Almond Joy Cake Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Wellplated Com

Every year I have an age-inappropriate amount of fun planning my birthday cake. While Ben is content with a simple batch of cookies (even Cookie Cake is a little fancy for him), I like to use my birthday as an excuse to be a bit more… excessive.

One layer of cake? No, let’s make it three! Chocolate frosting? Okay, but let’s add in some cream cheese for added richness and body (like in the frosting of my favorite Strawberry Cake).Plain yellow cake? Nah, let’s jazz things up with some shredded coconut (like in this Banana Cake).

This Almond Joy Cake was originally the result of my joyous birthday cake plotting, but it has since earned cult status among our group of friends. It’s buttery, moist, and boasts three proud layers. With its rich frosting, plush crumb, and touches of texture, it is completely over the top, but that won’t stop you from having a second slice.

How to Make Almond Joy Cake

This Almond Joy cake is every wonderful component of an Almond Joy, baked into luscious, three-layer cake form. It’s utter heaven for Almond Joy candy bar lovers everywhere, without being so sweet as the turn off the skeptics.

The Ingredients

Flour. This easy Almond Joy cake is made with half all purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. The whole wheat flour is totally undetectable, meaning you can reward yourself with a second slice for sneakily slipping in those whole grains to your unsuspecting birthday guests.Sugar. For moisture, tenderness, and sweetness.Eggs. Give this cake lift, richness, color, and a lovely fluffy texture.Coconut Oil. Packs this cake with moisture (like this Instant Pot Cake) and subtle coconut flavor.Butter. This cake is here to party.Coconut Flakes. Add sweetness, texture, and tropical coconut flavor. (I’m also on team coconut when it comes to this Healthy Carrot Cake recipe.)Cream Cheese. Instead of a butter base, I opted for light cream cheese (like I did for this Chocolate Beet Cake), which provides an incredibly luscious texture and tang to keep the frosting from being too sweet. It spreads beautifully, sets nicely, and lets the chocolate flavor shine.

Nonfat Milk. Thins the icing to a perfect spreadable consistency.Semi-Sweet Chocolate. In my dark-chocolate loving opinion, the Almond Joy’s single flaw is its milk chocolate vs. dark chocolate exterior, so I made this frosting very chocolatey (like my favorite Flourless Chocolate Torte) opting for semi-sweet chocolate rather than milk chocolate.

Cocoa Powder. Deepens and intensifies the chocolate taste of this heavenly chocolate cream cheese frosting.Almond Extract and Vanilla. Infuse both the cake and frosting with smooth vanilla and rich almond flavor. Almonds. Top the cake with a birthday crown of chunky almonds. Get after it.

The Directions

Storage Tips

To Store. Cover the cake, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving.To Freeze. Freeze your frosted or unfrosted cake for up to 2 months. Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before serving.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Cake Pans. For this recipe, you’ll need a total of three 9-inch cake pans.Offset Spatula. Makes icing this cake a breeze. Stand Mixer. For those who take birthday cake baking as seriously as I do, a stand mixer is well worth the investment.

It’s my party, and I’ll have an over-the-top cake if I want to!