Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter with the oil and sugar until creamy on medium speed. This will take about 2-3 minutes, and it'll look a bit grainy and fluffy.
⅓ cup unsalted butter, 1 ⅔ cups sugar, ¼ cup neutral oil
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition. Mix in the almond and vanilla extract.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour with the baking powder and salt.
2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then mix on low. Add ½ the buttermilk. Repeat once more, then end with the flour mixture.
1 cup buttermilk
Pour the smooth cake batter into the prepared pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before removing and letting them cool completely on wire cooling racks.
Cherry Filling
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Let it come to a simmer and stir constantly for 6 minutes.
Turn the heat to medium-low and let it cook for another 2 minutes. It should have gotten very thick and glossy. Pour into a bowl and let it cool completely.
Whipped Cream
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Beat until you have medium peaks.
1 cup heavy cream, ⅛ cup confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Assembly
Place one cake layer down and cover with half of your whipped cream. Spoon over half of your cherry filling. Carefully place the second cake layer on top, then top with the remaining whipped cream and cherries.
Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven’t tested the recipe with this method. Click on 'Metric' above ingredients to see the metric measurements. Butter: I use European style butter in my recipes. This will make your frosting much creamier and richer.Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I'm using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, not Morton Salt which is much saltier. Storage: Keep the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. Making Ahead: You can make the cake layers ahead of time. Bake them and then once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, allow to defrost and come to room temperature before frosting the cake.