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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 …
- 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
- For the glaze:
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ cup powdered sugar plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 cups sliced almonds
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended.
- Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and extracts. Stir to combine.
- 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.
- 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.
- While 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 almonds over 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.
Kay says
This cake is awesome! Want to do it again for a friend’s birthday. If I double the recipe do I have to leave in the oven longer?
Chris Scheuer says
I would make it in two pans. If you tried to put it in one pan, it will take forever to bake.
Kay says
I have tried this cake twice. The first time I followed the exact recipe and the second time I decreased the vanilla extract and increased the almond extract and both times the cake came out sooooooo good. I want to bake a bigger cake for my friend’s birthday. A 14″ cake pan. Should I double or triple the recipe to fit this size pan? Also should I increase the baking time? Thoughts?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kay, it’s going to take quite a while for that to bake. If you try it, I would double the recipe and probably wrap the pan with some foil towards the end to keep the edges from getting too brown.
Sasha says
Can I use olive oli instead of regular oil in this recipe?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, you can. It will change the flavor a bit (more of a olive oil flavor) but it will still be delicious!
Marie says
I love this recipe! Baked it once before and I want to do it again… but I’m wondering could I double the recipe? What would be your advice? Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Marie, yes you can definitely double the recipe. I would bake it in two pans.
WonderofTravel says
Is it possible to substitute in Olive Oil?
Chris Scheuer says
You could definitely sub olive oil. It will have a little different flavor as olive oil is more flavorful than other oils.
Petra says
Hi, was wondering if instead of using canola oil I could use vegetable oil because I don’t have enough for 3/4 cup. Also I don’t have plain yogurt but I do have vanilla yogurt. I hope to hear back from you soon so I can make this delicious looking cake!
Chris Scheuer says
Both of those will work, Petra! Enjoy!
Suz says
Hi- can I make this cake with just almond flour? Also can I use stevia instead of sugar? What do you recommend I tweak for sugar substitute? Trying to make this keto friendly.. thanks so much!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Suz, I haven’t test this recip with just almond flour or with sugar substitutes. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to help with this.
Linda says
I made this with lemon instead of orange because that’s what I had on hand and split the recipe between 2 6” pans (one for now, one saved for later) and it was delightful!
Chris Scheuer says
Great idea to make two smaller cakes, Linda! Thanks for sharing your results!
Claire says
Hi there can’t wait to try this recipe sounds delicious! Do you think I could leave off the glaze and put fresh raspberrya into the mixture instead?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Claire, you definitely could. I would probably freeze the raspberries and break them apart with your hand into small clumps so you don’t have so much berry in each bite and also so that they don’t “bleed” into the batter.
Shreya says
Hi Scott and Chris,
I am going to making this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and I don’t have all the ingredients.
1) Can I make almond flour at home by soaking and then powdering almonds?
2) I will be baking this in a round 8X2.5 inch tin. Should I be baking for less or more time?
3) Can I skip the glaze and use a ganache instead? Would you recommend that?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Shreya, how sweet of you to bake a cake for his birthday! I’m wondering if you might be better off, making this cake without the lemon, just a bit of almond extract:
The reason I say that is that I’m afraid you 8-inch pan will be too small and you’ll have batter overflowing the pan. Also, this cake calls for almond flour which is super finely ground blanched almonds (it’s almost like regular wheat flour, although not quite as fine.)
You can skip the glaze on the almond cake but that’s what “sticks” the almonds to the cake.
If your boyfriend is a chocolate fan, the ganache would be a nice way to dress it up.
Mama says
I tried this recipe recently and was a big hit. I ran out of vanilla extract but had a vanilla pod so used that in the cake. I omitted the vanilla in the glaze as it would show the seeds too much. Also use Dahi which is a Pakistani yogurt instead of the Greek. It turned out great though took a little longer to bake. About an hour. May be the dahi added a little more liquid than the Greek yogurt. Definitely a keeper
Chris Scheuer says
So happy you enjoyed this cake, Mama! Thanks for sharing your results and adaptations!
Sara F. says
I baked this cake the other day for my mother’s birthday, she and my dad are very picky with cakes but this was a huge hit! I am always a bit nervous baking with almond extract as it can be overpowering but this recipe has the perfect amount. I also added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice in the orange glaze as they like a bit of tang!
Also, it looks so beautiful with the sliced almonds and icing sugar, one would see the final product and think it’s a lot more effort than it actually is! Easiest cake and clean up.
Thanks for a beautiful recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sara, I know your mother loved having you bake her birthday cake! Thanks so much for leaving your review!
Jennifer says
Could I replace buttermilk for the plain yogurt?
Chris Scheuer says
That should work fine, Jennifer!
Laura says
Super yummy!! A hit with everyone. I get asked to make it by neighbors often. I cut sugar in the cake back by 1/4 to 1/3, and use Face 0% Greek yogurt. have wondered what cutting back the oil might do to the cake. Welcome any feedback if you’ve tried it.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Laura. I know this information will be helpful to others!
Rio says
I reduced the granulated sugar to just 1 cup but i still found it a bit too sweet as it already has glazing on top (i also reduced the icing sugar for the glazing) and i only put half cup of oil and it turned out good. Next time I’ll reduce the sugar even more into just 3/4cup maybe . I had to put foil on top as it was browning too quickly and baked it for 45 mins but maybe next time I’ll only do it for 40mins.
Himali says
I tried this out last weekend and the results were absolutely amazing!! I substituted orange with mandarin and the taste was so so good! Awesome recipe! Thanks so much!! It was a real hit at the high tea I hosted at my home.
Chris Scheuer says
Ooooh… Mandarin sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing your review, Himali!
zara shahid says
can i use splenda for sugar?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Zara, I haven’t tried this cake with Splenda so I can’t really say without further testing. If you try it let us know how it turns out!
Lee says
I made this for the second time today as the first was sooooo good! But for some reason, the bottom (and bit of sides) come out super dark! Used canola oil and canola spray. Nonstick springform pan and cooked to the second the toothpick came clean ( started checking at 30 min and took a total of 40). Even tried a different oven today and same thing. Able to improve it with a little gentle scraping and it tastes great, but what am I doing wrong?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lee, it might be your pan. I would try baking it on a sheet pan or wrapping the pan with some foil to prevent it from browning too much.
Orli says
Would this would with dairy free yogurt? Or any other dairy free alternative suggestion?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Orli, without further testing, I can’t say for sure. If you try it, please share your results as it would be helpful to other readers.
Sari says
You made a great recipe even better than the original!!! Thank you for sharing our story and your amazing changes to this recipe. I made it this past weekend and it got rave reviews! Look forward to making this again soon.
Chris Scheuer says
Aww, thanks so much, Sari! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Laura says
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I made this cake for my birthday. It was such a hit with everyone. I did not have a deep pan only a bundt pan and it worked perfectly. I made the glaze which really makes the cake extra special. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will try the French Apple Cake next. So good.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Laura! I’m so happy to know it works well in a Bundt pan!
Janet says
Easy, Delicious!!!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks! So happy you enjoyed it, Janet!
Kenza says
Hi! Is it possible to do it with coconut oil or vegetable oil?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kenza, vegetable oil will work fine!
Laura says
Baked this today as I had a lot of guests coming over. It was a hit and so easy to make too! Definitely a keeper, thank you for sharing!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for sharing your results, Laura!
Jacqualine Avery says
Such an easy, delicious cake to make! The glaze is delicious! I made it for my Mother’s 89the birthday. I also added some Cointreau to the glaze – mmm!
A definite recipe to go to, time and again, thanks for sharing it with us.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Jacqualine, for sharing your results! And happy birthday to your mother! 89! That’s something to celebrate! Hope you get to bake her many more cakes in the years to come 💕