I get so many rave reviews from people who love this burnt almond cake, that I’ve adapted it into Burnt Almond Cupcakes per my San Jose born-and-raised husband’s request! There are two bakeries in San Jose, California that are well-known for the same burnt almond cake. Since my husband grew up in San Jose, his family’s loyalty is to Dick’s bakery. But there is a strong following for Peter’s Bakery, which is the other main contender for burnt almond cake supremacy in this sprawling Silicon Valley city. I’m pretty certain that Dick’s burnt almond cake was served the first time I met my husband’s grandma at her house, which was pretty much just down the street and around the corner from Dick’s Bakery. I always loved Grandma Nash’s cooking and have shared some of my favorite recipes that she passed on like her English toffee, poppyseed dressing, and creamy apricot pork chops. And she loved this cake, so it’s no surprise that I would enjoy burnt almond cake as well. But I’m convinced that both bakeries just use packaged commercial cake and pudding mixes to slap hundreds of these beloved desserts together each week for their customers. Which is still tasty and fine, but since I’m a Bay Area transplant and don’t hold a strong loyalty to either bakery’s version of this cake, I’m going to state pretty unequivocally that a homemade burnt almond cake is superior to either bakery’s version. Which is great news for anyone NOT living in the California Bay Area because it means you can make one for yourself at home and enjoy a slice of this wonderful, burnt almond cake! It’s part of my lineup of California-inspired recipes in the American Eats series I have been doing on here where I feature some of the most iconic foods and flavors of each state in the USA, one state at a time. Another key reason for including this cake in my California recipe collection is that it highlights another of California’s major crops – almonds! According to this L.A. Times article from 2014, California produces 82% of all the almonds IN THE WORLD, with 70% of California’s almonds being shipped overseas! Kind of amazing, right?
What is Burnt Almond Cake?
I’m not sure why it’s called burnt almond cake when really the almonds are just toasted. There is no actual burning involved. It’s the same situation with my favorite burnt almond fudge ice cream. I think it must just be an old-fashioned way of describing well-toasted almonds. In this case, they are sliced almonds that are toasted in the oven just until they start to turn brown and smell nutty, then candied with a quick caramel sauce. The flavor of a burnt almond cake has a timeless quality, even if you have never tried it before. The cake itself is a tender white cake with a little almond extract replacing some of the vanilla for flavoring. It’s based off of my favorite white cake recipe that I use in my Day of the Dead cake as well. Two 8-inch round cakes are sliced in half horizontally to create the four layers, which is a departure from the classic San Jose versions but means more layers of wonderful almond pastry cream can be slathered between the soft white cake layers. Then I used a Swiss meringue buttercream frosting to cover the outside of the cake before pressing the candied almonds all over to cover as much of the surface as possible. It gets a little messy, but there isn’t any real technique involved and there is the upside that nobody will notice imperfections in your frosting technique since almonds will give the cake a rustic look anyway. I think Swiss meringue buttercream is perfect for this cake because it is light and silky, and less thick and sweet than classic American buttercream. While this burnt almond cake recipe has a few different components that might make it look intimidating, it’s really not that bad, especially since most everything can be made in advance.
How do you make San Jose Burnt Almond Cake?
One of my favorite things about making this burnt almond cake is that there are no fancy piping or decorating techniques involved. But there are a few steps involved. First make the white almond cake layers. I modified the baking time of my favorite white cake recipe by increasing it up to 30-35 minutes to make two 8-inch round layers instead of 3. Then I leveled the tops (you can use the scraps for snacking or making cake pops) and sliced the layers horizontally to get 4 thinner cake layers. You could also just bake the cake in 3 separate pans for the original amount of time, which is 20-25 minutes, and skip the step of slicing the cake into thinner layers, but that means less space for the pastry cream. And trust me, the more pastry cream the better. The almond pastry cream comes from my French fruit tart recipe and it’s so easy to make! It’s a classic French pastry cream, except flavored with a little almond extract and it’s silky smooth and keeps the cake nice and moist without making it soggy inside. The pastry cream will need to chill for 3 hours though, so give yourself enough time for that before attempting to assemble the cake. I pipe a border of Swiss meringue buttercream around the outer edge of each cake layer when assembling the cake to hold in the pastry cream as additional layers get stacked on top. This is easily done just by scooping some of the buttercream into a ziptight bag and snipping off one end to create a fairly wide tip then piping a circle. It doesn’t need to look pretty since no one will ever see, but it will help act as a barrier so your pastry cream doesn’t squish out under the weight of the top layers. I use a full batch of pastry cream to fill this four-layer cake, then cover the outside with the fluffiest, almond flavored Swiss meringue buttercream. Unlike American buttercream, which can get a little crusty when left out, Swiss meringue buttercream stays soft so there isn’t a huge rush to get the candied almonds pressed into the top and sides of the cake. But do make sure they have cooled completely since warm candied almonds would melt the butter in the buttercream.
How do you make Swiss Meringue Buttercream?
Swiss meringue buttercream is made by whisking egg whites and granulated sugar (not powdered sugar) in a double boiler until the sugar dissolves and the egg whites are hot. Then it gets whipped up into a beautiful glossy meringue until the mixture has completely cooled. This is the longest part of the process and it’s super helpful to have a stand mixer here because this can be anywhere from 10-20 minutes of beating with the whisk attachment until the meringue is no longer warm to the touch. Cubed room temperature butter is then gradually added to the meringue, and beaten in to create the fluffiest, most wonderful frosting that can be flavored in lots of different ways. In this case, I used almond extract for even more almond flavor in this burnt almond cake. If your swiss meringue buttercream seems too runny after adding in all the butter, chances are the meringue was still too warm. No worries – just pop the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to chill the frosting and firm things up just a bit, then pull it out and whip it up again. If you would like an even more in depth tutorial on how to make Swiss meringue buttercream, I really like this one from Sugar Hero. If you plan to make this part in advance, keep the finished Swiss meringue buttercream in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let come to room temperature and rewhip in the mixer with the paddle attachment before using it to frost the cake. But it really is best made fresh, in my opinion.
Tips for Burnt Almond Cake
Since there are four components to this cake, I recommend making the cake layers and pastry cream in advance. The cake layers can be cooled completely, then wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap and frozen for up to two weeks before you are ready to assemble the cake. The pastry cream can be refrigerated for up to a week.The Swiss meringue buttercream can be made a day in advance and left to sit out overnight. It can also be made farther in advance, then refrigerated for up to one week or even frozen for up to 2 months, then allowed to come up to room temperature before whipping it again to get it back to a smooth, spreadable consistency. But I personally find it easiest to make this part of the recipe closer to when I want to assemble the burnt almond cake.Assemble the cake over a large baking sheet to catch the candied almonds that will fall off when you are pressing them into the sides of the cake. I like to just cup some in my hand, then press them into the frosted sides of the cake, going back and filling in gaps with more candied almonds to finish the look.The cake is best the day it is assembled as the candied almonds tend to get a little sticky on Day 2. It’s still completely delicious one days 2 and 3 (if it lasts that long), but the change in the texture of the almonds is something to be aware of.
More Showstopper Cakes You’ll Love
Vintage Cherry Chip Layer CakeAunt Becky’s Black Forest CakeDevil’s Food Cake with Chocolate ButtercreamYellow Cake with Chocolate FrostingBest Red Velvet CakeFrench Fruit Tart (okay, not a cake, but definitely a showstopper dessert)
More States I Have Visited in my American Eats Series
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York • Oregon • Puerto Rico • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Utah • Wisconsin Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
