Flourless Lemon Almond Cake Recipe

Holiday meals can be so heavy, it's refreshing to have a dessert that is relatively light, like this flourless lemon almond cake. This is a classic cake recipe, whose roots hail from the Sephardic almond cakes of southern Spain.

The basic ingredients are simply almond flour (finely ground blanched almonds), eggs, sugar, and lemon zest. No butter or wheat flour. The cake behaves a bit like a soufflé in that it gets most of its rise from the eggs in the batter, and then gently falls as it settles.

I've included a bit of baking powder to help the cake maintain a bit more structure as it cools. The result is a light and tender crumb, softly sweet and lemony. You could easily twirl some raspberry sauce around it, or add a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Flourless Lemon Almond Cake

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings 8 servings

Yield 1 cake

It helps to separate the eggs first, while they are cold, and then let them sit to come to room temperature as you prep the other ingredients. Eggs are easier to separate when cold, and they perform better as leavening agents when at room temperature.

When whipping egg whites, make sure your equipment is perfectly clean. Any fat (or even bits of egg yolk in the whites) can keep the egg whites from properly whipping up.

If almond flour is not available at your market, you can grind up blanched, slivered almonds in a food processor until very finely ground. I would start with a little more than 1 1/3 cups. Our local Whole Foods carries a Bob's Red Mill brand of finely ground blanched almond flour which is what we used for this recipe.

4 large eggs, separated, room temperature (see how to separate eggs)
2 tablespoons packed lemon zest
1/2 cup (100g) white sugar, divided
1 1/2 cup (144g) lightly scooped finely ground blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
Pinch salt
Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

1 (8 or 9-inch) springform pan

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C). Place a round of parchment paper on the bottom of a 8 or 9-inch springform pan, and grease it and the sides of the pan with butter or cooking spray.
Beat the egg yolks, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup sugar:

In a large bowl, beat together with a wooden spoon the egg yolks, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup of the sugar until smooth.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Whisk the dry ingredients, mix into egg yolk mixture:

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, ground cardamom, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat until well combined. The mixture should resemble a thick paste.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks:

With an electric mixer with a very clean bowl and clean whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, starting on low speed and gradually increasing the speed.

Elise Bauer

When bubbles start to form, add a pinch of salt and the teaspoon of vinegar (both the salt and the vinegar will help the beaten egg whites maintain better structure, as will the sugar in the next step).

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

As the egg whites begin to increase in volume, sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, a little at a time, as you continue to beat the egg whites. Beat until soft peaks form.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture:

Stir a third to a half of the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture to loosen it and make it lighter.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Then gently fold the remaining whipped egg whites into the batter, a large scoopful at a time.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Bake:

Gently scoop the batter into the prepared springform pan and place in the oven. Bake at 350°F (175 °C) until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

Remove from the oven and let cool. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake helping it to separate from the side of the pan.

Elise Bauer

Release the springform pan sides, and gently move the cake (on parchment) to a cake serving plate. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar before serving.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
197	Calories
11g	Fat
19g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	197
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g	15%
Saturated Fat 1g	7%
Cholesterol 93mg	31%
Sodium 113mg	5%
Total Carbohydrate 19g	7%
Dietary Fiber 2g	9%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 2mg	10%
Calcium 99mg	8%
Iron 1mg	7%
Potassium 170mg	4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.