White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake

Total Time: 55 mins

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

   2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury) 

   2 cups all-purpose flour

   2 cups granulated sugar 

   1 1/2 teaspoons salt 

   2 2/3 cups water

   1/4 cup vegetable oil

   2 teaspoons real vanilla 

   2 teaspoons almond extract

   2 cups sour cream

   8 large egg whites

 

Directions: 

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full. Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top. Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done. Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used. I used Wilton's Bake Even Strips on my cake pans to ensure a level-topped cake which required absolutely no trimming-- I highly recommend these, or good quality professional baking pans. In 2" deep pans, this recipe makes: One 14" round and one 6" round or One 16" round or One 12" round and one 10" round or One 12 X 18" sheet cake or One 12" round and one 8" round and one 6" round or Two 9" squares or 5 dozen cupcakes. Half the recipe makes: Two 7" rounds or Two 6" rounds and 6 cupcakes. For chocolate cake: use chocolate mixes and substitute 6 whole eggs for the egg whites. For liqueur flavors: substitute alcohol (such as champagne or Kahlua) for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe. For berry flavors: use frozen berries, thaw reserving the juice. Substitute the berry juice for part of the water in the recipe, and stir the berries in at the end. For lemon cake: substitute lemon juice for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe, use 6 whole eggs instead of the whites, stir in 1 Tblsp lemon zest, and use 1 tsp of a good lemon extract in place of the almond.  For white chocolate: melt 8oz white baking chocolate & cool slightly. use 6 whole eggs in the recipe instead of the whites, temper the chocolate by stirring in a small amount of the batter, then add the white chocolate to the entire batter and stir well. Doesn't bake up quite as high as the original, so add a pinch more batter to the pans.