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This French Almond Cake is incredibly delicious and incredibly easy. One-bowl, no-mixer and just a few minutes to throw together!
Think of this French Almond Cake as an early little Christmas gift. Why give a Christmas gift when December’s barely gotten started? Well, just because I knew you were going to need it.
I sure do! A cake that’s moist, tender and incredibly delicious, while at the same time being one-bowl, no-mixer and just-a-few-minutes-to-throw-together is exactly what I need at this time of the year.
Don’t wait till the 25th to give me this one, I’ve got all sorts of get-togethers and occasions coming up and people who I’d love to surprise with a special treat.
I need it now!
And I thought perhaps, you were in the same boat, so it’s comin’ your way today! Merry Christmas!
So that’s about all I’m writing today friends because, just like you, I’m trying to wrap my mind around Christmas and the fact that’s it’s not waiting on me.
The perfect cake to make when you’re pinched for time
I admit, I’m a bit more behind than usual because, instead of doing lots of baking and decorating over the long Thanksgiving holiday, we did something infinitely better. We were incredibly blessed to welcome a new baby boy into the family! More on that coming up… but with a few minutes to spare, I think I might throw together a French Almond Cake!
In closing, since I have some really sweet French friends like Paule and Barbara and Monique (as close to French as you can get), I thought I better confess the real deal, as I don’t want to get into any kind of trouble with them or have la gendarmerie (the French police) arrest me for a counterfeit cake. So, here’s the scoop: I kind of made up this recipe, but I did base it on my French Grandmother’s Lemon Yogurt Cake which is a favorite of ours and really truly is French. I just changed up the flavors a bit, added almond flour, almond extract, a sliced almond topping and a shower of powdered sugar.
Now I’m clean. Sort of …
- 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ¾ cup powdered sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond flour not almond meal
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sunflower oil grape seed or canola oil
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Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Spray a 9-inch round cake pan (with at least 2 inch tall sides) with baking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper lightly. Set aside.
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Place almonds in a small baking pan. Spread to a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until just beginning to turn pale golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool (these will be used at the end to top the cake).
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Combine the orange zest, orange juice, powdered sugar and extracts in a small bowl for the glaze. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Cover and set aside.
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In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended.
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Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and extracts. Stir to combine.
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Add the oil and stir well. Don't worry, at first it will seem to separate, but keep stirring till smooth. This might take 2-3 minutes.
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Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch in the center and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if getting too brown near the end and cake is still not done*. Be careful not to over bake. Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then turn it out of the pan onto the rack.
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While the cake is still warm, using a pastry brush, gently pat the glaze all over the cake. Just keep going over the cake till the glaze is gone. Some of it will drip off, but most of it will soak in. Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the top of cake while glaze is wet and pat gently. Allow cake to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
*Spray foil lightly with cooking spray or rub with a bit of oil to prevent cake from sticking to the foil.
Sharon says
OMG this was the best ever! I used butter instead of oil ( I was out of oil) and added two tablespoons fresh orange juice to cake batter.
Mine took 60 minutes (maybe the butter?). But the result was fabulous. My husband said I could sell it in a coffee house and people would be standing in line. Of course he loves most everything I make. ha ha
Next time I may even add a teaspoon or so of the orange zest to the batter. I was going for the orange almond taste.
Thank you so much for this winner!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your results, Sharon! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. You might also like this cake- https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-orange-olive-oil-cake/ 😊
Helen Defosset says
I’m an ex-pat living in a Southern Mexico city, so doubt I will find almond flour……….. anywhere! Can one substitude white cake flour for the almond flour?? My son sent me Cook’s Almond Extract for Christmas but am wondering if I should also add some fine ground almonds to the batter.?? Helen in Oaxaca
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Helen, you could sub cake flour for the almond flour but you could also make your own almond flour. Almond flour is just ground blanched almonds. Can you get blanched almonds where you are?
Reema says
This is delicious! Baking is not one of my best skills, but I followed the recipe, it was easy and turned out fab. Am I able to freeze it?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Reema, so happy you enjoy it. Yes, this cake freezes well!
ale says
I have made this French almond cake twice in a week! I had to swap out the sugar and powdered sugar for monk fruit sweetener and the yogurt to sour cream. It was a huge hit! The first one was made exactly as printed except for the sugar and sour cream and it was soooo yummy. That one was made for a Christmas Eve brunch with my sister in law and the second one was made for Christmas dessert. I really loved how easy it came together and the taste is so rich and presentation so rustic. So happy I came across your blog and this recipe! I plan to make it again for New Years eve per request from the hubby and kiddos!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much for sharing your review! I’m happy to know this works well with monk fruit sweetner.
Krystel says
I made this cake for my family for the past 4 years at Christmas and will continue to do so for many more. The first time I made this I expected a good response but it was amazing. I was told that it was our newest Christmas tradition.
We are a gluten free family and it’s hard to find an almond cake recipe that is just as good using a gf flour. We use namaste gf flour 1:1.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Krystel. I’m so happy you enjoyed it and appreciate you sharing your gf adaptation. I know that will be helpful to other readers.
MaryAnn Belden says
I baked this cake to take to a friend for her birthday. I had to leave it in the oven longer than the recipe said to get the center done. I covered it with foil, but the side and bottom look dark. I don’t have time to start over, do I have to go with it. I hope it doesn’t taste burned.
Chris Scheuer says
Hope it worked out okay, MaryAnn. Not sure why it too longer, it’s hard to say without having been right there in the kitchen with you.
Seth Callen says
Hello. I’m about to make this cake and just wanted to know the final texture to expect… is this going to be moist, or more dry and cakezlike? In other words, would it be easy to slice into two horizontal layers? I was thinking of filling it with a layer of Bavarian creme or similar filling.
Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Seth, it’s is a moist, tender cake. You could slice it into layers. Bavarian creme sounds delicious!
Friederike Mueller says
Hello! The recipe sound really good! I just have a questions regarding the conversion from US to metric. In the US cup version it says 3/4 of a cup of Greek yoghurt and in metric it says 150g, however when I looked up 3/4 cups of Greek yoghurt on google I get 210-213g as an answer. Have you ever baked this cake using metric measurements?
Thank you very much!
Chris Scheuer says
Hello Friederike, I don’t do the calculations for the metric measurements. I have a recipe plugin that automatically converts from US to Metric. I went back and did the conversion again and got the same results but when I googled it, I came up with the same amount that you did. I’m not sure why this is not calculating properly. I will contact my recipe plugin developer. That being said, I know reader from Europe and Australia have made this recipe and have reported good succes.
Friederike Mueller says
Hello Chris!
In the end I made the recipe the same way as your conversion plug-in suggests and it came out really well! Thank you so much for getting back to me!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks fo sharing your results, Friederike!
Suzett Montaner Sevillano says
Hi! I happened to find your French Almond Cake recipe online, This cake sounds amazing and I’m planning to bake it for my son’s birthday this month. Instead of using the amounts of flour the recipe ask, can I exchange them? Can I use 1½ cups of almond flour and ¾ cup all purpose flour; or better yet just almond flour (2 ¼ cups of almond flour)?
Thanks!