This almond flavored cake is so soft and fluffy. What is so unique about this cake is that it has a texture and taste just like a regular cake even though it doesn’t contain any wheat flour, butter or oil. This cake is just 3 ingredients and easy to make.
I’m very excited to share this cake recipe with you today because I really love the texture of this cake. I’ve made this cake for my family multiple times in the last few months and they all love this cake and can’t believe it isn’t made with regular flour. Instead, the cake is made with almond flour, but it doesn’t taste like a cake made with almond flour. It has the same soft and bouncy crumb of a cake made with regular wheat flour.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Almond Flour
Eggs: The eggs are what gives this cake its structure and also helps replace the butter or oil usually needed in cake. The eggs are going to be whipped for several minutes until they become more than triple in volume and very pale in color.
Sugar: Regular granular sugar is used to sweeten the cake.
Almond flour: This cake works best with superfine almond flour. Almond flour is a flour substitute made of just almonds. You can try to grind your own almonds but I find that it’s hard to achieve the superfine consistency needed to make this cake very light. The cake would still work, but the texture won’t be the same.
Cake Origin
This cake idea is a combination of two recipes. I was inspired to make this cake after recently making a Torta di Noci, which is an Italian cake made from ground walnuts. I loved the cake a lot and wondered how the texture would be if I were to use a fine almond flour instead of ground nuts. I also wanted to try making the cake with the same technique I use to make my 3 Ingredient Cake which uses a different method for beating the eggs. So I combined the two recipes and came up with this. And the result was even better than I had hoped.
This cake has the same softness and bounce of my 3 Ingredient Cake. You can’t even tell it isn’t made with regular flour. It tastes like a cake made with regular flour that happens to be almond flavored. The almond flour gives this cake an almond flavor to it, but it is more like the cake has almond extract added to it instead of tasting like it is made out of almonds.
I shared this cake with many family members and friends and everyone was shocked to find out it wasn’t made with regular flour.
How to Make Almond Cake
- Beat the eggs and sugar on high speed with a mixer until the mixture becomes more than triple in size and is very light and pale in color. You will need to beat the eggs for about 10 minutes. When the eggs are ready, your mixture should seem like it is thickening and about to form soft peaks (when your beater pushes through, there should be lines/indents left behind like when soft peaks are going to form when making meringue or whipped cream). However when you do stop the beater, the mixture will immediately deflate and become liquidy. This is what it looks like seconds after I stopped the beater.
- Gently fold in the almond flour.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared cake pan and then it’s ready to go in the oven.
Why You’ll Love this Cake
- This cake has a crumb just like a cake made with regular flour.
- Even though it is made with almond flour, it does not have a texture like most cakes made with almond flour.
- You don’t need to separate the egg whites and egg yolks. You just add them in and let your mixer do all the work.
- The cake keeps well so you can make this cake a few days ahead of time.
Cake Texture and Sweetness
This cake is sweet enough on its own but I like to dust the top with powdered sugar for decoration. The texture of the cake is similar to a sponge cake. It is soft, airy and has a bouncy crumb.
More Cakes without Flour
- 4 Ingredient Fluffy Lemon Yogurt Cake
- 3 Ingredient Coconut Cake
- 3 Ingredient Strawberry Cloud Cake
- 2 Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake
3 Ingredient Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs straight from fridge
- 1 cup (193 g) granulated white sugar
- 3 1/2 cups (318 g) blanched superfine almond flour see note
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease the interior of an 8 inch round springform pan and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Make sure the sides of the cake pan are thoroughly greased, otherwise the cake will stick to it.
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and sugar. Beat on highest speed for about 10 minutes or until mixture becomes very thick and turns a very pale yellow, and more than triples in volume. When the eggs are ready, the mixture should be thick enough that it seems like soft peaks are going to form (when the beater pushes through, it leaves indents/lines that don't disappear right away). However, once you stop beating, the mixture will immediately deflate. This is normal. See photo in post for more details.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in 1/3 of the almond flour. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and then the final 1/3. Try your best not to deflate the egg mixture too much.
- Transfer your batter to your prepared cake pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. The surface of the cake should be light brown and feel lightly firm. Let cake cool for about 1 hour and then gently release it from the cake pan. I like to let the cake cool for a few more hours before decorating and serving but you don't want to wait too long to remove it from the pan because it will start to stick. The cake tastes best after it is fully cooled.
Notes
- The cake needs a few hours to cool. I usually make mine the night before I plan on serving it.
- Measuring almond flour: My almond flour has always weighed less than what is provided in the nutrition label and I think it is because I am using the spoon and level method so make sure you use the same method when measuring for this cake if you aren't using a scale. When measuring out the almond flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and then level off with a knife. Do not directly scoop the measuring cup into the almond flour bag. This will result in more almond flour than the recipe calls for.
- I used Kirkland's blanched superfine almond flour.
- Make sure to gently fold the flour in so you don't deflate the egg mixture too much.
- My eggs weighed about 203 grams total without shells.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I bought almond flour at Aldi to try my hand at a Ukrainian torte, but used the flour to make a last minute dessert for a wake. Admittedly, I had no idea how this would come out, but frankly, it’s a keeper recipe. Not too sweet, slightly chewy substantial texture, easily transported, easy to dress up and terrific with a cup of coffee or tea. I topped with powdered sugar. Will make again to try with fresh berries or a sprinkling of Grand Marnier. For serving a crowd, I cut a center circle of about a 3 to 4 inch diameter, then 1/2 inch slices around.
Thank you for sharing! Glad you liked it!
I can use coconut sugar?
I have not tested with coconut sugar
Wonderful recipe!!!
I cut the almond flour in half, used two eggs and 1/4 cup sugar and the cake is light and fluffy and sweet enough!
Thank you for this recipe.
So glad you liked it!
I wonder if monk fruit sweetener can be used to replace the ‘sugar’.
We recently tested with monkfruit sweetener and unfortunately the results were not as good. While the cake did bake up, we couldn’t get the right consistency on the meringue so instead of a bouncy fluffy cake with a regular cake texture it was just like a regular almond flour cake. There may be a way to get it to work but it might involve separating the eggs and whipping them separately. We’ll be doing further testing in the future.
I like the simplicity of this cake is Very! Have you Tried this recipe using a sweetener rather than white sugar? I am very interested in knowing whether Using a sweetener would also work, especially for those who are diabetic. Thank you.
Sorry I have not yet tried it with a sugar substitute. I’ve been wanting to do it, but haven’t had a chance yet.
Is it possible to use stevia instead of sugar? My sister is coming to visit and she’s diabetic.
Sorry, we haven’t tried it.
Can you use Monkfruit instead of regular sugar?
We recently tested with monkfruit sweetener and unfortunately the results were not as good. While the cake did bake up, we couldn’t get the right consistency on the meringue so instead of a bouncy fluffy cake with a regular cake texture it was just like a regular almond flour cake. There may be a way to get it to work but it might involve separating the eggs and whipping them separately. We’ll be doing further testing in the future.
I like the sound of your 3 ingredient almond cake, and your other recipes sound good too. I would love to receive your recipes via email. Thank you.
We’re glad you’re enjoying the recipes! You can sign up for our emails here: https://kirbiecravings.com/email-subscription/
Very good.
Will try it out soon.
Thanks
We hope you like it!
Just wondered if you could make cupcakes with this same recipe? Thanks for all your great recipes. Arlene
We haven’t tried it, but it should work but we can’t say for sure what the baking time should be.
Would you be able to substitute the sugar with something like Swerve? It looks so good! I definitely want to try, but I have to limit my sugar intake.
We recently tested with monkfruit sweetener and unfortunately the results were not as good. While the cake did bake up, we couldn’t get the right consistency on the meringue so instead of a bouncy fluffy cake with a regular cake texture it was just like a regular almond flour cake. There may be a way to get it to work but it might involve separating the eggs and whipping them separately. We’ll be doing further testing in the future.
I can use coconut sugar instead white sugar?
We haven’t tried it – let us know if you do!
Also, I can’t get your share and email links to work again?
Hm, that’s strange! They are working on our end.
Can you make your own almond flour? It isn’t readily available where I live, but whole almonds are. Thanks!
You can try to grind your own almonds but t’s hard to achieve the superfine consistency needed to make this cake very light. The cake would still work, but the texture won’t be the same.