This is the easiest almond cake with just 4 main ingredients. This cake has a soft, moist crumb and is lightly sweet with a pop of lemon flavor. You won’t believe it is a grain free and gluten free cake recipe!
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This almond cake comes together quickly and is perfect for unexpected company or satisfying the evening sweet tooth. My mother particularly loved this recipe and no matter how old you are, when your Mom is impressed, it’s a big deal :).
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One of my readers, Yana P. wrote in and shared this Calabrian Walnut Cake with us and since there is a Walnut allergy in the family, we made it (even simpler) into an almond flour cake and changed the proportions. I made it 3 times in 1 week and it disappeared fast every single time. Its a keeper!
Watch How to Make Almond Cake:
The texture of this almond cake is so soft and fluffy, you would never guess it is made with finely ground almonds.You can also make a double batch and create a stunning two-layer cake since it bakes up level and is sturdy enough to stack. This would make an amazing gluten free birthday cake!!
Ingredients for Easy Almond Cake:
Literally all you need to make this cake are 4 main ingredients: almond flour, eggs, sugar and lemon zest. I have tested this recipe with and without the sliced almonds over the top and it works both ways. (See exact measurements and print the recipe below)
How to Measure Almond Flour Correctly:
Spoon almond flour into a dry ingredients measuring cup and level off the top with the flat edge of a knife. Do not compress the almond meal into the cup or you may end up with up to 50% more flour! Read all of our tips and tricks for how to measure accurately for baking.
How to Separate Eggs and Bring to Room Temperature:
To separate eggs, you can either use an egg separator or the shells of your egg if you get a clean break on the shell. It is easier to separate eggs while they are cold. To do that, separate eggs then cover and leave at room temperature no more than 30-60 minutes. You could also separate them and place into separate small bowls and set the egg whites over a larger bowl with warm water so the bowl with the egg white warms up within 5-10 minutes.
Almond Cake Recipe Printable:
Almond Cake Recipe

Ingredients
Almond Cake Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour, * measured correctly
- 4 eggs, separated, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest, grated from 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- Confectioners sugar and lemon slices for garnish, optional
Instructions
Prep:
- Grease/butter a 9" cake pan or 9" springform pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Almond Cake Recipe Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 4 egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar. Beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed 3 minutes or until thick, creamy and lightened in color. Add 1 1/2 cups almond flour and 1 Tbsp lemon zest and use a spatula to fold and stir together until incorporated. Wash and dry attachments from the mixer.
- In a second large mixing bowl, add 4 egg whites and beat together until stiff peaks form (about 2 minutes). Fold the egg whites 1 heaping spoonful at a time into the almond batter, folding with each addition just until incorporated and scraping from the bottom of the bowl to ensure batter has an even consistency.
- Once all the egg whites are incorporated and batter is even in consistency (do not over-mix), transfer batter to the prepared baking pan and sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup sliced almonds. Bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until top is firm.
- Let cake rest in the pan 15 minutes then run a thin spatula around the sides and invert it onto your hand then place it right side up on the rack. Let cool to room temperature and garnish with powdered sugar and lemon slices if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Almond Flour Recipes you will LOVE:
- Almond Nutella Cake – flavor explosion gluten free indulgence
- Raspberry Macarons – gluten free cookies with raspberry filling
- Almond Croissants – incredible French bakery style filling
Q: What are your very favorite almond flour recipes or gluten free recipes? I’d love to hear from you in a comment below! We are always looking for new ideas.
You are the best Natasha. All your recipes are amazing. I have tried this cake recipe many times and it always comes soooo delicious. Many many thanks beautiful.
Thank you for that wonderful compliment! I’m so happy you’re enjoying our recipes!
This cake turned out well. Followed the directions exactly. It was less than an inch high and I used a 9″ springform.
Can this recipe be doubled and baked in one pan or would you suggest to make two layers?
Good to hear that! Someone else shared this comment “I made a double recipe for a baby shower today. I layered it (2 9inch cakes sliced in half – so 4 layers) and put almond flavoured whipped cream and blueberries+blackberries between the layers. It was a perfect light cake for a summer party” I hope that helps.
Just made this today with help from my 4 year old son – and we both really enjoyed it! I forgot the almonds on top, and i’m sure that kicks it up even more but it was great and very simple to make. Moist, just sweet enough and 4 year old approved . We will definitely be making this again! 🙂
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
I made it. Taste and texture are great but it’s only about 1/2 inch high! Not a great visual for a birthday or a company dessert. So I surrounded it with strawberries cut in half.
It would help to have the almond flour given as a weight.
Hi Deborah, it should be taller than 1″. I would suggest watching the video tutorial in the post to see where things started to look different. Click on Metric in the recipe card and you will see the weight measurement. It may be too much almond flour.
Or maybe the pan was to big?
Hello,
I made this thrice already. Thank you so much. What are your tips to make it more moist instead of dry. Mine’s turning out dry but delicious. Should I add another egg?
Hi Arvs, a dry cake is usually due to over-baking which can dry out the crumb in the cake.
I made it, came out really good, i know this is a repeat 👍
Hi, I have two questions. 1. Can this be made with a stand mixer?
2. Is it important to do the egg yolk and egg white separately? Can all be combined together in one go in a stand mixer?
Hi, I would highly recommend making the recipe as written and you can use a stand mixer instead of an electric mixer.
Not sure what I did wrong, but mine turned out very flat like a thick cookie. The taste was good, however but not super moist.
Hi Lora, are you possibly using a larger pan to make your cake very flat and cause that to bake faster. Was anything else possibly altered in the recipe?
And does this cake rise while baking? If so, how much, approximately?
Thank you!
Hi Arielle, I suggest watching the video to gauge.
Hi, I was reading through the comments, and this cake seems pretty awesome and highly recommended. This morning I made an almond cake using a different recipe, but the instructions weren’t as clear, resulting in different results.
I would like to try the recipe, but I was wondering if it needed a simple syrup kind of thing to keep it moist? The batch I made this morning was a bit dry, so I’m more cautious of that now. 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Arielle, we don’t normally add anything besides what is in the recipe. Be sure not to over-bake the cake.
Delicious! Made this for my husband’s birthday. Lightly sweet, moist with a very light marzipan flavor. We will make it again.
Thank you for sharing that wonderful review with me, Rebecca! I’m glad you enjoyed that.
Natasha, I made your almond flour cake today for New Years. It was so easy and came out so tender and moist. I followed your recipe exactly but for one thing, I did not have a lemon, so I used an orange instead. Boy was it good, thank you for a great gluten free recipe.
Happy New Year, Cass! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review with me!
Very good, one of the best cakes I tried making…
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi there, Natasha!
I love all of your recipes! Have you tried the Almond Cake recipe with a sugar substitute? And if so, could you please give me some recommendations?
Thank you!
Thank you, Jennifer but I honestly haven’t tried any other substitute to advise. I recommend checking the comments section below the recipe if someone else has tried it.
Hi Natasha,
I was searching for a gluten free cake recipe and am so happy I found one.Looks simple and amazing with just 4 ingredients.I want to try it ASAP. I am out of lemon but I have lemon essence. Can I substitute the 1tbsp lemon zest with lemon essence? If yes how much?
Hi Samina, I imagine that should work too but I have not personally tried it to advise. But I imagine that will work.
Hi Natasha,
I tried the almond cake today and it turned out awesome. I added 1tsp of lemon extract and 3 Tbsp of lemon juice as I did not have lemon zest and the flavor was perfect. So moist and delicious and easy to make .
Gluten and dairy free unbelievable!!!. The sweetness is so balanced with lemon flavor and the almond crunch..over all it’s amazing!!!.Thank you so much for coming up with a gluten free yumilicious recipe!
I would greatly appreciate if you can share more gluten free recpies of cookies and cakes .
Thank you so much for that suggestion Samina! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Just enjoyed this cake for dessert following your Chicken and Broccoli stir fry! Both recipes were great and we will definitely be making them both again. Thank you for your delicious recipes!
Hi Gillian, I’m glad you’re enjoying my recipes. I hope that you will love every recipe that you will try!
This cake is awesome. It’s like marzipan in cake form. It was super easy to make. The first time I made it, I had it with homemade cream cheese ice cream. The second time I made it, I had it for breakfast!! Delish.
Hi Martica! I’m glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Hello Natasha! First of all, let me say, I absolutely LOVE your recipes! They always turn out to be fantastic. By the way, I love your enthusiasm on your show,! I have tried many of your recipes including your Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and your banana bread. I tried this almond cake, and it came out exactly like it looked in the picture! It wasn’t too sweet, and the lemon zest was an amazing touch to the cake. Thank you so much for your recipes, and I am looking forward to trying many more of them!
Hello Sophie, great to read your comments and feedback. Thank you for an awesome review, I hope that you will love every recipe that you will try!
When I cooked mine is more like brownish and not yellow? what is that?
It’s supposed to be a golden brown type of color and not exactly yellowish.
Natasha, question – it says 218 calories per serving it but doesn’t state the portion size. How do I cut the cake to get 218 cal per slice? 6? 8? 12? It looks delicious and 17g carbs works with my diabetes plan but only if I know how to cut the cake in order to get one serving.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this.
Servings: 8 slices. You may base the nutritional info on the servings stated in the recipe card. I hope that helps.
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! I would have taken a picture, but my family ate it all so quickly! Thank you for this receipe.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Just perfect! Thank you for recipe!