almond cake with almond whipped cream icing

Sometimes Mondays need a little cake. An easy, Sunday night cake that you can eat as a snack on Monday is the best option. Maybe an easy almond cake with fluffy almond whipped cream icing?

Hot milk cake was our go-to bundt cake growing up. Whenever my mom would make this cake for a dinner get-together, my siblings and I would sneak slices the next morning before our parents came downstairs.  The dense but still light pound cake is delicious for a breakfast treat, an afternoon snack, and a dessert, especially when topped with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries. Made with warm milk, it differs from the typical pound cake but has the best texture and sweetness.  Here, our trusty hot milk cake gets a little facelift.

We replace the vanilla extract with almond extract and swap out the bundt pan for small round cake pans (though you could still make it in a bundt). Instead of adding a dollop of whipped cream to each slice, we turn the easygoing, no-nonsense cake into a casual layer cake by frosting the entire thing with almond whipped cream – the perfect ratio of cake to whip. Dense, slightly sweet, lovely cake layers meet fluffy, pale, almond whipped cream and it is like a cloud in your mouth. Top it with the last citrus of the season, or pile those fresh berries high to impress your guests (or yourself). Easy, breezy, beautiful almond cake.

Dense and fluffy all at the same time – how does it do that?  Almond cake for breakfast please?

Almond Cake with Almond Whipped Cream Icing

Almond Hot Milk Cake
½ cup butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and the milk, heating until just simmering. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease and flour 2-3 round cake pans (8” or 6”) or one bundt pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, lightly beat the eggs. With the mixer on, gradually add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the almond extract and mix. Add the flour and salt to the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Gradually add the milk and butter to the egg and flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the baking powder and mix again.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pans. I often use a bundt pan for this cake, but made three 6-inch rounds for these photos.

Bake for 1 hour. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the cake. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before transferring it from the pan to a cooling rack.

Almond Whipped Cream Icing
1 ½ cups whipping cream
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, whip the whipping cream until it has soft peaks when you raise the beater. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and almond extract, and continue whipping until it creates stiff peaks.

Frost the completely cooled cake with the whipped cream.

Cake adapted from Virginia Hospitality community cookbook