Cook until the pastry cream thickens and starts a very gently bubbling, then cook for about 2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the liquid gelatin, vanilla extract, almond extract, and butter.
- Pour the cream through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl. It will be somewhat thick, so use a spatula to help work it through, straining out any clumps of egg that have developed. Press a layer of cling wrap directly on top of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours. (To speed the cooling process, the cream can be spread onto a baking sheet and put in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, but don’t forget it in the freezer!)
- Right before you’re ready to use the pastry cream in the cake, whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar together until it forms firm peaks. Gently fold together the pastry cream and whipped cream together.
To Make the Almond Buttercream:
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour and milk. Pour it through a fine wire mesh strainer into a medium saucepan, straining out any flour clumps. Heat the flour mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. It will go from being a thin liquid to being a very thick paste. It should have the consistency of a very thick pudding when you’re done. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the flour mixture cool completely. To speed this process, I like the fill my sink with an inch or two of cold water, and submerge the bottom of the pan in the water, making sure to not get any in the pan. Stir occasionally while the mixture cools.
- Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy and no longer gritty, about 5-7 minutes.
- Once the flour mixture is no longer warm at all, and the butter/sugar is light and fluffy, add the flour to the mixing bowl, along with the vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. Whip together for 2-3 minutes until well-combined, light, and fluffy. If it seems to separate continue to beat it until it comes back together.
To Make the Caramelized Almonds:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick spray. Place the nuts on the baking sheet and toast them in the oven while you prepare the caramel.
- Combine the water, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the water dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Insert a candy thermometer and boil the sugar until it starts to turn a golden brown and reads between 310-325 on the thermometer.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and add the hot nuts from the oven. Stir until the nuts are coated with caramel. Add the butter and stir, then pour the nuts out onto the foil-lined baking sheet. Use a spatula to spread them into a thin layer without many nuts overlapping.
- Let the nuts cool completely, then break them apart. If they’re in large chunks, chop them coarsely.
To Assemble:
- Using a large serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half. Place one layer on a cake cardboard (or your serving plate) and use a pastry brush to brush it generously with the simple syrup.
- Scoop some buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe a ring of buttercream all along the edge of the cake round to act as a barrier and hold in the filling. Scoop 1/3 of the pastry cream onto the cake, and spread it in an even layer until it covers the cake and reaches the buttercream ring. Top the cake round with a second round, and repeat the process of brushing it with simple syrup, piping a ring of buttercream, and spreading the pastry cream in the center.
- Repeat with the remaining layers, until you have a 4-layer cake with 3 layers of buttercream. Spread buttercream along the sides and top of the cake. It doesn’t have to be super-smooth since most of the surface will be covered with almonds.
- Press caramelized almonds into the sides of the cake. This is easiest if you use a cardboard cake round—hold the cake in one hand, over the baking sheet full of almonds, and use the other to press almonds into the sides, letting the excess fall back onto the sheet.
- Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe rosettes along the top of the cake. Decorate them with more caramelized almonds, if desired. The almonds will start to get sticky after about a day, so for optimal texture enjoy it on the day it’s made, but the flavor is still wonderful several days after.
Recipe Notes
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Definitely going to be giving this a shot, it looks terrific and it’s something I’ve wanted to try for a while. Oh, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t using prepackaged mixes, scratch is HOW you make money, mixes cost two or three times as much. Custard’s no big deal, and you can pre-mix huge batches of cake mix yourself. That eliminates any chance of a product changing and thus affecting your finished product too… one company goes down and drags you with it. Or they discontinue the product.
Great! Let me know how it goes for you if you give it a try! And I always love to see pics of the finished product. 🙂
Hi Elizabeth,
Looks delicious. Looking forward to trying it out.
Are the egg whites just briefly whisked to combine with the milk and extracts or are they beaten until foamy or soft peak stage?
Thanks.
Hi Marc, No need to beat–just whisk them briefly to combine them with the milk. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Can you say how thick the batter should be? Maybe my eggs whites are two small but both times I’ve tried it, it gets much thicker (harder) than in other cakes that I’ve made and almost doesn’t inflate when baked. The second time I added an extra egg and some more milk to make it thick liquid as it would be with the few other recipes I make. Otherwise the rest, especially the cream turns great, as a whole fantastic recipe! I am not giving up, it could be that mu cups of flour are too big…
Greetings from Europe!
Hi, Elizabeth
I think I did something wrong when I was making the buttercream because it never came together. Is there another way of making it? or do you have a video or pics as to demonstrating how you made the buttercream?
Thank you
Hi! I am so sorry to hear that. I don’t have a video or pictures of how I make mine (sorry!), and everyone makes theirs a little differently, but here is a video of someone making theirs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGowiS-b4vM
And a step-by-step from another blog: https://thetoughcookie.com/2015/06/07/how-to-make-flour-buttercream-or-ermine-buttercream-the-battle-of-the-buttercreams-2-0/
Also, just as a side note, it’s often referred to as Ermine Buttercream if you are trying to Google search it! Hopefully these are good places to start troubleshooting! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Omg….well I too am a S.J. Girl and just found this receipe…I am from the east side so that would make me team Peters….I could never decide which came i liked better, the burnt almond or the lemon…you don’t have a lemon receipe in your Catalog Do You? I do have A question, do you Think a Gluten free Flour would work?
Oh man, I loved their lemon cake! I do have some lemon cake variations in the archives you can check out here:
https://www.sugarhero.com/?s=lemon+cake&lang=en
I don’t have much experience baking gluten-free, unfortunately! I wish I could say either way but I’d feel terrible giving you a bad recommendation!
I have a quick question. The amaretto, is it the extract or the liqueur? I cannot find the extract anywhere. I do have almond, but I always try new recipes exactly like they are written.
I meant the liqueur but if you have the almond extract you can use that instead! Let me know how turns out, thank you so much!
OMGoodness, I cannot wait to try your recipe! I’m a San Jose native myself moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas about 8 years ago and miss Peter’s Bakery so much. They have THE BEST Burnt Almond cake I have EVER had! Never heard of Dick’s tho..hehehe. I know you said this is not a remake of their’s but knowing that you have the same love, respect and loyalty to Peter’s fills my heart and can’t wait to try your version. Burnt Almond is my Mom’s favorite and I will be trying out this recipe this weekend!!
I grew up near Peters Bakery. My grandparents were even friends with Mr Peters. And everyone of my Relatives favorite cake is/was the Burnt Almond Cake. Every birthday, Easter, Baby Shower – you name it. You can’t believe how incredibly happy this makes me to come across this recipe especially now that I have been Gluten Free since 2013 and haven’t had this cake since AND live in the Tahoe Area of Nevada!! I am gonna see if gluten free flour will bring back my favorite cake to my life!! Thanks again!
I just came across this recipe and I can’t wait to try it! We always had burnt almond cakes from Peter’s Bakery, for our birthdays, when we were growing up. It was everybody’s favorite . And, of course, having attended James Lick h.s., going to peters bakery for donuts in the morning was weekly ritual.
Good old James Lick! I lived not too far from there myself. 🙂 RIP Peter’s, but I’m so glad we can still enjoy a taste of it now.
It’s been about 5 years living in San Jose and of course I was introduced to the burnt almond cake made by Dicks and Peter’s Bakery! One of the best cakes I’ve ever had! So when I decided to make a cake for my friends I thought of that cake but didn’t think that anyone had a recipe even close to theirs, but I searched anyway. BAM! I can’t believe I found it on your website and you’re a San Jose native! I made the cake for the Super Bowl and my friends loved it! They were going for a second serving! the almond pastry cream is probably my favorite part of the cake. Great job on the recipe! I will definitely be making this more than once.
Daniel, this is so great to hear!! Always great to meet another San Jose native. 🙂 And I’m thrilled that the cake worked out for you and that your friends enjoyed it too!