I just LOVE lemon or any other citruses in my baking. They make me want to eat the wonderful aromatic raw batter and not to mention when it's already baked. Yum!!
This lemon almond cake is one of those moments. This is the type of cake that even when you're in the process of making it, you already know that it's going to turn out fabulous.
Let's start!
How It Came To Be
Have you seen my lemon loaf cake? It's one of our readers' favorite cake recipes because it's super easy and the taste is just divine.
And have you seen my Spanish almond cake? A light soft cake with citruses zest and just a handful of ingredients.
As my husband Marco said "Imagine those 2 cakes got married and have a kid. It would be this lemon almond cake." Haha! And I have to say, I totally agree with him.
This cake has the best of both cakes. The wonderful lemony smell and taste. The light and soft texture. And on top of that, it's super easy to make. If you've been around here for a while then you'd agree, all of my recipes are super easy. Well except for one or two.
Almond Flour Or Almond Meal?
In this recipe, I'm using almond flour. It's basically almonds that have their skin removed and then blended into a fine texture. Almonds without skins are called blanched almonds.
Almond meal is not much different at all from almond flour. It's almond that can either have their skin removed, or not, and then blended into a not-so-fine texture. Just a tad coarser than almond flour.
Can you use almond meal if you don't have almond flour?
I'd say yes. But just know that you'd be using somewhat less amount of it (if you're measuring by volume) due to its coarser texture. I think for this recipe it would still be fine 🙂
What If I Don't Have Either?
No worries. You can make your own almond flour. Simply blend your blanched almonds in your food processor until you get a fine texture.
If you plan to make some, blend the almonds 1 cup at a time though. This is to make sure that you have an even texture for your almond flour.
You can use non-blanched almonds, of course why not, but just remember that you will get those brown bits that come from the almonds' skin.
See? Easy!
In Summary
This lemon almond cake is:
- so fresh, light, smells like heaven and just tastes so divine!
- super easy to make
- is a combination of my lemon cake and my Spanish almond cake
- perfect to enjoy on the weekends of gathering
- SO DELICIOUS!!
Hungry For More Lemony Treats?
- No-bake lemon cheesecake
- How to make lemon curd
- Lemon honey parfait
- Super easy lemon yogurt cake
- Lemon muffins
Video
📖 Recipe
Lemon Almond Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130 g)
- ¾ cup almond flour (70 g)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 g), softened
- 1 cup sugar (200 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 lemons, take the zest
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream (125 g), room temperature
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
- ⅓ cup almond slivers (25 g)
Lemon Syrup
- ⅓ cup sugar (70 g)
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Dry Ingredients
- Add all ingredients into a bowl, mix well and set aside.
Wet Ingredients
- Add butter and sugar into a bowl. Using a handheld mixer, whisk until pale for around 10 minutes. Now add in vanilla extract and lemon zest. Add eggs 1 by 1 and mix for 1 minute after each addition.
- Now add in ½ of dry ingredients and mix everything well, use lowest speed so that you don't over mix. Then add in sour cream, lemon juice and mix well. Finally add in the rest of the dry ingredients and give it one last mix. Pour batter into a 9 inch (23 cm) round pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle almond slivers on top.
- Bake in a preheated oven (no fan) at 350ºF (175ºC) for 35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. When the cake is about to be done, make your lemon syrup.
Lemon Syrup
- Add both ingredients into a bowl and heat gently in microwave until the sugar is totally dissolved.
- When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and while it's still hot, immediately pour the warm lemon syrup all over it. Leave the cake to cool completely. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Zareen says
Tried this yesterday. Used yoghurt instead of sour cream. next time thought could add a bit of Limoncello to either the batter or the syrup on top
Abs delish, moist and kept well too
thanks so much
Bea & Marco says
I'm happy that you liked it, thanks for your feedback, Zareen!
Mirjam says
Fabulous cake! The only thing I'm puzzled about is the "no fan" comment - I baked it in a fan oven and it was perfect.
trisha says
so moist and so refreshing. The lemon flavour is perfect for any family gathering summer and winter. I 100% recommend this recipe works super well each and every time!!! Good job guys:)
Bea says
Right? I agree, lemon desserts are for the whole year! Thank you so much for your feedback, Trisha!
Maureen says
Just made and had some slices of this delicious cake, thanks so much Bea for sharing the recipe…
Carolyn says
Can I double the recipe and use a 9x13 pan?
Bea says
Yes, you can Carolyn. Have fun making it!
Maggie says
Fabulous. Made the 3x version; perfectly fluffy and flavoursome. I didn't have sour cream so I improvised with natural yoghurt and a splash of evaporated milk; also used clementines to replace some of the lemons. Thank you for this recipe!
Bea says
Oh that's awesome, Maggie! Thank you so much for your feedback and for sharing your twist on it!
Eileen says
Hi Bea, today I bake this lemon almond cake. So delicious!
Hiba says
Fantastic cake. Made it twice and everyone loved it. Definitely making it on occasions. Thanks
Bea says
Awesome! Happy to hear that 🙌.
Norina says
Yes and I made it three times and my family loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Bea says
Hi Norina! I'm glad you and your family enjoyed it 🙂
Alokeparna Sengupta says
Made this cake last week and it turned out to be delicious ! Want to make it again as a eggless version . Could you suggest substitute options for the eggs ?
Thanks once again
Alokeparna
Bea says
Glad you liked it. I haven't tried it without eggs though, sorry.
April says
Hi! I follow your recipes and am a huge fan. I am wondering if I can change lemons to oranges and this recipe still work?
Bea says
Hi April! Happy to know that you're enjoying my recipes 😍. Yes, using orange is totally fine. Let me know how it goes!
Afsheen says
My favorite cake so far.
Bea says
Happy to hear that Afsheen, thank you!
Terry says
This cake is utterly delicious. Made it a couple of times. So moist & lemony. My favourite so far.
Bea says
Awesome, so happy that you liked it Terry. Thank you!
Jen says
I've been baking for 26 years and your recipe for Almond Lemon cake is superb! I just baked it tonight, and it came out surprisingly light, moist, and cake-like! Most almond flour cakes I've tasted in the past are grainy, dense, and have a weird almond-paste taste to it. But your recipe is delightful! It's sophisticated and full of finesse! I enjoy watching all your recipes on Youtube as well! I look forward to trying out the next recipe from you! Oh, could you please share what type and brand of vanilla extract you recommend for baking?
Bea says
I'm glad that you liked it, Jen! I made this for my father-in-law and he loved it. As for vanilla extract I'd recommend Nielsen Massey, it's one of the best (personally for me). Thank you so much for your kind words and support, Jen!
alica says
I am new to baking and this cake is very nice starter for me easy enough and delicious. Thank you :))
Bea says
That's great Alica! Here's to more baking! Thank you for your feedback 😀
Amanda says
Great looking cake! If I dont have sour cream, can I sub it with plain yoghurt?
Bea says
You can use Greek yogurt (full fat). Hope it helps! 🙂
Rakshith Subbaiah says
Made it and it was PERFECT .... thank you 😊
Bea says
I'm glad, thank you Rakshith!
Kathy says
Fantastic!! Such a good combination with the almond and very moist My family loved it!! Thank you Bea!
Bea says
Awesome! Yes it's a super moist cake, right? Thank you Kathy!
Linda says
Hi Bea,
Thank you. I followed the recipe except I used 2 instead of 3 lemon zest. The cake was delicious.
Bea says
That's great Linda, thank you so much!
Brigitte says
I made this cake today and it came out perfect. Very tasty, it was a hit 🙂
Bea says
Hey that's awesome! Thank you for your feedback Brigitte! XOXO