Just ask me to bake a cake.
See what happens.
OR, just tell me your birthday – wait for a delivery.
I LOVE baking. I LOVE celebrating others.
Food is my love language.
And, I became immersed in love, love-giving, and love “making” (don’t read too much into those words) in baking this cake for one of my favorite friends.

At first I wanted to keep the flavor a surprise. I asked if I could bake her another cake for her birthday this year – we decided this is the 4th year in a row. I asked her for requests or if I could decide…then I retracted and told her I had a surprise idea. THEN, I saw her a few hours later and had to spill the beans. I was SO excited I just couldn’t hold it in! – I’m terrible with surprises – my little heart just oozes with enthusiasm and I burst and cannot hold it inside. I’ve always been this way –
I’m a VAULT with secrets, until it comes to gift surprises. Then, I’m Lady Louise Looselips 💋

Vanilla Almond Chocolate Chip Layer Cake

Vanilla cake – chocolate chips .
Think marzipan, almond paste, Lazzaroni Amaretti – almond anything (Ryenne’s favorite).
Then, crunchy, crispy sugared almonds. Sugared rosemary.
Buttercream – ALMOND buttercream.
It all comes together into a heavenly union of a dessert cloud.

A sight to be seen and a mixture of flavors to behold.

Enjoy.

Layers upon layer of dessert perfection.

Vanilla Almond Chocolate Chip Layer Cake

Vanilla Cake:
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature (they “fluff” better at room temperature)
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt
1 ¼ cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup Vanilla Sugared Almonds,* chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare three-four deep 6″ round cake pans²by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing the sides. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer) cream together the butter, canola oil and sugar until creamy and well-combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined after each addition.

Stir in vanilla extract.

In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Using a spatula and gently hand-mixing, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter should be thoroughly combined, but there may be some small lumps in the batter and avoid over-mixing. Fold in the mini chocolate chips and *Vanilla Sugared Almonds.

Evenly divide batter into prepared cake pans, and bake on for 30-35 minutes. When the cakes are done, the surface should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean with few moist crumbs (no wet batter).

Allow cakes to cool in their cake pans for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. (I prefer to wrap and freeze my cake layers for several days before frosting – this makes the icing process SO much easier).

Vanilla Almond Buttercream:
2 cups high quality butter (or shortening for extra white frosting), room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar (I like less sweetness)
1 Tbs. cream
2 tsp. almond extract
pinch of sea salt

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer in a large bowl, cream together all ingredients until super smooth.

Assembly:
garnish with Vanilla Sugared Almonds,* mini chocolate chips, and Sugared Rosemary.**

*Vanilla Sugared Almonds:
2 egg whites, room temperature
2 Tbs. vanilla extract
4 cups raw almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites till frothy. Mix in vanilla, then toss in almonds. Stir gently to coat.

In another bowl, combine the sugars and salt. Add to nuts and gently toss to cover almonds.

Spread evenly into two foil-covered sheet pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. 

Allow to cool.

**Sugared Rosemary:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 ounces fresh rosemary branches (4-6 full branches)

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and water in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Do not boil.

Add rosemary branches and stir to coat, simmering about 3-5 minutes. Remove the rosemary with a slotted spoon and place on a cooling rack or parchment paper.

Let the rosemary sit for one hour, until no longer be wet but still sticky.

Roll the rosemary in the remaining sugar to completely coat. Use a fork or spoon to separate the rosemary pieces as needed to fully coat in sugar to prevent any sticking together.

Rosemary can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Use the simple syrup in desserts and cocktails! 😋
(3 parts bourbon + 1 part rosemary simple syrup + 1 lemon twist + 1 sprig **Sugared Rosemary = absolute DELIGHT!)