Double layer cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place racks on the second lowest shelf. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans by cutting two circles of parchment paper to line the bottom of each pan and spraying the sides of the pans and the parchment circles with pan release spray.
2. Sift the two flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium stainless-steel bowl. If you’re using a stand mixer, use the whip attachment to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients on low speed.
3. In a separate stainless-steel bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the milk, canola oil, and almond extract. With the mixer on low-medium speed, add your egg mixture to the dry ingredients and run the machine for 40 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the boiling water to the instant espresso to dissolve. On low speed, add the espresso liquid to the bowl. Once the espresso has absorbed, turn the machine on high for 1 minute to incorporate air into the batter. Stop the machine and scrape the bowl one more time. Run on high for 20 more seconds.
5. Divide the batter equally between two prepared cake pans. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cakes are ready to be removed from the oven. Let the cakes rest at room temperature in their pans on a wire cooling rack. Once at room temperature, cover the cakes (still in their pans) and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Remove the cakes from the pans and decorate with the chocolate espresso icing (below), toasted sliced blanched almonds, and fresh berries.

Chocolate espresso icing

1. Heat the milk, almond extract, and instant espresso in a small saucepan until hot (but not boiling) and the espresso is dissolved. Cool the liquid in a refrigerator.
2. In a stand mixer using the whip attachment, and starting at a low speed, whip the butter with the cocoa powder until soft and creamy. In turns, add 1 cup of the icing sugar with 1 tbsp of milk mixture and beat until incorporated. Repeat the above step until all the milk and sugar have been combined. Lower the bowl and scrape the bottom and sides with a rubber spatula. Raise the bowl up and turn the machine on high for 1 1/2 minutes to whisk the icing fully.
3. If the icing appears to be too dry, whisk in milk 1 tbsp at a time until it reaches the proper consistency. If the icing appears to be too wet, add some icing sugar 1 tbsp at a time to reach the right consistency.
4. Use either a baker’s straight stainless-steel spatula or a rubber spatula to decorate the cake.