Almond Cake

Name: Almond Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 cup / 125g unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt; 7 ounces almond paste; 1 1/3 cup / 253g sugar; 10 ounces / 285g salted butter, room temperature; 6 eggs, room temperature; 1 tablespoon almond extract; Zest of 2 lemons (2-3 tablespoons); 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

This simple almond cake is the understated pinch hitter of my cake repertoire. Made with almond paste, almond extract, and a bit of citrus zest, it’s equally at home at a dinner part or picnic.

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A short list of ingredients and a 9-inch pan puts you on track to bake this golden almond cake. It’s not flashy, but it’s one you’ll remember. The texture is dense and rich, the almond flavor strong. Butter browns where the cake touches the pan for a fragrant hint of that unique magic - my favorite bites.
almond cake on a marble table

Almond Cake: The Ingredients

Almond Paste: I’ve baked this cake with a range of almond pastes. The most common one for me, easy to grab at the grocery stores here, is the Odense brand paste. If I remember ahead of time, I’ll order or track down some Mandolin almond paste. I also have it on my list to test the Amoretti brand made with blanched almonds here in Southern California.
Almond Extract: Almond extract dials up and intensifies the almond flavor in this cake. That said, if you don’t keep almond extract on hand, don’t let that detract you from baking this beauty. Substitute an equal amount of vanilla extract.
Lemon: I like to use lemon to punctuate the almond flavor in this cake, but It’s hard to go wrong with just about any citrus. You could try market lime, lime, grapefruit, orange, or a blend.
Dry Ingredients: Flour, baking powder, salt.
Sugar: just standard granulated sugar here.
Eggs: This batter is egg-forward, so we bake it at a lower temperature. If your oven runs hot, be sure to dial it back a bit.
Powdered sugar: as a finishing touch, to make the cake pretty and add a sweet punctuation to each bite.

slice of almond cake on a plate with a fork

The Method:

The most annoying thing about this cake is that I have you use a food processor to really cut the almond paste into the sugar. You want a sandy texture without big lumps of paste, so it’s the best way. It should end up looking something like this: almond paste and sugar in a food processor
Then, you use an electric mixture to cream the butter and almond-sugar mixture together. You know I wouldn’t normally have you pull out two appliances if you could do it by hand, but this is actually pretty quick and gets the job done well. Here's what your cake batter should look like going into the pan:
almond cake batter in a mixing bowl
The cake is deeply golden when it comes out of the oven. The key to finishing strong is be patient and allow the cake to cool all the way to room temperature. Then you dust it with lots of powdered sugar. Here's what the cake should look like after it comes out of the oven and is released from the pan.
almond cake after baking on a serving plate

And this is a slice ready to to enjoy! Fully dusted!
a slice of almond cake dusted with powdered sugar on a white plate
Last thing, if you love to bake with almond paste, or if you become a fan of this cake - these macaroons are the perfect tiny bite cookie. Delivering a similar almondy goodness and texture.

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Baking Recipes

Almond Cake

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If you don’t have salted butter, bump up the added salt amount by another 1/4 teaspoon. And, if you don’t have almond extract, substitute vanilla extract. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup / 125g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
7 ounces almond paste
1 1/3 cup / 253g sugar
10 ounces / 285g salted butter, room temperature
6 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon almond extract
Zest of 2 lemons (2-3 tablespoons)
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the center.
Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl.
Cut the almond paste into chunks and use a food processor to blend the almond paste and sugar into a sandy texture with as few big chunks as possible.
Use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment to cream the butter with the almond-sugar mixture into a uniform paste, scraping the bowl once or twice along the way.
With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time to the butter-sugar mixture, scraping the bowl once or twice along the way. Add the almond extract and lemon zest and mix again.
Add the flour in two additions, avoid over mixing, combining just until there are no dry ingredients visible. I like to do this step by hand, but you can continue using the mixer.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to make it level. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set, rotating the cake halfway through.
Allow the cake to cool on a baking rack for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. Dust generously with powdered sugar (use a sieve) after allowing the cake to cool completely.