White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake

Donna M.'s Note:

I made my daughter's wedding cake using this recipe. It turned out fantastic. The texture is just perfect for a wedding cake -- not too fluffy so it breaks from the weight, but also not overly dense. The flavor, texture and moistness were just right. I made two batches of the batter for a three-tiered wedding cake using 14", 10" and 6" pans that were 3-inches deep. I had enough extra batter for a 9" layer (not a deep pan). This recipe was originally created by Rebecca Sutterby.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 40

• 2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 2⁄3; cups water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups sour cream
• 8 large egg whites

Directions:

1. Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full.
4. Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.
5. Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.
6. Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.
7. I used Wilton's Bake Even Strips on my cake pans to ensure a level-topped cake which required absolutely no trimming-- I highly recommend these, or good quality professional baking pans.
8. In 2" deep pans, this recipe makes:
9. One 14" round and one 6" round
10. or One 16" round
11. or One 12" round and one 10" round
12. or One 12 X 18" sheet cake
13. or One 12" round and one 8" round and one 6" round
14. or Two 9" squares.
15. or 5 dozen cupcakes.
16. Half the recipe makes:
17. Two 7" rounds
18. or Two 6" rounds and 6 cupcakes.
19. For chocolate cake: use chocolate mixes and substitute 6 whole eggs for the egg whites.
20. For liqueur flavors: substitute alcohol (such as champagne or Kahlua) for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe.
21. For berry flavors: use frozen berries, thaw reserving the juice. Substitute the berry juice for part of the water in the recipe, and stir the berries in at the end.
22. For lemon cake: substitute lemon juice for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe, use 6 whole eggs instead of the whites, stir in 1 Tblsp lemon zest, and use 1 tsp of a good lemon extract in place of the almond.
23. For white chocolate: melt 8oz white baking chocolate & cool slightly. use 6 whole eggs in the recipe instead of the whites, temper the chocolate by stirring in a small amount of the batter, then add the white chocolate to the entire batter and stir well. Doesn't bake up quite as high as the original, so add a pinch more batter to the pans.

Reviews

[the4taals]

I used the vanilla variation to make cupcakes, they were awesome! Next week I will be making chocolate & vanilla for a 50th birthday party, then the following week making chocolate, vanilla and lemon for my son's hockey banquet! I was worried when I tasted the raw batter it seemed really sweet but it tasted fantastic after baking and had great texture.
For the lemon version I used 1/3 cup of lemon juice to replace 1/3 cup of water, it was really good, the hit of the party, got eaten first before the vanilla and chocolate. For the chocolate version I use 1/2 cup of cocoa to replace 1/2 cup of flour to give it a fudgier taste.

[AnnaMS]

I used this recipe to make 200 cupcakes, plus one giant cupcake (the Wilton pan) for my daughter's wedding. As a previous reviewer did, I used clear vanilla and left out the almond extract; my daughter's preference. I made the cupcakes on Thursday and we decorated them on Friday for her Saturday wedding; they were moist and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!

[gabgirl]

Very delicious cake! It was a hit among my family! I used a mocha variation. Used 2 cups prepared strong coffee and 2/3 cups water. (So still used same amount of liquid) It turned out great. I used 2 cookie sheets for this recipe, instead of the 1 that it states, and it was ready in 25 minutes! Thank you...I will definately be making this again...maybe next time with the white chocolate!