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Easy Almond Cake (gluten-free, dairy-free)

April 11, 2020 by zenbelly 19 Comments

Apparently, I’m now a professional stay at home baker. I have baked more in the past month than I normally do in a year. This week, it was this Easy Almond Cake. Twice.

easy almond cake

This Easy Almond Cake is perfect for Passover or Easter. Or, Tuesday.

Nut based cakes are traditional for Passover, when regular flours are off the table (and out of the kitchen completely in observant homes). This means that lots of paleo desserts are naturally kosher for Passover, and vice versa!

This easy almond cake uses only 4 main ingredients, and there’s a chance you have them already. If you don’t have an orange lying around, you can sub lemon. Since lemons are more tart, you might want to adjust the sugar a bit. I would still use just one lemon, even though you’ll get less zest than you will from one orange, since lemon zest is stronger in flavor.

easy almond cake

If you don’t have sliced almonds, you can skip those, too. This cake is simple and beautiful as is, or you can dust it with powdered sugar before serving. Or: A dollop of whipped cream. If dessert isn’t dessert without chocolate to you, it’s also extraordinary with chocolate ganache as frosting.

easy almond cake

The only marginally tricky thing about making this cake is folding in the egg whites, which you want to remain fluffy after being incorporated. The way I like to do this? Mix in a small amount to loosen up the batter first. At this point you don’t have to be gentle. And then once the batter is looser, you can take your time folding in the rest. Resist the urge to over mix!

easy almond cake

Looking for more simple sweets? Here are some of my favorites:
Fig & Almond Cake
Clafoutis
Coconut Maple Panna Cotta
Plum Torte

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Easy Almond Cake

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: zenbelly
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 1 9-inch cake, 8 slices 1x
  • Category: passover
  • Method: bake
  • Cuisine: French
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Description

Quite possibly the easiest cake you’ll ever make, and it’s naturally gluten and dairy-free.


Scale

Ingredients

  • oil or cooking spray for greasing the pan 
  • 4 eggs, white and yolks separated
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • zest of one small orange
  • 1/4 cup orange juice (should be what you get from one small orange) 
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup raw sliced almonds

 


Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Insert a parchment circle into the bottom and lightly grease that too. 
  2. Using a stand mixer or large bowl with hand beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. 
  3. In another large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, orange zest, and orange juice. 
  4. Stir in the almond flour and a pinch of salt. 
  5. Once the egg whites are beaten, stir in about 1/4 of them to the almond mixture. Once well mixed, gently fold in the rest, doing your best to not over mix. 
  6. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.  Bake for about 25 minutes, or until it’s golden brown, and bounces back when you lightly push it in the center. 
  7. Allow to cool, and run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the cake before removing the sides of the pan. 
  8. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. 

Notes

If you don’t have an orange, you can sub the zest of one lemon and whatever juice you get from it. You may need to adjust the sugar since lemons are more tart than oranges. 

I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure, but coconut sugar should work well as a sub for cane sugar. 

Keywords: almond cake, orange almond cake

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Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: almond cake, easy almond cake, orange almond cake, paleo almond cake, passover cake

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Comments

  1. Julia says

    April 11, 2020 at 3:11 pm

    Could you substitute coconut flour , tapioca flour air arrowroot flour for the almond flour?

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      April 12, 2020 at 11:43 am

      Nope. Then it would be coconut cake, or tapioca cake, or arrowroot cake, I have no idea if the recipe would work because I didn’t try it with any of those things. Almond flour is the main ingredient, and is what makes this recipe work. The only thing I can say would likely work would be another ground up nut. If you have a nut allergy, I’d recommend finding a recipe that doesn’t have almond in the title and as the main ingredient.

      Reply
  2. Neeta says

    April 12, 2020 at 10:59 pm

    I make a very similar cake, using 1/3 c acacia honey ( am sure coconut sugar would work just as well) instead of the granulated sugar, also adding 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. This is a beautiful cake, and has an almost sensuous velvety texture, a must try!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Selene Vega says

    April 14, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    I did not have enough almond flour, so ground about half the required amount in my Vitamix from whole almonds. Pulled out the larger chunks, and used those for the topping. Delicious!

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:09 pm

      excellent improvisation! So glad you loved it 🙂

      Reply
  4. Annabelle says

    April 21, 2020 at 2:47 pm

    I do one similar except i add rosewater, almond extract, and chocolate chunks from Hu Kitchen chocolate . I also use coconut sugar. Im thinking to try your cake! I like tge more almond focus! I have been baking so much since I have been home. Cookies have been going down in my house!! I love your creativity and your recipes! They are all great! Super inspired, thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Christy says

    May 3, 2020 at 7:35 am

    Made it and loved it! Only had lemon in these quarantine days and still amazing. I’m going to make another and wonder if double the recipe and cooking for longer would be a mistake? Maybe I should just make 2. I only have 1 spring form pan so looking to shortcut my way to a slightly taller cake.

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      May 3, 2020 at 10:33 am

      So glad you loved it! It might work doubled if your spring form pan is larger than stated in the recipe, otherwise, it could take too long too cook and get darker than you want on the outside before the inside is done. You can use other types of pans, though!

      Reply
  6. Alma Munksgaard says

    May 5, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    If you re not a fan of almonds or almond flavor, we can still be friends because that means I don t have to share my bear claw. This easy almond cake recipe requires only six ingredients and a few minutes of prep. Almond cake is the perfect party dessert!

    Reply
  7. Jeanette says

    May 12, 2020 at 5:32 am

    It is delicious and so quick to make, I really enjoyed it. I calculated that is it around 230 calories a slice, which isn’t bad at all! Nice light dessert! Thanks!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      May 12, 2020 at 12:29 pm

      Thanks for doing those calculations! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  8. Arianne says

    May 28, 2020 at 7:44 am

    So delicious that I made it twice in one week because It didn’t last long after taking it out of the oven the first time.
    The second time, I didn’t have enough eggs! So I attempted subbing the missing egg with a “flax egg” and it worked out! It didn’t change the consistency much, still fluffy, still delicious! I wouldn’t recommend subbing all eggs for flax since it would change the cake completely, I just wanted to share my amusing story 🙂 thanks for the delicious recipe. It will be made often and will be brought to many doorsteps

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      May 28, 2020 at 3:14 pm

      Thanks, Arianne! So glad to hear it worked with one flax egg sub. You’ve got some lucky neighbors!

      Reply
  9. Melissa Hathuc says

    July 15, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    Do I have to have a spring form pan?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      July 17, 2020 at 9:29 am

      It will bake just fine in any pan, the spring form just makes it easier to remove. Just grease the sides really well.

      Reply
  10. Katie says

    December 18, 2020 at 2:26 pm

    Have you ever tried freezing this cake? I would like to make it for Xmas dinner, and would love to be able to do it in advance! Thank you!

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      December 18, 2020 at 6:53 pm

      I have not… I’m guessing it will be okay, but I can’t say for sure without trying it. I know it stays well for a day or two tightly wrapped.

      Reply
  11. Anne says

    January 5, 2021 at 6:17 pm

    Hello, is almond meal the same as almond flour? I have almond meal in the cupboard, do you think it would work in your recipe? Thanks.

    Reply
    • zenbelly says

      January 7, 2021 at 11:24 am

      Hi Anne! Almond meal is a coarser grind than almond flour and isn’t the best for certain almond flour recipes, but works just fine in this one, so use what you’ve got! I hope you love it 🙂

      Reply

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