Lemon Almond Cake

5 from 23 votes

This is the perfect lemon almond cake recipe for summer gatherings! Bursting with refreshing, lemony flavor and nuttiness, this super tender, light, and moist cake keeps well and is freezer-friendly.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Servings: slices

Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup almond flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter , softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon lemon zest , or zest of 3 lemons
3 large eggs , room temperature
½ cup sour cream , room temperature
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

⅓ cup almond slivers

Lemon Syrup

⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) without the fan. Butter and line a 9-inch (23cm) round pan.

Dry Ingredients

Add all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.

Wet Ingredients

Add butter and sugar into the standing mixer bowl. Whisk at medium-high speed, using a paddle attachment, for 10 minutes or until you get a pale mixture. From this onwards, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl now and then for better mixing.
Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, and one egg at a time, mixing everything well after each addition.
Add half of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing the batter on the lowest speed until everything is well combined. Do not overmix the batter from this point onwards. Mix in sour cream with lemon juice.

Bake

Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with almond slivers. Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Lemon Syrup

Heat sugar and lemon juice in a pot and stir until sugar dissolves. While still hot, poke all around the cake with a toothpick and pour the lemon syrup evenly on top. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving. Enjoy your lemon almond cake!

Notes

Scrape the sides of the bowl. Do this now and then. This will help the ingredients to mix better.
Don't overmix. Once dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients, make sure not to overmix the batter. This prevents gluten from forming, avoiding a dense and hard cake.
Pour lemon syrup while the cake is still hot. The cake will absorb the amazing tangy lemon syrup better.
Serve at room temperature. The fridge's cold temperature hides the wonderful tart flavor and makes the cake seem dense. It tastes so refreshing at room temperature!
Use the spoon and level method if using cup measurements, to avoid using excessive flour, making the cake dense. We highly recommend using a kitchen scale as it's more precise.
For an accurate oven temperature, use a portable oven thermometer as all ovens are different.

Nutrition