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 :).
We added our Amazon affiliate links for the tools we used to make this recipe.
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.
Hi Natasha, first of all I want to say I love your recipes, they are simple to make and taste delicious! I want to try to make this almond cake but I would like to add chocolate to the recipe, either into the flour directly or on top of the cake as a ganache or topping. Also I was thinking I could make this into a 2-layer cake and put chocolate in between. Please let me know what you think and any suggestions.
Hi Andrea, I haven’t tried adding chocolate to the recipe so you would have to experiment and let me know how it goes. I love the idea of cutting the cake in half and putting a chocolate ganache or chocolate frosting in the center. That sounds delicious!
Hi Natacha,
Okay I made the cake last night. I made two layers and put a chocolate butterfrosting in between, plus on top and covered the cake with the chocolate. It was delicious and a total hit! The lemon zest went very well with it. Amazing. Thank you for the awesome recipe, I will use it again
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Andrea! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I tried this cake.It turned out incredible.My favorite almond cake receipt so far
Super! Thanks for your amazing review and feedback. I love it!
I’ve made this cake about 5-6 times and it’s always a hit. Easy to make and delicious! This has also become our go-to afternoon tea cake. Thank you, Natasha!
That’s so great, Vee! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I only have almond meal. Would that work with this cake?
Hi Sonja, as long as you get the finely ground almond meal (it is usually marked “almond flour” on the package) and there aren’t any brown flecks in it, it will work well. I have tried the Simple Truth Brand, Bob’s Red Mill and the Big bag at Costco and all work well.
You need to add more than five stars to rate this!! Perfect recipe. Light, delicious, not too sweet, easy to prepare and bake…what can I say??? I have already shared your page with my family and friends. Loved it. Thank you !!!!
What a great compliment, Mona. This is so flaterring thank you so much! I’m so happy that you loved the recipe and I hope you enjoy all the recipes that you try.
I love this cake!!! So delicious, light, not too sweet! Perfect with a cup of coffee 👍🏼I just added 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the recipe. Definitely making this again! Thanks 🥰
Thanks for sharing that with us. I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!
Can I make this ahead and put in the freezer? Thanks Natasha for all your delicious recipes.
Hi Margret, I haven’t tested freezing that but here is what one of our readers wrote ” It was beautiful! I let it sit overnight under a tea towel and the next morning I wrapped it in parchment and aluminum foil and put it in a large Ziploc baggie. I then put it in the freezer where it sat for 3 days. I took it out the night before and let it defrost on the counter for 7 hours before we were going to eat it. It was amazing! I will be making this recipe quite a bit. My mother-in-law is very sensitive to gluten and she will love this! Thank you for the recipe” I hope that helps.
I whipped this up one morning, it was simple and easy and turned out delicious. I left out almonds simply because I didn’t have any. Dusted with powdered sugar. Voila! I would definitely make this again.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Tan!
Not much left over, it was so good!
What’s the best way to store leftovers? Fridge or just on counter?
Also, I was expecting it to be more moist/soft, I baked as instructed. Perhaps should take it out few min earlier?
Hi Ruby, I’m so happy you enjoyed that! It will keep for a day or two at room temperature. If it is going to be in a warm area, I would cover and refrigerate to be safe. Before serving, bring to room temperature then dust with powdered sugar just before serving,
Look forward to making this cake. You are so enjoyable to watch.
I’m excited for you to try this out. I hope you love it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was simple to make yet delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Maddy!
Natasha, I am excited to try this recipe as I love lemon flavored cakes. Could I possibly use a tart pan still using the parchment ring?
Hi Caroline, I haven’t tested that in a tart pan to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I made this cake twice now exactly as written and it turned out super !! Not too sweet and gluten free. I dusted it with pure icing sugar not icing mix so it was totally gluten free. Thankyou for such an easy and tasty recipe. You are a delight to watch on the videos and your recipes are so easy to follow. I am of similar heritage and I am so happy to find recipes for things my mother made and I never learnt but you have put them up . Thankyou from Australia.
That is awesome, Martha. Thank you for sharing that with us and for your nice feedback. Appreciate the support!
Made the first time today and happy with it. Next time will make two layers and use lemon curd between the layers
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
How can anything so easy be this good? I was just blown away by how lovely this cake is. I am not even on a gluten-free diet, and I loved it! So did everyone else I served it to. Thank you so much for this recipe.
What a great comment and feedback. Thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe Janet!
This is almost exactly the king arthur recipe for almond flour cake…
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hey Natasha, my wife and I love your videos. We tried making this last night. Followed the recipe word for word, but for some reason, our cake came out super flat. No thickness to it at all, a little thicker than a pancake. Do you know why this is? I have a feeling I may have over folded the egg whites into the almond mixture. The cake still looks pretty and we are serving it later, hope it tastes good too!
Hi Mark, did you possibly use an oversized pan? I also recommend reading all of our tips and tricks for how to measure accurately for baking on this post on measuring which should help.
Absolutely delicious! So light and airy. I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Can’t wait for you to try this Jacqueline. Hope you love it!
I had some ground almonds in my freezer that I wanted to use. I found this recipe. I am not generally a fan of gluten free. Oh my goodness, this cake is amazing. Everybody had a second piece. I forgot the icing sugar on top but it honestly didn’t need it and it looked so good with the almonds on top that the people I took it to thought I had bought it. Awesome. I didn’t think I could have another recipe as good as your pumpkin cake. YUM.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made this again with a light dusting of icing sugar on top and it looked even better so if you don’t have icing sugar it’s fine, if you do it looks amazing and doesn’t change the taste much.
hello Natasha,
Can I use a sugar substitute instead of regular sugar? My husband is diabetic but loves his desserts.
Thank you
Hi Stella, I honestly haven’t tested that out so I can’t make a recommendation for it. If you experiment, please let us know how it goes since others may have the same question.
I tried it with stevia and the cake came out amazing!
Love it!
Hi Natasha! I love your recipes! A dear friend gave me a large bag of Chestnut flour in a basket of goodies for Christmas and I’m stumped what I can do with it. Lol. I’d love to make something sweet for her as a thank you. Will the Chestnut flour substitute for the finely ground almond flour in your Almond Cake Recipe do you think?
Or if you have any advice on how to use the Chestnut flour to it’s best advantage.
Thank you for any advice or links!
Have a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year!
Hi Jane, I honestly haven’t tried working with chestnut flour so I’m not sure. I imagine if they are ground to the same consistency, that could work, but again, I haven’t tried that.
This recipe looks great! Do you think it would make a good sponge layer for a trifle with lemon curd and a little lemonchello? Berries and cream will be the other layers as well. Looking for a gf alternative to my trifle which uses a pound cake.
Hi Suzanne, that is a great question! I have not tested that but I imagine it may work. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that.
I had lots of pears from our tree so I added little pieces of butter, a little brown sugar and sliced pears to the bottom of the springform pan and then made as directed. Delicious!! Thank you Natasha!
That’s so great, Jo! Thank you for that awesome review!