Made with simple pantry staples, this delicious Sour Almond Loaf Cake looks impressive but is a snap to make. Sour cream and buttermilk work beautifully in this loaf cake, yielding a cake with a tight, golden crumb and gentle sour notes that are enhanced with almond extract. Finish the cake with a tangy, pink glaze that is simply out-of-this-world delicious. Floral hibiscus tea and lemon juice, along with confectioners’ sugar, create this bright glaze that has the perfect balance of sweet and sour to brighten your day.
What I love most about this recipe, aside from its deliciousness, is that it allows for a few ingredient swaps, depending on what you have around. Don’t have buttermilk? Make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to ⅔ cup milk. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so that the milk becomes sour. If you have buttermilk, use ¾ cup in place of all the milk and vinegar. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, whisk 1 ¾ cup of flour with ¼ cup of cornstarch as a substitute. Alternatively, use 2 cups of cake flour instead.
To make the Sour Almond Loaf Cake, you will need the following ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 °F and line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix ⅔ cup milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes. Alternatively, use ¾ cup buttermilk and skip this step.
In a large bowl, sift together 1 ¾ cups flour, ¼ cup cornstarch (or 2 cups cake flour instead), 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer on low speed, beat 8 tablespoons softened butter just until loose and fluffed, about one minute.
Add in 1 ¼ cups sugar and beat until a grainy paste forms, 2-3 minutes.
Add in 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon almond extract, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute.
Add 3 eggs and beat until well incorporated, about 1 minute.
Add ¼ cup sour cream and milk and vinegar mixture (or ¾ cup buttermilk) and mix to combine well.
Decrease the speed to the lowest, add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Use a spatula to mix any remaining large streaks of flour, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon hibiscus tea, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth. The glaze should be thick. Add more tea or water to achieve the desired color and consistency. If the glaze is too runny, add some extra sifted confectioners' sugar and mix well.
Pour the lemon hibiscus glaze over the loaf.
Slice and serve!
Give this delicious Sour Almond Loaf Cake a try this week and be sure to let us know what you think! Tag @cookmerecipes on Instagram and hashtag it #cookmerecipes. We love seeing what you’ve made!
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