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!

Almond Cake Recipe over the top view garnished with almond slices and lemons with slice cut out

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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!!

Piece of cake on a fork showing texture of soft almond flour 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)

Ingredients for almond flour cake with almond flour, sliced almonds, eggs, sugar and lemon zest

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.

Angle of slice of cake being cut from the almond cake for serving

Almond Cake Recipe Printable:

Almond Cake Recipe

4.98 from 604 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Almond cake recipe with lemon and a slice removed
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!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 slices

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

*To Measure Almond Flour: 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.

Nutrition Per Serving

218kcal Calories17g Carbs7g Protein14g Fat1g Saturated Fat81mg Cholesterol31mg Sodium54mg Potassium2g Fiber13g Sugar120IU Vitamin A1mg Vitamin C65mg Calcium1.3mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Almond Cake Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
218
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
14
g
22
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Cholesterol
 
81
mg
27
%
Sodium
 
31
mg
1
%
Potassium
 
54
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
17
g
6
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
13
g
14
%
Protein
 
7
g
14
%
Vitamin A
 
120
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
65
mg
7
%
Iron
 
1.3
mg
7
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Keyword: almond cake
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
Calories: 218
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

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:

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.

 

4.98 from 604 votes (390 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Oksana
    July 20, 2018

    Our family absolutely loved the cake! I didn’t have store bought ground almonds, so grinded them myself (they were even a little bit salty) . Still the cake was totally amazing. Sooo light! Thank you

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 21, 2018

      I’m so happy you enjoyed that!

      Reply

  • Inga
    July 7, 2018

    Not sure if I added the stars, definitely 5 star.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 8, 2018

      You sure did! Thank you for the wonderful review, Inga! 🙂

      Reply

  • Inga
    July 7, 2018

    Made a double batch of this cake today. I didn’t have any citrus to zest so I substituted with rum – turned out absolutely delicious. The texture of this cake is very light yet fulfilling. I have celiac and absolutely loved this cake, my family who is not gluten conscious also loved this cake, and I’m happy to report that it was eaten within an hour. Thank you Natasha!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 8, 2018

      You’re welcome! I’m so happy you all enjoyed the Almond cake!

      Reply

      • Shara
        November 11, 2019

        Would love for you to know different variations that have come out nice, I would love Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Summer, Chocolate, Valentine’s Day options, Etc…..
        would be a great contest! Or just a great way to expand on an already great idea! Thanks.

        Reply

    • Luanne
      July 26, 2018

      Hi Inga – How much rum (or rum extract??) did you put in? Thanks!

      Reply

  • FaridabadCake
    July 7, 2018

    Hi there,

    Whenever I visit your website, I find something new and amazing work. Your work is amazing. I loved it.

    Thanks for your amazing recipes.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 7, 2018

      Aww, Thank you for the wonderful compliment!

      Reply

  • Julia Korotysh
    July 6, 2018

    It turned out to be SO good as I did everything according to the recipe. Instead of lemon zest I put orange zest. Yum!!! Thank you thank you

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 6, 2018

      Hi Julia! That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂

      Reply

  • rose
    July 3, 2018

    Tried it and came out really well. Thanks for the simple yet amazing recipes. By the way, can you try a coconut flour gluten free recipe?Would love to try your version

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 3, 2018

      I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.

      Reply

  • Peter
    June 16, 2018

    If you replace sugar with 1/4 of the amount with stevia it reduces the carbohydrates significantly

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 16, 2018

      Thank you for sharing that with us Peter!

      Reply

  • Alyona
    June 6, 2018

    Hi Natasha, Made this today, good recipe. Tasted like lemon pound cake and it’s flourless! Mine did come out pretty low but a smaller sized pan could help with that.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 6, 2018

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Alyona!

      Reply

    • Mem
      July 8, 2018

      Do you think this cake would do well in a pineapple upside down cake?

      Reply

  • Brooke Capps
    June 2, 2018

    I will enjoy this Almond Cake–but would really appreciate the Walnut Cake as well!

    Thanks,

    Brooke Capps

    Reply

  • Anna
    May 31, 2018

    Natasha, any chance youve tried this with an egg substitute? This is my absolute favorite cake (I make it with a lemon rosemary glaze and it’s BONKERS) but I’d like to bake it as a birthday cake for a friend with a severe gluten and egg allergy!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      May 31, 2018

      Hi Anna, I’m so happy you love the recipe! You’ll have to share the details on that glaze – it sounds so amazing! I honestly have not experimented with making this egg free, but I think it would be very difficult to get the same results with a substitute.

      Reply

    • Martha
      July 4, 2018

      anna you can try with a flax seed egg substitute. Just google flax seed egg and youll see how to make it. Its simple, just flax seeds and water. Ive used the flax seed egg with gluten free pancake mix when i didnt have eggs and the pancakes turned out just fine.

      Reply

  • Sharmila
    May 29, 2018

    Do you have a recipe for moist chocolate cake

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 30, 2018

      Hello Sharmila! I have several chocolate cake recipes. Click here to see what recipes I have in my archive. I hope this helps!

      Reply

  • kemala hayati
    May 28, 2018

    how tall your cake is? before bake and after bake?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      May 28, 2018

      Hi Kemala, it’s around 1″ before baking and 1 3/4″ to 2″ after baking.

      Reply

      • kemala hayati
        May 28, 2018

        i love the fact that you always replying to question natasha, thanks so much it means a lot😀

        Reply

      • Mark Horne
        July 20, 2019

        I don’t do the gluten free thing at all. I just wanted to make a tasty almond cake. Well, this was it. Great cake! Turned out exactly as pictured. Moist and lighter than I expected. I want to make it again and try adding some fresh fruit. Strawberries or mandarins perhaps. I also think this recipe would be awesome as a Madeleine.

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          July 21, 2019

          I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great feedback!

          Reply

  • kemala hayati
    May 20, 2018

    what if i wanna make this into 6/7/8 inch round cake pan?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 21, 2018

      Hi Kemala, I haven’t tried using those sizes but you would probably need some modifications in bake time. I’m not sure if this recipe would overfill a 6″ pan. Here’s a helpful article when converting cakes to different sized pans.

      Reply

  • Rez
    May 20, 2018

    Thank you so much for the ”Metric” measurement option. It really helps a lot.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 20, 2018

      You’re welcome! It’ll take time to add them to all of our recipes, but totally worth it!

      Reply

  • kemala hayati
    May 19, 2018

    please add gram conversion i need it so muchh thanks

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 19, 2018

      Hello Kemala, there is a conversion tool included in the recipe below the listed ingredients where you can chose “Metric”.

      Reply

  • Nafisah Innis
    May 16, 2018

    Just made this, and it turned out way better than I expected. Taste amazing, looks great, and super simple.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 17, 2018

      Awesome! I’m glad you love it. Thanks for sharing your great review!

      Reply

  • Wiebke
    May 10, 2018

    This looks so tasty, I have to try making it for the long weekend next week 🙂
    But one question arises: are you using top/bottom heat or the fan (convection oven fan)?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 10, 2018

      Hi Wiebke, I am using a conventional oven with top/bottom heat. 🙂

      Reply

      • Wiebke
        May 12, 2018

        Thank you, Natasha 🙂
        Now it’s hard to wait until Wednesday evening when I am going to bake this deliciously looking beauty of a cake.

        Reply

        • Natasha's Kitchen
          May 12, 2018

          My pleasure, I hope you love it!

          Reply

          • Wiebke
            May 16, 2018

            I definitively love it! This is a super tasty cake in itself, but if you need something “bigger” for some party I would suggest the following: make two of these cakes – but only one with the sliced almonds on top (maybe, maybe both). Then make a yogurt-mango-cream (or orange, or lemon instead of mango). Place one layer of cake at the bottom, then one layer of yoghurt-mango-cream and on top another one of these nice cakes. If desired have another layer of cream on top and around. That should be great for any party 🙂

          • Natasha's Kitchen
            May 16, 2018

            Great tips and suggestions, thanks for sharing with other readers!

          • Leena
            July 25, 2018

            Hi Natasha, this recipe seems awesome! I am going to try it soon but I prefer eggless cakes so maybe I shall use flaxseed substitute or maybe apple sauce or mashed bananas and one more thing do you think I could use your recipe to make coconut cake too using coconut flour instead of almond flour??? Thanks for the wonderful recipes 😊

          • Natashas Kitchen
            July 25, 2018

            Some readers have reported using coconut flour. If you experiment please let us know how you like it! Thanks Leena!

  • Mrs. Finkel
    May 9, 2018

    Natasha, that almond cake turned out to be amazing from the 1st attempt! My friends and family now think I’m the best baker EVER. You are a treasure. Thank you SO much for the recipe and instructions.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 9, 2018

      My pleasure! I’m glad to hear how much everyone enjoys the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!

      Reply

  • Anna
    May 3, 2018

    Loved this recipe! Tastes phenomenal (: I want to make it again but if I added blueberries or raspberries in the batter Would it still be moist? Or would I ruin it that way?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 3, 2018

      Hi Anna, I haven’t tried but it’s worth an experiment. If you make it, let me know how it goes.

      Reply

      • Anna
        May 22, 2018

        Turned out great with the berries inside of it (:

        Reply

        • Natasha's Kitchen
          May 22, 2018

          Excellent, I’m glad to hear that Anna!

          Reply

  • lorryfry
    May 1, 2018

    I will be doing this tomorrow but using swerve as to make it keto! I look forward to it ! thank you

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 2, 2018

      I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!

      Reply

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