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Mini Vanilla Almond Cake Parfaits with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Made with layers of sweet almond cake, strawberry cream cheese frosting and topped with fresh strawberries and slivered almonds.
One thing about us is that we love miniature desserts! When we’re planning a dinner party with friends, a fun game night, or a movie night with your besties, we love making something sweet that everyone will love and mini desserts are where it’s at!
These mini vanilla almond cake parfaits with strawberry cream cheese frosting were inspired by Valentine’s Day coming up, but could also be the perfect miniature dessert for spring or summer. Not only are they adorable, but they are so delicious as well.
The layers of almond cake and strawberry cream cheese frosting are the perfect combination! You and your friends and family will love them!
This post is all about mini vanilla almond cake parfaits.
Mini Vanilla Almond Cake Parfaits with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
What’s in this recipe?
Flour: We use unbleached all-purpose flour when we’re baking. Flour helps to give the cake structure and makes the cake soft and fluffy.
Sugar: Sugar is added to the cake to give it a delicious sweet flavor.
Milk: Milk adds moisture and delicious flavor to the cake.
Butter: The butter adds a delicious flavor and makes the cake more moist. Butter is also added to the strawberry cream cheese for additional flavor and to bind the frosting together.
Sour Cream: We added sour cream to the cake to add some delicious flavor and make the cake super moist.
Eggs: Eggs help to bind the ingredients together and give the cake structure.
Vanilla Flavor: A bit of vanilla flavor gives this cake a yummy flavor and pairs well with the almond flavor.
Almond Flavor: The almond flavor is the star of the show and tastes so delicious in this cake.
Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cake rise.
Cream Cheese: We are obsessed with cream cheese icing, and thought it would pair beautifully with strawberries and the light almond cake.
Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar adds a sweet flavor to the cream cheese frosting and gives it a lighter texture as well.
Salt: A bit of salt is added to the frosting to offset some of the sweetness.
Fresh Strawberries: Fresh strawberries take this recipe up a notch! We chopped the strawberries into small pieces and gently folded them into the cream cheese frosting.
How to Make the Cake Parfaits
These are super simple to make and just as easy to assemble for your next dinner party!
Make the Cake Batter…
To start, preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 11×13 rectangular, rimmed sheet pan with butter and parchment paper. *Pro Tip: We always butter the surface of a sheet pan and then press a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.
Then, in a medium size mixing bowl (these are our favorite mixing bowls), whisk together the flour and baking soda and set aside for later.
In a stand mixer, mix sugar, milk, melted butter, and sour cream until combined. Then mix in the eggs one at time, the vanilla and the almond flavor until combined.
Then, gently stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until the ingredients are just incorporated.
Bake the Cake…
In your prepared sheet pan, pour the cake batter and spread evenly across the pan. Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in it and it comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely. If you have the time and want to bake the cake ahead of time, you can store the sheet cake in your fridge overnight and let it chill.
Once the cake has cooled completely, use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut circles of cake to layer the parfait cups.
The Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting…
After the cake is cooled and cut, it’s time to make the strawberry cream cheese frosting! This it the most delicious, fresh addition to the almond cake parfait.
To begin, beat your cream cheese and butter on high in a stand or handheld mixer. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix on low to incorporate the ingredients and then switch to high and mix for 2 minutes. Then fold in the chopped fresh strawberries.
Add the frosting to a piping bag, or for a more rustic look, you can spoon in the frosting to the parfait dishes as you assemble.
Assemble the Parfaits…
Now this is the fun part—assembling the cake parfaits! You can use parfait glasses (these are the ones we used—pink parfait glasses—clear parfait glasses) or any type of small, clear glass. First, add a layer of almond cake, then pipe in a layer of the strawberry cream cheese frosting, add another layer of cake and top with a swirl of frosting, a few strawberry slices and a sprinkle of slivered almonds.
Repeat this process until your parfait dishes are filled. Serve to friends and family and enjoy!
If you made this recipe, we’d love to hear from you! Tag us on Instagram, share on Pinterest, or leave a comment below! It always makes our day connecting with you!
Mini Vanilla Almond Cake Parfaits with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 parfaits 1x
Ingredients
Vanilla Almond Sheet Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup butter (melted)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla flavor
- 1 tsp almond flavor
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup finely chopped strawberries
Toppings
- sliced strawberries
- sliced almonds
Instructions
Vanilla Almond Sheet Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 11×13 rectangular, rimmed sheet pan with butter and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda and set aside for later.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, mix sugar, milk, melted butter, and sour cream until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla and almond flavor. Mix until combined.
- Gradually add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely, then use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut circles for the parfait dish.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a stand mixer, beat softened cream cheese and butter on high until creamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and mix on low to incorporate (so the sugar doesn’t come out of the bowl), then switch to high and mix for 2 minutes.
- Fold in the finely chopped strawberries and add the frosting to a piping bag.
Assemble the Parfaits:
- First, add a layer of almond cake, then pipe in a layer of the strawberry cream cheese frosting, add another layer of cake and top with a swirl of frosting, a few strawberry slices and a sprinkle of slivered almonds.
- Repeat this process until your parfait dishes are filled. Serve to friends and family and enjoy!
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
This post is all about mini vanilla almond cake parfaits.
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