Serves 12
Ingredients:
Cake:
2¼ cups (9 ounces) plain cake flour plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces) granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Frosting:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
4 cups (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Pinch salt
Directions:
Cake:
1.Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick
cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and knock out the excess.
2. Pour the milk, egg whites, and extracts into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup and mix with a fork until blended.
3. Mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer set at low speed. Add the butter; continue beating at low speed until the mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
4. Add all but ½ cup of the milk mixture to the crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1½ minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup of the milk
mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to medium (or
high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans; using a rubber spatula, spread the batter to the pan walls and smooth the tops.
6. Place the pans 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If your oven is small, place the pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until a toothpick or thin skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
7. Let the cakes rest in the pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from the sides of the pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.
Frosting:
1. Beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer at low speed until the sugar is moistened.
2. Increase the speed to medium-high; beat, stopping twice to scrape down the bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1½ minutes.
Avoid overbeating or the frosting will be too soft to pipe.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen