White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Vanilla Bean American Buttercream
Heather Baird
This cake starts with a box of white cake mix but is improved upon with additions of sugar, flour, sour cream and flavorings. It's often made for weddings because if its moistness and pure white interior. The frosting recipe will make a little more than you''ll need for this cake, but I always like to have extra just in case accidents happen pre-party. My mom used to say that spackle makes all carpenters equal. I tend to believe the same is true with bakers and frosting.
Jumbo Rainbow Nonpareils (you'll only use the yellow ones in the jar)
Satin Ice Ready-Made Rolled Fondant (in colors white, pink orange and blue-green)
Decorator Piping Tips (in graduated sizes)
Ingredients
White almond sour cream cake layers
1box/ 16.25 oz. white cake mix
1cup/128g all-purpose flour
1cup/200g granulated sugar
Generous pinch of salt
1cup/242g sour cream
1cup/ 8 oz. cold water
3large eggs
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2teaspoonalmond extract
Vanilla bean buttercream
2cups/452g of unsalted buttersoftened
8cupsconfectioners’ sugar
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
Milk or heavy creamoptional
Instructions
White almond sour cream cake layers
Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a four cup measure, stir together the sour cream, water, eggs and extracts. With a hand mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl down and mix again. Divide the cake evenly between the pans, about 3 cups per 9-inch pan or 2 cups per 7-inch. Bake for 25- 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back in the center when pressed.
Vanilla bean buttercream
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners sugar. Begin on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
Add vanilla bean and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency. Beat until light and fluffy.
Fill each 7-inch cake layer with 1/2 cup frosting, or if making 9-inch layers, use 1 1/4 cups. Stack cake layers and frost entire cake with a generous covering of buttercream. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Buttons and Daisies Fondant Decors How-To
First, roll out about 1/4 lb. of fondant per the package's directions. If you're a beginner with fondant, be sure to read the pamphlet on the inside of the box. Work with one color at a time and be sure to close the unused fondant in an airtight container while you work.
For the large buttons, I used Ateco #822 tip just like a cookie cutter to cut out the rounds, but you could use any 1-inch round cutter. The Wilton #2 round decorator tip was used for the smaller buttons, and it measures approximately 3/4-inch. On the larger 1-inch cut outs, center the smaller piping tip in the middle of the button to impress a small circle, then with the piping end of the Wilton #2 tip, create 4 button holes.
For the smaller buttons, I used a 1/2-inch magic marker cap to make a button-like impression in the fondant. Use the #2 piping tip to punch two button holes. Allow the buttons to dry until firm, about 3 hours.
For the large daisies, use the fondant daisy cutter to cut shapes from rolled white fondant. Stack two cut-outs on top of each other and press a yellow candy bead in the center. Be sure to press the candy into freshly cut fondant -it won't stick if it's been sitting too long and dries. Tip! I propped some of my daisies up on the curve of a bowl to give them extra dimension.) Allow daisies to dry until firm.
For the tiny daisies, cut white rolled fondant with a small daisy plunger cutter. Press a yellow jumbo non-pareil into each cut flower. As before, be sure to press the centers in while the fondant is fresh and moist.
Arrange buttons and daisies in garland-fashion around the top and bottom edge of the cake. Use additional buttercream as glue if the pieces don't naturally stick.
Keyword sour cream, WASC, wedding cake, white cake mix