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This almond flour cake is so light and fluffy that you won’t believe how easy it is to make. With just four ingredients, it’s easy and elegant!
Love almond flour recipes? Try my almond flour brownies, almond flour cookies, and almond flour muffins.
Using almond flour instead of wheat flour for cakes completely transforms the texture. It yields a lighter, crumb, and fluffier texture and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy or bloated afterward. My classic almond flour cake recipe is a dessert staple in my home, and I have no doubt it will be in your home too!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- It’s made with just 4 key ingredients, making it such an easy dessert to make.
- Everything is mixed in one bowl, so there is virtually no clean up required.
- It’s easily made, low-carb, and/or sugar-free, making it a fabulous keto dessert. No sugar and no grains are needed, but you’d never tell.
- The texture is light, fluffy, and with a gorgeous crumb. It’s sweet and with a slight lemon flavor, without being overpowering.
Ingredients needed
- Almond flour. You must use blanched almond flour. While almond meal can work, it won’t yield a soft and moist crumb.
- Eggs. room temperature and separated.
- Sugar. White or brown sugar works or sugar substitutes, like allulose. If you use brown sugar or coconut sugar, expect your cake to be darker in color.
- Lemon zest. grated from a fresh lemon. Do not use dried or freeze-dried lemon.
- Powdered sugar and sliced almonds. It’s optional, but it makes a fabulous garnish and looks pretty, too!
How to make an almond flour cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the batter. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy. Add the almond flour and lemon zest and fold through until incorporated. Next, in a separate mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until combined.
Step 2- Transfer the batter to a greased cake pan. If using almonds, add them on top of the cake.
Step 3- Bake for around 30 minutes or until the top is golden and firm.
Step 4- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before carefully inverting it onto a large plate. Once cooled to room temperature, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do not over-bake the cake, as it continues to cook as it is cooling down.
- Be sure to use flaked/sliced almonds to top the cake, not whole almonds. The latter will sink into the batter while it is cooking.
- Your cake must be cooled completely before flipping it, or else you risk the cake falling apart.
- If you’d like to make a thicker cake (as pictured), use a 7-inch or 8-inch cake pan. If you prefer a thinner cake (like the video in the recipe card), use a 9-inch cake pan.
Dietary swaps and variations
- Make it keto-friendly. Use a sugar substitute, like allulose or brown sugar substitute.
- Add some frosting. Spread a light layer of cream cheese or vanilla frosting.
- Make it without eggs. Instead of egg whites and egg yolks, try one of these egg substitutes.
- Add anise extract. Some traditional almond flour cakes have this in their ingredients, so add 1/2 teaspoon.
- Add some coconut flavor. Add some coconut extract and shredded coconut flakes for some added texture and flavor.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 week. If you’d like it to keep longer, you can store it in the refrigerator.
To freeze: Place the cake in a shallow container and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike other flours, almond flour is the most similar to cake or wheat flour. You can substitute cake flour with almond flour on a cup-to-cup basis.
Almond flour doesn’t make cakes moist, but it yields a lighter and fluffier texture. The milk, eggs, and/or liquid ingredients, in combination with butter or oil, affect how moist a cake is.
No, you cannot substitute the almond flour with coconut flour. They both have different baking properties. If you’d like a cake with coconut, try making a coconut flour cake.
More baking with almond flour
Almond Flour Cake (4 Ingredients!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 4 large eggs separated
- 1/2 cup sugar * See notes
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds optional
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your almond flour, egg yolks, sugar, and lemon zest, and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat together your egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Fold through your egg whites until combined. Transfer the cake mixture into the greased cake pan and top with sliced almonds.
- Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until tender on top. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes, before carefully invert onto a plate and sprinkling with powdered sugar.
So easy to remember. I don’t have to look for the recipe anymore. Plus, it has a gentle lemon almond flavour, perfect for guests.
I made this today. Quick, easy, and delicious. Will definitely make this again.
The cake in your video does not look a thing like the cake in the picture with the recipe. The video version looks darker in color and flat while the one accompanying the recipe looks light in color and tall and light and fluffy. Is this because in the video you didn’t whip the egg yolks with the sugar until light in color and fluffy?
This is hands-down the easiest cake recipe that I have ever tried, and it tastes great! Light and gluten-free, what more can you ask for?
Doesn’t get dry ? Since no butter and oil .
Thank you for reply.
Nope it isn’t a suoper moist cake, more light and airy.
Can I make the cake into muffins please? And what changes should I make?
I haven’t tried but if you do, cut down the baking time considerably.
Can I put blueberries in this?
I haven’t tried, but if you do, toss them in some flour first and always use fresh ones.
Arman, you have the best and easiest recipes to try. I will try some of your recipes as soon as possible. I will try your fish recipe tomorrow. I don’t have a computer or printer. You can send me by Email only
This was such a delicious almond cake- light, fluffy, and just the right amount of moisture.
So glad to hear that!
Hi Arman-have you tried Swerve in your recipes as your sugar sub? I don’t know if you can get it where you live. Does this homemade recipe taste better if you use a certain brand of allulose & erythritol? Thanks
I like allulose over anything else- It dissolves like sugar and yields the perfect texture. Never really liked swerve.
I made this almond cake and excellent!! Loved it. My husband too!! Is it ok to line the pan with parchment paper?
Thanks you.
This is a very tasty cake and can be the base for many variations: orange instead of lemon, pecans instead of almonds, maple flavor with pecans, etc. However, the cake is no where near the height of the pictures and video – it rises to roughly 3/4″ (much more like a scone). I used a 9″ springform pan and made the default 12 serving recipe. Since it was low in the pan, I reduced the baking time to 20 minutes – could go a few minutes less in my oven.
Someone suggested mixing the yolk and monkfruit together first to avoid batter becoming thick. It became a thick dough anyway. I used a potato masher to smoosh the dough and peaked eggwhites together until it loosened up. I’ll likely make this again, but will make some modifications.
So good!!! Have a couple of questions.
It came out somewhat crumbly. I did grease the pan but did have an issue with the egg whites. Some of the yoke got in so did not really peak. Could that have been the problem? Can I line the pan with parchment paper?
That is correct. You can- Cut it the exact size of the pan.
This cake is so easy and light! The flavor is great too; I added 1/4t vanilla extract instead of anise. I may reduce the sugar next time because we frosted.
Pinned to make again and again!
Hi I’m going to make this weekend and was wondering instead of sugar could I use date syrup or honey as an alternative?
I haven’t tried but feel free to experiment and see!
Adding a liquid ingredient (sweetener) vs a dry ingredient like sugar will add moisture to the cake, so you may need to increase the amount of dry ingredients (almond flour) to make a bit drier batter.
Easy, quick, delicious, keeps well. What’s not to love?
I added oil and buttermilk and a bit of oat flour to this and a scoop of collagen powder and a small bit of baking pwd. It seemed fine and also added vanilla . Ginni Western