We are stress baking over here, and in case you are in need of some excellent recipes to try for your own stress baking, as promised, here is a recipe we highly recommend. This Raspberry-Almond Cake is from an old and well-used Williams-Sonoma cookbook. It is a really nice cake, special enough for an occasion, but not so finicky or time consuming that it takes all day to produce.

It has made an appearance at nearly every Annual Nutcrackers Sweets Dessert Party I have hosted, but the fruit flavoring makes it a standout for spring and summer as well! This year, my daughter requested it for her birthday after many years of both our September birthdays requesting the house favorite: banana cake.

Side note: Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious way to use up the dead bananas in the house. Pro tip: stash the overripe bananas in a Ziploc bag in the freezer so when the baking urge strikes you have a ready supply - banana baked goods are always best with overripe bananas! Also, our banana cake is traditionally decorated with this basketweave frosting design I demo on the Carrot Cake in this post (impressive looking and not hard to do!)

This Raspberry-Almond Cake is a white cake - making it with egg whites rather than whole eggs preserves the light color and fine texture. Also, that leaves you some leftover egg yolks just begging to be made into a vanilla custard filling for say, cream puffs!

This cake makes two 9” layers, which you can then split to make 4 tiers for an impressive looking cake and, of course, more space for filling! I think this makes a perfect ration of cake to filling, but you can bail on splitting the layers for a faster, simpler execution if this is a stress baking emergency! The raspberry filling is melted preserves which is easily done in the microwave and mixing in a bit of Chambord can be a nice little adult addition. I have successfully made the layers ahead and stored them, well wrapped, in the freezer for up to a month with no discernible ill effects. It is actually even easier to split the layers whilst partially frozen since they are sturdier.

I also usually double or at least 1 1/2X the frosting recipe, because as written, it’s a bit skimpy - fine for a “naked cake” frosting technique like the one shown on the birthday cake below, but for full coverage or basketweave frosting, you might need a bit more. Any leftover frosting also freezes extremely well. Just defrost it at room temperature and beat again to return it to perfect spreading consistency. The original recipe suggests covering the frosted sides in almond slices. I’ve never had the patience to make this actually look good, but finishing the edges with coarsely ground almonds might be an easier option, and the crunch of the almonds adds a nice contrasting texture and flavor to the creamy sweetness of the frosting.

Raspberry Almond Cake Recipe

from Williams-Sonoma

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 Tbs. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 tsp. almond extract

• 1 cup milk

• 5 egg whites, at room temperature

• 3/4 cup raspberry preserves, melted

• 1 Tbs Chambord raspberry liqueur (optional)

• Raspberries (for garnishing)

• 1 1/4 cups sliced or coarsely ground almonds, lightly toasted and cooled (optional)

  Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature

• 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 lb (~4 cups) confectioners’ sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour 2 round 9” cake pans (or spray with a baking spray like Bakers Joy). I also like to line the bottoms with parchment to insure the cakes come out cleanly with the bottoms intact!

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light. Gradually add the sugar to the butter, beating until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce the mixer speed to low and, alternate the flour mixture with the milk, adding it into 3 batches. Mix just until combined.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the batter with a spatula, just until incorporated, taking care not to deflate the egg whites. Divide the batter between the pans.

Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cakes. Invert the layers onto cooling racks. Cool completely.

To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and again beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.

To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 layer on a plate. Spread 1/2 cup of the frosting over the top, then drizzle on 1/4 cup of the melted preserves (with optional Chambord). Top with another cake layer and repeat with second and third layers. Top with the fourth cake layer, cut side down.

Frost and decorate as desired.

Can be refrigerated for a day or two, bring to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!