By summerki

About This Recipe:

While the name of this cake says it is has almond in it, my variation does not. The name is a nod to the popular mix-doctored cake attributed to Rebecca Sutterby. This cake is the vanilla mock-mix variation doctored in a similar way that the WASC cake is. There are endless variations of this cake around, but I particularly like a lemon variation that adds 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon lemon oil. Feel free to try experiment with flavoring this cake in various ways. It is an absolutely delicious base cake with a perfect light, tender, moist crumb. This is also my go-to recipe for cupcakes. This is a recipe referenced in the Cake Central Magazine article on cake mixes.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups (17 ¾ ounces) sugar

  4 tablespoons (2 ounces) vegetable shortening or unsalted butter

  ¼ cup vegetable oil

  3 large eggs plus 2 yolks

  2 ¾ cups (14 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon salt

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1 tablespoon cornstarch

  1 cup sour cream

  1 cup water

  1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans. Beat sugar, shortening and oil on medium-high speed of mixer for 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolks one at a time and then beat for 1 minute until well emulsified. Sprinkle dry ingredients over the sugar mixture in mixing bowl and mix for about 20 seconds until the ingredients are distributed. Gradually add the sour cream, water and vanilla and blend for about 30 seconds until it forms a uniform batter. Pour into pans and bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick just comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting, or wrap in plastic wrap until needed.