This Almond Cake {with a gluten-free option} is a lightly sweet delicate cake that’s moist, tender, and incredibly delicious, and it’s easy to make. You’ll love this from scratch moist homemade almond cake.
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Special occasion dessert
This cake has a soft, moist crumb and is lightly sweet with a delicious almond flavor. You’d never guess it’s made with finely ground almonds.
And this can easily be made into a gluten-free cake recipe.
This is a cake you will make over and over for any special occasion like Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas, or birthdays.
Easy to make recipe
It takes just few minutes to whip up this recipe.
I love that I can whip up something special with short notice. I always have all the ingredients for this cake. Just keep the almond flour in the freezer so it doesn’t go bad.
When to serve this cake
It’s the perfect cake for a lovely dinner party. Or serve it as an afternoon snack with coffee.
The perfect elegant dessert for a special occasion – a little bit fancy, and it’s so beautiful to serve to guests. I first made this cake for my mom for Mother’s Day, quite a few years ago.
It would be a great birthday cake, gluten-free or not.
You can also make a two-layer cake as an amazing gluten-free birthday cake. Simply make a double batch, and bake up in two 9-inch round cake pans. Frost as desired. I’m partial to this Cream Cheese Frosting. This Simple Vanilla Buttercream from Liv for Cake would be delicious. As would this Homemade Chocolate Frosting from Bunny’s Warm Oven.
What is Almond Flour?
Almond flour is skinless, blanched almonds that have been ground up into a super fine texture. I’ve also seen it called Almond Meal.
Ok, but what are blanched almonds?
Blanched almonds are raw almonds that have been boiled briefly in order to remove the skins.
It’s is a common grain-free substitute for white flour, and it’s delicious when added to cakes and other baked goods.
I always have almond flour in my freezer. I store it there to keep it fresher for longer.
Make your own almond flour for this Almond Cake by tossing about 1 cup of blanched (raw skinless) almonds into a food processor, and processing them until they are finely ground. Sift out any large pieces that may have been missed by the food processor.
You’ll want to measure almond flour in the same manner as white flour. Spoon it into a measuring cup, and level the top with the flat edge of a knife. But don’t compress the almond meal into the cup.
Top this cake
Top this Almond Cake as simply as you’d like with powdered sugar or fresh berries. Or top it with a fun dessert sauce:
Strawberry sauce from Tastes of Lizzy T
White chocolate caramel sauce from A Dash of Sanity
Kitchen tools you may need
Note: these are affiliate links
Stand mixer
Hand mixer
9-inch cake pan
Wax paper
Parchment paper
Pretty cake stand
Cake knife and server
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Almond Cake {with a gluten-free option} Recipe
Almond Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond meal
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon (rounded ¼ teaspoon) baking powder
- 1 tablespoon amaretto
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup cake flour OR ¼ cup rice flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9″ cake pan, and cut a piece of wax paper or parchment paper, and line the bottom of the pan with the circle. Grease that too.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the almonds, 2 tablespoons at a time, allowing each to be incorporated before adding the next. When all the almonds are in, beat for 1 additional minute.
- Add 1 egg, and beat for 1.5 minutes. Add second egg, beat for 1.5 minutes. Add third egg and beat for 1.5 minutes. The mixture should be light, creamy, and pale yellow in color.
- Add a pinch of salt, baking powder, amaretto, and almond extract, and beat for one minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the batter in thirds, and fold each in lightly with a spatula.
- Immediately pour into prepared cake pan, smoothing it out so that the center has less batter than the edges, tap the cake pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and smooth it out.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and the cake starts to shrink from the sides. Run a knife along the sides, turn onto a plate, peel off the waxed paper, and then onto a cooling rack. Do NOT let it sit in the pan, as it is very delicate.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar or garnish with fresh berries.
My sister and her boys are gluten-sensitive, so I’m always on the lookout for a recipe that can be made gluten-free. And almond is always a hit in our house! This will be perfect addition to Easter or Mother’s Day.
I love baking with almond flour! It’s one of my favorite healthy alternatives!
I would love to make this! It sounds sooooo good! And a big yay for Amaretto!!!!
I love that it is gluten-free! Can’t wait to give it a try!
How much is rounded 1/4 baking powder?
Lucia, apparently, the recipe card didn’t care for my instruction of rounded 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. I’ve fixed it now, thanks for catching that and letting me know. It is supposed to be a rounded 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder.