- 1-2/3 cups King Arthur Cake Flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pure almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 6 egg whites
- 2-1/2 cups chopped pistachios, divided and toasted
- 2 tsp orange peel, finely shredded
Grease and flour three 8 x 1/2-inch round cake pans.
Combine
the King Arthur cake flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium
sized bowl. Set baking pans and flour mixture aside.
Cream butter until light and fluffy; adding granulated sugar gradually. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.
Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk on low speed; just until combined.
In
another bowl, with clean beaters, beat egg whites until stiff peaks
form. Fold the egg white mixture gently into the batter. Next fold in
1-1/2 cups of the chopped pistachios and the orange peel.
Pour
into prepared pans and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 35
minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cake
layer comes out clean.
Allow
cake to cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove and allow to cool
thoroughly on a wire rack. Frost with the white chocolate butter cream
frosting and decorate with the remaining 1 cup of chopped pistachios.
