Our easy homemade almond cake recipe is made with real almonds and almond extract.
With its tender crumb and nutty flavor, you’re guaranteed to fall in love with this moist, flavorful cake.
Made with simple ingredients, our easy-to-make almond cake can be on your table in just a little over an hour.
In fact, you probably already have most of the ingredients to make this moist almond cake in your pantry or fridge. Recipes that can utilize ingredients already on hand are some of my favorites.
One of the best features of our almond cake is the aroma that fills your kitchen (and your house) while it bakes.
The mouthwatering fragrance alone is enough to give our almond cake a chance to grace your dinner table!
If you enjoy moist, delicious cakes, make sure to try our cinnamon roll cake and crumb cake recipes.
How to Customize Almond Cake
Make your almond cake a unique creation! Here are some ideas to start with:
- Citrus pairs very well with almond cake. Consider adding lemon zest and/or orange zest to the batter for a bright pop of flavor.
- Cherries, raspberries, and other tart fruits are also good matches for almond cake. Serve them on the side, or prepare a light jam glaze for the top.
- Serve with maple syrup or fruit syrups to allow guests to drizzle their choice of sweetener.
- Add a topping of creamy buttercream frosting to the top of the cake to take this cake to another level of deliciousness.
Almond Cake Ingredients
We start by gathering the ingredients needed to make our homemade almond cake recipe. In Chef’s Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into “Everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients speeds up the cooking process and ensures you have everything you need to make the recipe.
How to Make an Almond Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Butter the sides and bottoms of a 9-inch springform pan.
*Add a parchment circle to the bottom of the pan to make it easier to remove. Remember to butter the parchment as well.
- Add the blanched almonds to the bowl of a food processor (or spice mill).
- Pulse until they are finely ground.
- Add the all-purpose flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt to a large bowl.
- Whisk to combine. Set the dry ingredients aside until needed.
- Add the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Or a large bowl and electric hand mixer.
- Whip at high speed for five minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the room-temperature eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter.
- Mix until combined.
*Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. - Add the sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the bowl.
- Mix just enough to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl.
- Mix just enough to combine.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth it with a spatula.
- Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of the batter. Then sprinkle two tablespoons of granulated sugar over the top of the almonds.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springs back to the touch.
*If the cake is browning too quickly, cover the top of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper. - Place the springform pan on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. After removing the sides, let the almond cake continue to cool until it is ready to serve.
Lightly dusted with powdered sugar for a sweet finishing touch. Our almond cake makes the perfect afternoon snack with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk.
You can even have it for breakfast! The versatility of this delicious almond cake makes it ideal for guests of all ages and preferences.
*If you plan to serve your cake with additional sweet toppings, you may want to cut back the sugar slightly. Some people prefer less or no sugar if adding any jams, syrups, or other glazes.
Wouldn’t you like to sit down for a slice or two of this delicious, moist almond cake? Just make sure to save some for the rest of the family,
Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or well-covered and refrigerated for 5-6 days.
You can freeze the whole cake or cut it into slices. Wrap the cake in two layers of plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil and keep frozen for up to two months,
Recipe FAQ’s
The first mention of Almond cake dates back to 1577, originating in Galicia, Spain.
The cakes popularity has led to it being made around the world, and you’ll find recipes for Spanish almond cake, French almond cake, and Italian almond cake.
Yes you can, almond flour will give the cake a moister and slightly denser texture. I would suggest using a mix of almond flour and all-purpose flour for a more balanced texture.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup blanched sliced almonds (plus more for garnishing top of the cake)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, plus more for buttering pan
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Butter sides and bottoms of a 9-inch springform pan.*You can add a parchment circle to the bottom of the pan, remember to butter the parchment as well.
- Add the blanched almonds to the bowl of a food processor (or spice mill) and pulse until they are finely ground.
- Add the all-purpose flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set the dry ingredients aside until needed.
- Add the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and electric hand mixer)and cream the ingredients until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes.)
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter and mix until combined. *Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix just enough to combine.*Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix just enough to combine. *Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
- Smooth the batter with a spatula. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the batter, then sprinkle two tablespoons of granulated sugar over the top of the almonds.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springs back to the touch.*If the cake is browning too quickly, cover the top of the pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Place the springform pan on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. After removing the sides let the almond cake continue to cool until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.
Elaine says
Any reason that this wouldn’t work as cupcakes?
Chef Dennis Littley says
None that I can think of. It should work fine in cupcake form