Lemon Almond Flour Cake

Name: Lemon Almond Flour Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 38 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups almond flour (208 grams spooned and leveled); 1/2 cup cane sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 large eggs (room temperature); 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium-sized lemon, zested (about 1 tablespoon)

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You’ll love this Lemon Almond Flour Cake for a quick, easy and crowd pleasing dessert. It has a tender crumb with fresh lemon flavour. Serve it on its own or with the toppings of your choice!

When I need a simple dessert and I’m short on time, this almond flour cake is one of my go-to recipes.

It’s an easy, no-fuss flourless cake with basic ingredients. You can serve it as a simple snack cake, pile it high with whipped cream and fresh berries, or top it with chocolate avocado frosting for a decadent dessert.

If you haven’t baked with almond flour yet, I highly recommend giving it a try. While it’s more expensive than all-purpose flour, it creates a moist and tender texture in baked goods. It also adds a chewy texture to cookies like these almond flour blondies and ginger molasses cookies.

Side view of almond flour cake with strawberries and cream on top.

Why you’ll love this recipe

You need just 7 ingredients and 10 minutes prep time to whip this cake together.
Unlike some other almond flour cake recipes, you don’t need to separate your eggs or whip together the egg whites for this recipe.
There’s no need to break out the electric mixer. The cake batter comes together with just a whisk and a spatula.
The cake is tasty enough to enjoy on its own, but also works with whipped cream, a dusting of powder sugar or even chocolate frosting.

Details on the ingredients

Ingredients for almond flour cake arranged individually and labelled.

Almond flour – You’ll need 2 cups of almond flour for this cake. Make sure you use almond flour instead of almond meal, and ensure that the almond flour has been measured using the spoon and level method. (Using a measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the bag will just pack the almond flour into the measuring cup and result in too much flour for the cake).

Sugar – This cake has been tested with both cane sugar and granulated sugar, so you can use either one. Cane sugar is usually found in the organic section of grocery stores and has a slightly coarser texture and golden colour compared to granulated sugar.

Eggs – Three large eggs will help this flourless cake rise. You’ll also want them at room temperature so they easily incorporate with the other ingredients.

Lemon zest – For the burst of lemony flavour, you’ll need the zest from one medium-sized lemon (or about 1 tablespoon). You can use a zester (like a microplane) or the smallest holes on a box (cheese) grater to finely grate the zest.

Oil – I used extra virgin olive oil but you can use the oil of your choice.

Baking powder – For leavening, you’ll need one teaspoon of baking powder.

Salt – Just 1/2 a teaspoon to enhance the flavour of the other ingredients. You can use kosher or table salt.

Difference between almond flour and almond meal

Both almond flour and almond meal are made from raw ground almonds. Almond flour, however, is more finely ground and made with blanched almonds that have the skins removed.

Almond meal is made from almonds with the skins on, and therefore, has a courser grind and a darker colour.

For the best texture in this cake, I recommend using almond flour. The recipe hasn’t been tested with almond meal.

How to make almond flour lemon cake

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. You may need to sift these ingredients together if your almond flour is lumpy (which can sometimes happen if you store it in the refrigerator).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and lemon zest.

Overhead of dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl.

Wet ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together. Be careful not to over mix.

Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch round cake pan and use a spatula to spread it out evenly.

Overhead of cake batter in a glass bowl stirred together with a spatula.

Overhead view of cake batter in a round cake pan.

Bake on 350F for 26-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The cake will have golden brown edges that pull away from the sides of the pan.

Overhead of almond flour cake cooling in a pan on a wire rack.

Frequently asked questions

Can you substitute another type of flour for the almond flour in this cake?

I haven’t tested this cake with any other type of flour. As almond flour is gluten-free with a high fat and moisture content, a 1:1 substitution with other flours is not usually possible. If you’re looking for cakes made with other flours, you can try this peach cake (made with spelt flour), this blueberry cake (made with all-purpose white flour), or this easy chocolate sheet cake (made with whole wheat flour).

What size cake pan is best for this recipe?

This cake is best made in an 8-inch round cake pan. As the recipe doesn’t make a large amount of batter, if you go with a larger cake pan, the batter will spread too thin and not bake up very high.

Can you use almond meal instead of almond flour?

I prefer the finer texture and lighter colour of almond flour when baking cakes, so I haven’t tested this recipe with almond meal. If you can’t find almond flour, you can make your own by blending raw blanched almonds until they rich the consistency of a fine flour.

How should you store almond flour cake and how long will it last?

If the cake is unfrosted, you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days or in the refrigerator for a week or more. Frosted almond flour cakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoyed within 3-4 days.

Can you freeze almond flour cake?

Absolutely! You can store pieces of the unfrosted cake in a single layer in a freezer safe container. Or you can wrap the unfrosted cake in plastic wrap, place it in a resealable bag and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature before frosting and serving.

Slice of almond flour cake on a white plate and topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

Recipe variations

Double the recipe and make two 8-inch round cakes for a layer cake.
Instead of lemon zest use orange zest.
To keep the cake dairy-free, instead of topping it with whipped cream (as pictured in this post), top it with coconut whipped cream.
Instead of strawberries, top the cake with blueberries, raspberries, cherries or peaches.
Top it with your favourite chocolate or vanilla frosting.
Serve it warm with a scoop of s’mores ice cream.

Additional recipe tips

To ensure the cake doesn’t stick to the pan, grease it well. You can even line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for easy release.
Make sure you measure your almond flour correctly (spoon and level). Otherwise, you may end up with too much flour for the recipe.
The batter will be thick so make sure you use a spatula to smooth out the top once the batter is in the cake pan. This will help it bake up level.
To ensure the batter mixes together evenly, use room temperature ingredients. (For this recipe, that also means the almond flour, if you store it in the refrigerator like we do).

Other desserts using almond flour

If you make this almond flour lemon cake, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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