fetchpriority=”high” decoding=”async” class=”alignright size-full wp-image-2451″ style=”margin: 5px; float: right;” title=”Wedding cake” src=”https://thinktasty1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Wedding-cake.jpg” alt=”” width=”249″ height=”300″>There are two types of cake that vie for the position of favorite cake.  One of those is carrot cake, which I adore for its moist texture and sweet yet savory frosting.  The other is wedding cake, which I’ve enjoyed since I was a little girl who got to try a piece when my parents returned from a wedding.  For a long time I wondered exactly what it was about this cake that gave it a special taste.  In recent years, as I expanded my culinary experimentation, I discovered that almond extract gave the cake its je ne sais quoi.

The first time I attempted homemade wedding cake was based on necessity.  The bakery that made our wedding cake had closed, and I was determined to serve wedding cake on our second anniversary, as I had at our first.  I began my research and discovered that there were many recipes and disagreement over whether butter or shortening was the better ingredient.

I made two different versions of wedding cake and found that butter was the better choice for me.  While shortening may provide a moister cake, I found it difficult to ignore the slightly plastic taste to the shortening.  Thus, my recipe uses butter, which still produces a tender and flavorful cake.  As my recipe is meant to serve a small crowd, such as two with leftovers for other family members, it is made in a loaf pan.  This recipe could easily be doubled to create a round, layered cake.

When making wedding cake for us, I always use a buttercream frosting, but the filling in the middle varies.  Most recently I used blackberries from our backyard, which I macerated.  I have also used lemon curd and raspberry jam.  Almost any fruit that pleases you could be used.

Wedding Cake

2014-10-22 02:50:42

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Ingredients

1. 3 Tb. unsalted butter, softened
2. 3/4 cup sugar
3. 1 egg
4. 1/2 tsp. almond extract
5. 1-2/3 cake flour
6. 1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
7. 3/4 tsp. salt
8. 2/3 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 9×5 baking pan*.
2. Cream butter with sugar until fluffy.  Add egg, and beat well.  While mixing add almond extract.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. 
3. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture and beat just to combine.  Add half of milk and, again, beat just to combine.  Repeat with remaining flour and milk. 
4. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan and place on baking rack to cool completely.
6. Decorate cake with desired frosting and filling.  If you want to use buttercream frosting, you can find the recipe here.

Notes

1. *You also can make a single layer 9-inch cake.

By TT

Think Tasty https://www.thinktasty.com/