Almond Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Mascarpone Frosting

These soft and fluffy white cake layers flavored with almond extract are filled with a sweet blood orange curd, then wrapped up in a light and silky mascarpone frosting. And no joke, the blood orange curd tastes like sherbet! The minute I tasted it, I was brought back to my childhood of eating that bright orange sherbet out of little containers. If you know what I'm talking about, you will definitely love this cake! 

For more layer cake recipes, try Black Velvet Cake, Chocolate Tiramisu Cake, Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting, and Cranberry Orange Cake.

Ingredient Notes

• Cake Flour: Cake flour will make this cake perfectly soft, but if you're in a pinch you can use all-purpose flour. 
• Granulated Sugar: You'll need a little less than 1 cup of sugar for the cake, ¼ cup for the curd, and a little more than ⅓ cup for the frosting. 
• Baking Powder: You'll need 2 teaspoon of baking powder for the cake. 
• Unsalted Butter: You'll need one stick of unsalted butter in total for the cake and curd. 
• Oil: Use any neutral oil, such as vegetable, canola, or light tasting olive oil for the cake. 
• Milk: Use whole milk for the best flavor. 
• Yogurt: Use whole milk greek yogurt for the best flavor and texture. 
• Almond Extract: Add 1 teaspoon to the cake batter for a subtle almond flavor. 
• Eggs: You'll need two egg whites for the cake and three egg yolks for the curd.
• Blood Oranges: You'll need about 2 blood oranges for the curd. 
• Heavy Cream: You'll need slightly more than ¾ cup of heavy cream for the frosting.
• Mascarpone: You'll need ¾ cup of mascarpone for the frosting. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this almond cake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

STEP 2: Add butter. Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.

STEP 3: Add wet ingredients. Add the oil, milk, yogurt, and almond extract, and mix until just combined. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined. 

STEP 4: Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 26-28 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

STEP 5: Cool. Cool completely before frosting.

STEP 6: Prep the curd. In a heat proof bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the blood orange curd.

STEP 7: Heat. Place bowl over a double boiler and whisk constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (or about 150 degrees F).

STEP 8: Strain and cool. Strain curd through a mesh sieve, then refrigerate.

STEP 9: Make the frosting. In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, sugar, mascarpone, and vanilla, and whisk until thick. 

STEP 10: Assemble the cake. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the first cake layer, then pipe a wall of frosting around the edge. Pour the blood orange curd in the center, then top with the second cake layer. Frost the cake as desired and top with blood orange slices and sprinkle with raw cane sugar. 

Expert Baking Tips

• Read my tips above for how to bake perfectly flat cake layers!
• If you'd like, you can make the cake layers and blood orange curd the day before serving. Either freeze the cake layers overnight or keep them at room temperature. Make the frosting closer to when you will serve it. 
• Store leftover cake slices in the fridge. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x