Almond Berry Layer Cake Recipe (2024)

This is a delicious and unique summer cake. It tastes like a macaroon with sweet and ever so slightly savory frosting with fresh summer berries. I was unable to find blanched almonds at my local grocery store so I used almond flour instead. 1 3/4 c of blanched whole almonds is equal to 9 oz of almond flour. Enjoy!

So easy and fun to blanch almonds. Put the amount of almonds you need in a heatproof dish, pour boiling water over them to cover and let sit for 2 minutes. Then drain and quickly rinse with cool water. Squeeze the almonds between thumb and forefinger and the skin slips right off. Put them on a kitchen towel to dry completely before running through the food processor.

Made 1.5x batch for three 9" pans. Substituted almond flour using the suggested ratio below, and omitted a.p. flour; even for dusting pans...used plenty of melted butter. Increased the almond extract to 2 tsp per batch. Went rogue for the filling and used whipped cream instead. Spread a generous amount of raspberry jam on the bottom and middle layer, before dolloping on the whipped cream. Blueberries and macerated strawberries on top.

Thank you to the other reviewers for the ratios on the blanched almond flour vs. whole blanched. I used Bobs red mill almond flour @ 9oz.
We used 10' pans so our cakes were thinner and baked for 14 minutes. We ended up making a decadent 6 layer cake and it was gorgeous!
The flavor of this cake was delicious and reminded me christmas rainbow cookies or venetians depending on where your from (my all time favorite cookie)
Perfect summer fruit layer cake!!

9 oz almond flour equals the 1 3/4 almonds in recipe.

I made this cake for my dad's birthday since he requested an almond cake. The finishing flavors were on point and delicious, but the cake came out flat. I made this the first time, and it was literally a pancake with no moistness or fluffiness. The second time I made it (this time in two 8 inch pans), it came out slightly better but it still hadn't risen all the way.

Trader Joes has blanched almonds

My filling totally curdled, and broke down to cold fat pieces. By microwaving it in small increments I was able to bring it back from the brink of total failure!

Aagh! The mascarpone/creme fraiche mixture curdled! I chilled the metal Kitchen Aid bowl before adding the two dairy products and beating them up, but the mixture quickly assumed a lumpy cottage-cheese texture. I read online that you could fix it by heating it in a double boiler, letting it cool to room temperature, and then whipping it. I was skeptical, but IT WORKED! In the end, I was delighted with how this cake turned out-- elegant and delicious!

I did not blanche the almonds - I like the toasty color. Also did not grind them to the finest possible size - I like slight crunchy pieces to be left in. Substituted mascarpone with ricotta. Didn’t have 3x of cake forms, so baked one at a time, for 30 minutes. I would use 1/2 cup of sugar in the filling next time, found it slightly too sweet. I used more almond extract and liqueur than recipe called for.

Who has three cake pans of any size? Frequent bakers, semi-pros, people with very large kitchens and budgets. The other 98%? Not so much.

Amazing. I also did the 9oz almond flour without issue. It’s actually pretty easy to make following the instructions. I did not have the amaretto but used a teaspoon of vanilla extract in the filling and it was good. I will try amaretto in the future though. This was the closest recipe I could find to the Whole Foods berry chantilly cake and love it, we will definitely make this again.

Absolutely delicious.. I also added a layer of wild blueberry jam on top of the bottom layer added a splash of je ne sais quoi but it was great

Delicious show-stopper of a dessert. Made it for my daughter's birthday and it was a huge hit. Substituted sour cream for the creme fraiche, worked perfectly. Used a mix of fresh blackberries, blueberries, and sliced strawberries and it was relatively easy to cut and serve. Will definitely make this again.

C, I believe that kind of effect can result from the outer edges of the cake heating significantly faster than the middle. You might check to see whether your oven temperature runs high, try using shiny light-colored cake pans instead of dark-colored pans (which heat faster), or both.

Like others, I used 9oz of almond flour (from TJ’s) instead of grinding the almonds. I used 9in pans and there was hardly enough batter for two of them, so I didn’t use three. They did not rise much at all but still smell/look good. I think perhaps I didn’t beat enough air into the eggs/sugar even though I beat them for almost 10 mins. Perhaps I overcooked them on the stove. Next time I will try not cooking them and including the third egg white to try to get more air. Also may try 6in pans.

Does anyone know the purpose of the AP flour in this recipe, ie what would happen if you only used almond? And is there a good gluten free substitute for the flour?

This is delicious. I did, however, switch to almond flour and use whipped cream (stabilized with a bit of cream cheese). Big hit!

Epic failure - paper thin and followed the recipe to a t. Super disappointed; was for a birthday and found myself without a cake.

Delicious! I used almond flour like others, and left out the 1tbsp of ap flour so that it would be gluten free. My cakes were fairly flat but that wasn't any issue, still plenty of height with the cream and berries!

Whatever you do don't skip the parchment paper step, even if your pans have sliders to help release the cake. I did and had to metal spatula each cake pan out, using real muscle. Had to cut each layer into quarters to do this, and reassemble. Luckily the quarters pressed together readily. Keep life simple, follow the directions!

I’ve made this cake at least eight times in the past few years. It is always delicious. The stand mixer makes an enormous difference! Use it.Like others, I just use 9 oz almond flour. Today I doubled the recipe and made two layers using 9”x13” pans. After cooling, I spread a thin layer of good raspberry jam on each layer, then top with homemade whipped cream and fresh berries.My family loves it so much they have dubbed it “The Cake.” They request it for special occasions.

This is a perfect holiday party cake. Little mandarin segments, a few slivers of poached pears, and a generous sprinkle of almonds and pomegranate arils match up well with the cake and make a very festive dessert!

I do a mascarpone mixed with a gelatin stabilized slightly sweetened whipped cream here. Nice additions to this filling include various extracts: elderflower is my current favorite. I also don't do three layers - I only have two 8" cake pans. I find that two 9" works OK - but I do want to make this as written one day with three layers. Wonderful cake, lovely impressive desert.

I made this cake several times with lightly sweetened whipped cream, then thought, I should at least try the filling part. To avoid breaking or curdling, disregard the instructions. Beat the mascarpone until light, slowly adding creme fraiche. No separating. No breaking. It was good, but to me, the heaviness of the filling didn't go well with the crispy macaron of a cake. I'll go back to the lightness of whipped cream -like a swedish summer cake - and possibly try the jam layer suggested here.

My boyfriend’s family loves this recipe so much they have named it The Cake. They request it at every family event, so I’ve made it about seven times in the past two years. I layer strawberry jam, whipped cream, and a strawberry-blueberry-blackberry blend on each layer. It’s fantastic.

I recommend making thing recipe in three 6” cake pans as opposed to 8 — they come out much more even, flat, and the tall six inch tower is stunning!

Made as directed, turned out flawless. Delicious and exciting to look at-even the little kids loved it.

You can substitute 230 grams almond flour and skip grinding almonds.

I can’t seem to get it to rise properly. The cakes turned out pretty flat. Any tips?