Ingredients:
For the cake
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 16 maraschino cherries, cut into eighths
- 5 egg whites, room temperature, stiffly beaten
For the frosting
- 8 oz (1 block) cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup maraschino cherry juice
- 6 cups confectionary sugar
Directions:
To make the cake
Step 1: Prepare the oven. Preheat it to 350 degrees f.
Step 2: Grease and flour two 9-inch round layer cake pans and if desired you can line the bottom of the pan with parchment.
Step 3: in a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 4: in a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar for about 5 minutes or until fluffy.
Step 5: use a measuring cup to measure the milk, almond extract, and cherry juice.
Step 6: alternately add the wet and dry ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, to the creamed mixture. Make sure to beat well every after addition. And fold in the cherries.
Step 7: In a different bowl, stiffly beat the egg whites. To lighten the batter, fold in 1/3 of beat whites to the batter. Then, fold in the rest of the egg white mixture until fully combined.
Step 8: share the batter between the pans. Place inside the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake is springy when touched.
Step 9: once done, remove the pans from the oven. Don’t remove the cakes yet, let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, carefully loosen the edges with a think knife. Transfer the cakes onto the racks and cool them into room temperature.
To make the frosting
Step 1: in a bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese with 1/2 confectionary sugar. Stir in the cherry juice and mix in enough confectionary sugar to get your desired consistency and taste.
