Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk 2% milkfat
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup egg whites plus 3 tablespoons*

frosting:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups butter softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar, super fine grain if you can find it
• Sliced almonds and whole almonds for decorating

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 round 9″ cake pans.
2. Using a mixer and a clean dry bowl beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator until you’re ready to add the egg whites to the batter.
3. In a large bowl cream the butter for about 2 minutes until it is white and fluffy in appearance. Add sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy (about another 1-2 minutes).
4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. In a second bowl, combine the milk and almond extract . Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternating in three batches with the milk mixture. Beating in between each batch.
5. Add the stiffly beaten eggs to the cake batter with a spatula. Fold the egg whites in gently. Do not over mix.
6. Pour the cake batter equally into the prepared cake pans.
7. Bake the cakes for 25-27 minutes or until it is firm to the touch. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and remove them from the pans to a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely.
8. Frosting: In a saucepan, stir the flour and milk together over medium-low heat until it thickens. Stirring constantly, lowering the heat to low if needed. For about 15 minutes. It needs to be super thick like mashed potatoes.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and set the pan in a bowl of ice for 5-10 minutes to quicken the cooling process. The temperature of the mixture should be at room temperature before finishing frosting.
10. Stir in the almond extract.
11. If you have a food processor, process the white sugar for a minute or so so that the granules become finer.
12. While the mixture is cooling, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Do this for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely creamed and there are no granules left.
13. Add the cooled flour mixture and beat it until it all combines, scraping the bowl frequently.  It will look like whipped cream. This will take  3-5 minutes of beating.
14. Once the cakes are cool, place one cake on a cake plate. Spread frosting on top of that layer, then place the other cake on top of the frosted cake. Use the remainder of the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.
15. Decorate the sides and top with sliced and whole almonds if desired.