Vanilla cake layers, filled with plum frangipane, frosted with almond buttercream: a beautiful little summer treat
For the vanilla cake:
1 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
2 cups raw organic cane sugar (or coconut sugar)
6 eggs
1 ¼ cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups packed fine blanched almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease + line two 9 or 10 inch cake rounds with coconut oil and parchment. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add coconut oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla + almond extracts, and stir to combine. Add in milk, stir again.
Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the wet mixture. Stir well to combine, then divide the cake batter between pans and bake for ~35-40 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the fridge or freezer before working with the cakes: you want them to be as solid as possible to cut out the rounds.
Once chilled, use a circle cookie cutter of your choice to cut out as many rounds as you can from the cake layers. Place the mini cakes back into the fridge or freezer to chill before frosting.
For the almond buttercream:
1 cup salted butter softened
16 oz powdered sugar (~4 cups)
1 tsp almond extract
½ tsp vanilla extract
2-4 tbsp milk
Cream the butter with a handheld mixer or KitchenAid until pale yellow, then add extracts and beat again. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time and beat until you reach desired thickness. If it gets too thick, add 1 tbsp of milk until you’re happy with the texture.
Chill frosting in fridge if desired before frosting, but take out the frosting at least 1 ½ hours before frosting to ensure it comes to room temp. If you’re frosting a larger cake or want to cover more surface area, double or triple the amount of frosting.
For the plum frangipane filling:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2⁄3 cup granulated sugar, or coconut sugar*
2 eggs, at room temperature
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1⁄3 cup almond flour
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1-2 plums, finely diced
*please note, if you use coconut sugar it will likely be a bit of a darker color.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add extracts and eggs, beat again until combined. Add almond flour and salt, beat until well combined. Add diced plums and mix once more until the plums are evenly incorporated throughout the frangipane.
To assemble the mini cakes:
Begin by bringing the frosting and frangipane to room temperature- but make sure the cakes are still cold when you’re working with them.
Take one mini cake layer and pipe a ring of frosting around the top edge. Fill center with the frangipane filling, then place another mini cake layer on top. Frost the top of the mini cake with a generous layer of frosting.
Repeat process for the rest of your mini cake layers. Feel free to garnish with whatever you’d like, I use plum slices, fresh figs, and edible flowers.
Chill before serving, enjoy! These pair great with a cup of tea or coffee as well :)
I hope you love this recipe! Follow my Instagram @abigailsapron for more baking and cooking content and more delicious recipes like this.
Have a wonderful day, see you next time <3
With love,
Abigail