Almond Pistachio Rainbow Cake
I saw a Lucky Charms cake last year around this time and have been wanting to recreate it for my kids ever since... and the week of St. Patrick's Day seemed like the only appropriate time to do it.
The kids weren't wild about me picking out all of the marshmallows from their favorite cereal, but liked the idea of the marshmallows going onto a cake, especially one for them. Plus, I promised to save enough for their St. Patrick's Day breakfast.
As I was thinking about the cake, I decided to give it an even greater St. Paddy's Day feel and added pistachio pudding mix to my Fluffy White Cake recipe. You don't get a strong pistachio flavor, just a hint and a light green color, which I was looking for without having to add food coloring. After tasting the batter though, I decided it needed a little something else, so I put in a teaspoon of almond extract. Good combo!
Neither flavor is extremely strong, which is makes it a little more kid friendly, in my opinion. Westin told me he thought the texture of the cake was perfectly fluffy and the frosting kind of tasted like whipped cream it was so light and smooth. He always has the best reviews, even when they're bad... which hardly ever happens, of course ; )
So for a fun, tasty and kid-friendly cake, this one is a winner!
Almond Pistachio Rainbow Cake
Yield: 3-layer, 8-inch round cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 whole egg
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 cups cake flour
2 cups, minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 package Jello pistachio pudding mix (3.4 oz)
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
For the Frosting
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Cake
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray each pan with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, combine the egg whites, whole egg, 1/4 cup of milk, vanilla and almond extract.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients together on low speed for 30 seconds.
4. Add the butter one piece at a time, about every 10 seconds. Continue to mix on low speed until the mixture is a fine and crumbly texture. Add the 3/4 cup remaining milk and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 3 separate batches, mixing until light and fluffy, about 4 more minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the batter has been incorporated.
5. Divide batter evenly among your pans, about 16 oz of batter in each.
6. Bake the cakes until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs inserted into the center, about 25 minutes. Let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes before inverting them onto cooling racks to cool completely.
For the Frosting
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for about one minute.
2. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar.
3. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, salt and heavy cream. Turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat for 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to push out any air bubbles.