Easy & Pretty Vanilla Almond Tea Cake
Everyone needs an easy and pretty vanilla cake in his or her repertoire. This Vanilla Almond Tea Cake is buttery and just sweet enough; no frosting or glaze needed.
We think of it as an old-fashioned butter cake made extra pretty in a decorative ring mold.
Lots of Topping Options
A sprinkling of powdered sugar is an option, but you will love this plain as well; try it toasted for breakfast. Some of our images show it served with Roasted Strawberries and Whipped Cream.
Choose a Shape for your Pan
The gorgeous shape comes courtesy of your choice of pan. We used the Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan but any 10-cup (2.4 L) volume heavy ring-shaped pan will work. We think our Vanilla Almond Tea Cake is even better when made in a gorgeous pan!
Our Vanilla Almond Tea Cake Get’s Better with Age!
We like this cake for brunch parties; not only does it play nice with other sweet as well as savory items on your buffet but it actually improves with age.
Make it 2 to 3 days ahead and the crumb tightens, the flavors meld and improve and it actually becomes more uniformly moist.
Vanilla Almond Tea Cake
This Vanilla Almond Tea Cake can be made in any 10-cup (2.4 L) Bundt or decorative ring shaped pan. It works well on its own, with fruit and or whipped cream on the side and packs well. We even like it better 2 or 3 days after it is baked.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (218 g) low FODMAP gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 1/2 cups (144 g) finely ground almond flour, made from blanched almonds, such as King Arthur
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, use gluten-free if following a gluten-free diet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons, (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons; 141 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 1/2 cups (297 g) sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (65 ml) lactose free whole milk, at room temperature
Preparation:
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Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C. Coat the insides of a 10-cup (2.4 L) ring shaped pan generously with nonstick spray; set aside.
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Whisk together flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a medium bowl to combine and aerate; set aside.
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In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and beat until very lightened. This will take several minutes and the mixture will remain somewhat sugary. Scrape down the bowl once or twice during mixing. Beat in vanilla.
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Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. The mixture should look creamy at this point.
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Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternately with the milk. Begin and end with the flour mixture and beat very briefly just until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top with a small offset spatula.
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Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle shows a few moist crumbs clinging. The cake will be golden brown and also spring back when lightly pressed with a finger. Cool pan on rack for 15 minutes. Unmold directly on rack to cool completely.
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Cake is ready to serve or store at room temperature for up to 4 days wrapped well with plastic wrap. Do not refrigerate, as that will dry it out. We like this cake best 2 days after it is baked, so take advantage of this fact!
Notes:
If You Can Tolerate
- Fructans: If you have passed the fructan wheat Challenge you may use regular all-purpose flour. Use the same weight as given above for best results with this substitution. In this case you can also leave out the xanthan gum.
- Lactose: If lactose and you get along, feel free to use conventional whole milk.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
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Have you tried to make this recipe vegan with some type of butter substitute? I would love to make this but I have to make it dairy free (not for me but for someone else).
Hi Emily, I have not. If you are just switching up the butter, I would say try it and then let us all know how it goes! Certainly the flavor will not be the same. Texture will; change too, but I have no idea how much.
Does it need the additional xantham gum if the flour substitute already contains it?
Hi Katrina, great question! The cake was tested as described. The additional xanthan gum helps with the additional almond flour, which can create an overly heavy texture. It also helps the cake create a distinct shape in a decorative pan and unmold beautifully.
Have you tried this cake with coconut or almond milk?
I’d like to make it into small rounds and layer it with ice cream & strawberries for a birthday cake – do you suggest freezing it if I cut it or just leaving it set for a day to firm up?
Thanks!
I’ve only made the recipe as written and so therefore can only vouch for the results as presented. If you are going to make it the day before I would just leave it will wrapped at room temperature. Let us know how it goes!
Holy cow is this GOOD! Tastes sort of like a pound cake or a french cruller. Crunchy, yet super moist, sweet and dense. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
FYI:
1) step #2 should include whisking the xantham gum into the dry ingredients as well
2) description of the amount of butter is confusing – looks like you are saying to use twice the amount of butter that it calls for (I figured out you were just re-stating that a 1/2 cup of butter is one stick, but using a comma instead of parentheses was confusing to me).
Can’t wait to make this for company!
You are absolutely right! A victim of a cut and paste incident no doubt. I have fixed the edits and TRULY appreciate your attention to detail. Let us know how quests enjoy it – and seriously, it is even better a couple days down the road, which is unusual. Try it toasted!
This was brilliant. Make it for an afternoon tea with family, served Strawberries on the side and lightly dusted with icing sugar. Winner!!
Oh music to my ears Jodie! I love a “plain” cake and I agree this one is special.