We LOVE this White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe from scratch. It is delicious, moist, and it holds up perfectly to fondant. This “WASC” cake has been one of our most popular scratch recipes on My Cake School over the years, and is definitely one of my favorites!
You will notice in the photo that the cake itself is not stark white, due to the fact that we use the whole eggs (rather than just the egg whites), and butter instead of shortening. This gives us a soft yellow shade.
I just love the balance of vanilla with a hint of almond in this flavorful recipe. However, as subtle as the almond flavoring is, if you are truly not a fan of almond, you are going to notice it. No worries! Simply leave out the almond flavoring and you will have an amazingly moist and flavorful White Sour Cream Cake!
This White Almond Sour Cream Cake is amazing with so many different fillings and frostings. In the photo, we have frosted our cake with our Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe.
You can find a listing of our favorite frostings in the Frostings category of our Recipes section, there are so many that would pair perfectly with this wonderful cake!
The mixing method used in this cake recipe is known as the Reverse Creaming Method. You will notice that the order that the ingredients are added is different than the traditional method of mixing.
We have several cake recipes in our Recipes section that call for the Reverse Creaming Method. (We first read about this method in Rose Levy-Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible, and have been experimenting with incorporating it into many of our favorite cake recipes ever since).
This method results in cakes that are slightly denser and have a velvety texture. For more information on the Reverse Creaming Method, you can find a link to our free cake video tutorial on the method at the bottom of this post!
*If you prefer a fluffier texture to your cakes, you can find this same delicious White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe using the conventional method of mixing. This is also the recipe/mixing method that I use when making White Almond Sour Cream Cupcakes because they come out fluffier!: White Almond Sour Cream Cake Recipe (conventional method).
We hope that you enjoy this amazing recipe! Please let us know if you have any questions!
White Almond Sour Cream Cake (Scratch)
Ingredients
Directions
Did you know that we also have a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake recipe? It is decadent, ultra moist, and has a wonderfully soft texture. You can find it here!: Chocolate Sour Cream Cake Recipe from Scratch
If you prefer to work with cake mixes, here is a great doctored cake mix version of White Almond Sour Cream Cake!: White Almond Sour Cream Cake (Doctored Cake Mix Version)
For more information on the Reverse Creaming Method of mixing as used in this recipe, find our free video tutorial here!: Reverse Creaming Method
You may also like our White Cake Recipe from scratch! It’s another popular choice from our Recipes section! Super moist and slightly lighter in color due to the egg whites in the recipe. We love them both!
Thanks for stopping by My Cake School! We hope you’ll visit again soon.
Hi Christine, Yes, you can double the recipe.
Looks delicious! How long would I bake cupcakes for?
Hi Linda, For standard size cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, check at 18 minutes. The cupcakes will bake with a very slight dome.
Thank you! I’m so glad I found your site. I’m going to follow you on Pinterest 😊
I want to try this recipe but it is difficult to find sour cream here in Greece… can I substitute this with buttermilk, sour milk or yoghurt?
Hi Mihaelia, Yes, you can substitute yogurt for the sour cream. I prefer greek yogurt or regular plain yogurt. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Can I turn this cake into a three layer cake?
I just made this cake using the conventional method. I did a test run and made: 1-8″, 1 6″ and 1 cupcake. I like taller layers so I used a bit more batter per pan. Each layer rose to about 1 1/2″ tall. There was a small dome in the 6″. I like taller layers of cake in my cakes, but each layer could easily be torted. The cupcake was great. Slightest dome. No sticking to the paper liner. Dense but fine crumb, but fluffy too. Light color inside. Not white, but not yellow, and lighter than other vanilla’s I have made. I used the 2 tsp of vanilla, but changed the almond to 3/4 tsp. Very subtle. All in all, this will probably be my go to for vanilla and white. Thank you Melissa and BeBe!
A question regarding my last post..to make this cake whiter in color, would the taste and texture change a lot if I eliminated the yolks, adding the whites only? I know I could use clear vanilla as well. Very good cake!
Hi Paula, I ‘m happy you enjoyed the WASC cake. Without trying it, I am not sure how much the taste and texture would change. I think you would like our white cake recipe, it has only egg whites and 2 Tablespoons less butter than the WASC. We refer to our recipe as a white cake but a true white cake has no butter, using shortening instead. We like the white cake recipe very much. It can be rewritten into the conventional mixing method, if you like. Link below
link to mycakeschool.com
Thank you so much for your reply BeBe. I like your picture with your name!
I would like to try your suggestion of the white cake with egg whites, but I do prefer the traditional method of mixing as opposed to the reverse method. Do you by chance have this recipe written as conventional? Thank you!
Hi Paula, Someone else requested the traditional method and it is posted in the comment section of the White Cake recipe. Look for the post made 10-16-17. I like both methods and usually use the traditional but I like the Reverse creaming also. We have been working on the reverse creaming to simplify it so members will find it easier to follow. The Yellow Cake recipe is the one I have been working on and I think we will be posting it soon. I think it is quicker to make a cake using that method. It has a finer crumb yet a soft taste. I
Hi there,
I LOVE this recipe and get so many rave reviews when I use it (mind you I have never actually used the almond extract). I was just asked to make a lemon cake and I thought why not try this recipe with lemon extract instead of almond. Would it work? Do you know if I would use the same amount or a little bit more than a tsp? Thanks!
Hi Carmel, I have not tried that but I think it should work. Our scratch lemon cake in the recipe section has no vanilla extract so I would leave out the vanilla and almond in this recipe and add 2 teaspoons lemon extract and also add the zest of 1 lemon. It is best to use a microplane to zest the lemon. Our lemon scratch recipe uses 1 Tablespoon lemon extract but it has 3 cups flour so I think you will be fine with just 2 teaspoons. It also has lemon juice but I don’t think you need to add that. We have tried making a lemon cake with just lemon juice but the lemon flavor was just not there. Hope all goes well.
Would this cake freeze well? I want an almond cake for my wedding and it needs to be able to be made in advance and stay moist. Also, could I substitute part of the flour with almond meal?
Hi Isabel, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Yes, the cake layers can be frozen. While the layers are still warm from the oven, wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, then freeze. Wrapping them will keep them airtight while frozen. To thaw, remove from the freezer, when condensation forms on top of the aluminum foil, unwrap and let them continue to thaw. You can crumb coat while the layers are partially frozen, if you like. I have never tried using almond meal so I don’t know if you would have a good result.
Thank you so much! Melt in your mouth, moist dense cake. I will be checking out your site again!
I live in the UK where we don’t have cake flour. Is there a substitute please?
Hi Sharon, I understand in the UK you use plain flour. To make a substitute do the following: for each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour in the UK) whisk to blend. For this recipe, measure out 2 1/2 cups plain flour and remove 5 Tablespoon. Replace with 5 Tablespoons corn flour and whisk to blend.
If you are not familiar with the Reverse Creaming method that this recipe uses, here is a link to the conventional mixing method.
link to mycakeschool.com
I made this cake and it was ahhmazing! It was light and moist. I substituted the milk with buttermilk. It’s my new go-to white cake recipe. Thank you for sharing all of your great recipes Sally!
Hi was wondering if I could turn White Almond Sour Cream Cake into a sour cream pound cake.
Hi Regina, The recipe should work fine in a bundt pan. We have not baked as a pound cake so I am not sure of the time so keep an eye on it. If you are baking in a pan that has a dark interior, lower the temperature to 325 degrees. If you are not familiar to the reverse creaming method, Melissa has a link to a video in the intro to this method. There is also a link to using the conventional mixing method if you would rather use that.
Thank BeBe